We speak with Advocate Ra’ed Qawasmeh, the contract and legal advice manager at Truth Law Firm, where he briefly outlines the contract strategies you should adopt when constructing a commercial contract and the important clauses to include, as well as discussing the law firm at which he practises, sharing how having a ‘dream team’ helps their firm and its clients.
What are good contract strategies to adopt when devising a commercial contract?
In developing and adopting contract strategies with regards to commercial contracts, the following steps need to be taken:
(a) Start by collecting information about the scope of the contract and the key issues that need to be addressed in order to implement the client’s objectives throughout the contract.
(b) Provide a clear definition of the intent of the parties to the contract and/or scope of work, parties responsibilities, and
(c) Address key considerations such as indemnity, liability and dispute resolution clauses. In general, we strive to keep in mind the big picture while focussing on the small details and serving the client at the same time.
What are the top important commercial contract clauses clients ought to include?
All clauses in a commercial contract shall be considered important when defining a relationship between two or more parties, however, we strongly believe that certain clauses complete the commercial contract. They are the following:
- Scope of work
- Obligations of the parties
- Confidentiality
- Intellectual property
- Indemnity
- Limitation of Liability
- Termination
- Jurisdiction (Governing Law)
- Dispute Resolution
Is there a contract checklist you advise clients to follow?
There is no checklist for the client to follow, as each contract is deemed to be different from others, depending on the client’s purpose of the contract; however, we advise clients to have the contract in a written form rather than verbal, in order to expressly provide the intention of the parties to ensure its implementation and the parties’ adherence to the clauses of the contract. In addition to containing the basic clauses mentioned previously, you must ensure that the subject matter of the contract is lawful and abides with the applicable laws.
A brief insight into Truth Law Firm
Truth Law firm was established by lawyer Mr Fendi Faouri in October 2003. He founded a firm, that started with practising and offering Civil Legal Services to civil individuals. By 2007, the company expanded and had seven employees. The firm kept growing through a high demand of different business approaches and methods. Today, Mr Fendi, an expert in the legal field with various experience in Public, Private and Corporate Law, has been able to extend the law firm to include a well-trained and trusted team of 25 employees with various legal backgrounds which includes Litigation, Arbitration, Construction, Corporate and Commercial matters, Intellectual Property and Trademark, Mergers and Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, and Banking and Finance.
Among the Firm's core values is the commitment to excellence, teamwork, innovation and professionalism. We are committed to respecting the privacy and confidentiality sought by our clients to legitimately protect their interests. Dedication to our clients is our priority, we always respect the trust they place in us providing proactive recommendations to help them achieve greater efficiency and to enhance and protect their interests.
What are the mottos and criteria your firm abides by?
We would like to first point out that the firm’s general motto is that the firm’s success depends on its employees. We cannot grow or achieve our goals without the affection and efforts of all employees. In essence: great lawyers make a great law firm. Moreover, we stand strictly by the policy of communication between the firm’s employees as well as communication with the firm’s clients. The criterion is to have an efficient team that shares the same vision, the general concern about the quality of the firm’s services, clearly defined time frames for achieving goals, excellent communication within the team and clients and challenging goals that each set for oneself - this includes the involvement of the maximum number of people in addressing various matters in order to reach common grounds based on the efforts of the whole team.
What are the further aspirations of your "dream team"?
The legal business in Jordan can be competitive, and if the law firm wishes to continue its success it shall adapt to the latest trends in the field. Accordingly, Truth Law Firm currently serves many high end, multinational corporations and international enterprises, and we continuously attempt to develop and expand. Therefore, we cooperate with international law firms in various countries such as Lebanon, UAE, USA and UK in order to enable us to provide additional external services in the Middle East, Gulf countries and internationally; we also try to learn from their best practices. But the most important features of our “dream team” is to be highly efficient in order to succeed.
Ra’ed Qawasmeh
Truth Law Firm L.L.C
Mobile: +962796883647
Tel: +96265815001
Fax: +96265810064
Amman, Jordan
