Parting on Good Terms

26 February 2023

This CPD webinar discusses how to painlessly end a contractual relationship with a client and outlines how to minimise your risk of disputes. Presented by expert legal advisers Felicity Dixon and Wendy Poulton.

This CPD webinar was held on 8 February 2023.

BOOK HERE TO PURCHASE ON DEMAND

The perfect end to a client-architect agreement is a completed project and satisfied client. But even the best relationships can end early and when that happens, the contract terms and common law rights that sit behind them, become critical. Architects can reduce their risk by understanding their rights, having the right contract terms in place and carefully following the required procedures. Strong suspension and termination rights also provide leverage for resolving disputes mid-project.

All of this and more is explained in this webinar, led by Felicity Dixon and Wendy Poulton from informed Lawyers Pty Ltd (ACN 635 862 145). Book for this on demand webinar to learn the following:

  • Why it’s worth fighting for contractual rights to suspend and terminate
  • How to use those rights when you have them
  • The link between payment and termination
  • A snapshot of common law termination rights that exist outside the contract
  • How to end a contractual relationship amicably, either mid-project or upon completion
  • “Partial services” engagements where the architect’s role ends at construction.

Cost

Members $25
Non-members $40
*One ticket per attendee.

CPD

Completion of this 1 hour webinar and submission of the self-checked assessment task will earn 1 formal CPD point.

Learning Outcomes – upon completion, attendees will be able to identify what termination and suspension rights should be included in a consultancy agreement, follow a straightforward contractual procedure to suspend or terminate services, and understand how suspension and termination rights can assist in the resolution of disputes.

NSCA 2021 Units of Competency and Performance Criteria – Practice Management and Professional Conduct – PC 5, PC 6.
APBSA Core Area – Practice Management

OUR SPEAKERS

Wendy Poulton is the Principal of informed Lawyers Pty Ltd ACN (635 862 145), a law practice providing legal advice in its specialist area of consultancy agreements and a Knowledge Partner supporting the ACA. informed Lawyers offer a 10% discount off its standard pricing for ACA members. Wendy has been a risk manager working with architects since 2005, providing plain English advice on contracts, training architects in risk management, and creating guidance materials. Before that, she worked as a litigation solicitor at Hunt and Hunt, and as a judge’s associate. She completed a Masters in Construction Law in 2011 and has delivered guest lectures for the University of Melbourne, RMIT and QUT.

Senior Legal Counsel, Felicity Dixon, holds a Bachelor’s degree in both Economics (Social Sciences) (Hons) and Law from Sydney University and was admitted into the Law Society of NSW in 2007. Felicity has previously worked in Sydney, Perth and London as a construction and litigation lawyer for a number of large construction, architectural and engineering practices. During her years in private practice she also gained experience in insurance, strata, insolvency and personal injury. From this basis of business acumen and legal knowledge, Felicity is able to bring her unique background and commercial understanding of the industry to provide clients with experienced legal and drafting advice on their legal agreements with a range of clients they might be engaged by.

Contact

Please contact Katherine Ygosse at webinars@aca.org.au with any questions.