Managing Contracts in a time of Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trading relationships worldwide – and as a consequence, enterprise contract review, negotiation and renegotiation of contracts are taking place on a massive scale. Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) was invited to participate in an international conversation to address the challenges and opportunities of enterprise contract management during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ned Gannon, President of eBrevia, joined a panel of global experts to discuss COVID‑19's impact on international trading relationships. Bringing together global perspectives and insights from several industries that included law, legal tech and logistics, the panelists explored the common challenges facing legal professionals in the COVID-19 era – such as the immense amount of pressure to review force majeure language in contracts, and the complexity of handling multi-document cases within short deadlines. The panel also discussed how the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning can optimize contract review in negotiations, as well as what the future of contract management is expected to look like.

Panelists:

• Ned Gannon, President, eBrevia, a DFIN Company
• Shaun Leong, Partner International Arbitration, Eversheds Sutherland
• Rob Flaws, Partner - Head of TMT MENA, CMS LLP
• Jaroslaw Jankowski, Managing Director Malaysia & Lead Counsel Asia & Regional Compliance Officer Asia, Siemens

Topics discussed:

• How has the contract management community been faring and what can we learn from progress to date?
• The extent of disruption and the scale of difficulty caused by the pandemic
• Approaches and strategies of dispute resolution – litigation and mediations for different types of enterprise contracts and scenarios
• What does the current automation lack? What advantages can legal tech bring to enterprises and law firms?
• Coronavirus outbreak – supply chain risks and enterprise contract management implications
• The criticality, influence and analysis of force majeure language and provisions in enterprise contracts
• Use of AI-enabled contract management software for force majeure analysis and future planning