Engineering News-Record presents a complimentary on-demand webinar designed to provide a roadmap for arriving at a high-performance building team capable of the collaboration and innovation necessary to compete.

“Help has arrived for building teams that are itching to collaborate using conventional project delivery models—and contracts—rather than risk-and-reward-sharing integrated project delivery,” Engineering News-Record says on it website.

Speakers in the webinar are contributors to a new e-book titled “Advanced Integrated Practice: Create a Culture of Deep Collaboration,” published recently by the Alliance for Construction Excellence.

Speakers will describe all of the features, principles and practices necessary to implement AIP on projects.  They will lay out the somewhat intimidating changes in corporate culture required to fully implement AIP.  For this, they will offer techniques to use to immediately to manage scope, cost, schedule, quality and safety.  They will also present tools to prepare for enhanced performance.

Register for the on-demand webinar.

Revitas presents a complimentary webinar on effective contract management.

Getting the final signatures and filing the contract has always been viewed as the end of the contract management process. But the reality is that true contract management really begins at that point, Revitas says on its website.

For this webinar Revitas teams up with IACCM to explore why effective management of the ongoing life of a contract is essential to corporate success and strategic growth, and why the old “sign and file” mentality could be detrimental to your business.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Bloomberg Government has posted a free webinar on dealing with OASIS multiple-award contracts (MACs), expected to become the largest professional services program in the federal government.

In late May, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the final awardees on their long-awaited OASIS contracts. OASIS offers opportunities worth $60 billion in task orders during the next decade, but with significant uncertainty in the market, Bloomberg Government says.

Bloomberg Government, in partnership with the Coalition for Government Procurement, presents this free webinar that previews the structure, scope and competitive landscape on OASIS.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Aronson & Company has posted a free webinar on the finer points of ethics as they relate to government contracts.

It’s important for government contractors to conduct themselves with the highest degree of integrity and honesty, Aronson says.

Contracts should maintain a written code of business ethics & conduct, an employee ethics & compliance training program, an employee ethics & compliance training program and an internal control system.

The webinar also covers a wide array of compliance requirements.

Presenters are Thomas Marcinko, Principal Consultant, and Jacob Blass, President of Ethical Advocate.

Watch the webinar.

SC&H Group and Red Team Consulting have launched a three-part, on-demand webinar series that aims to guide government contractors through the changing procurement landscape.

The first webinar in the series, “Effective Capture Strategies for Federal Government Procurements,” is available on-demand now.

This webinar focuses on the capture management process, including covering bid/no-bid strategies, understanding the competition, and how contractors can best position themselves.

On its website, SC&G says government contractors are continually challenged with developing the right contract capture and pricing strategies that will effectively allow them to grow their businesses in today’s austere budget climate.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Exari Systems has posted a free webinar on contract lifecycle management (CLM) and how it can help a business.

The webinar discusses what CLM really means,the common problems resulting from poor contract management practices, the key components of a comprehensive CLM solution and why they are necessary, and what to look for when deciding how to address your organization’s contract management challenges.

The speaker for the webinar is Grant Ramsey, Vice President – Global Solutions, Exari Systems.

The webinar lasts 30 minutes.

Register to receive a link to the recorded webinar.

What if you had to return all the revenue you received from every customer in California for the last several years? A class action litigation alert from DLA Piper discusses the California Automatic Renewal Law, which applies to most individual consumer contracts that include an automatic renewal feature and for which the consumer authorizes a recurring automatic charge to the consumer’s credit card or bank account for the purchase of services, memberships, subscriptions or other products.

According to the alert, “in the event of non-compliance with the law, all services rendered by a merchant to an individual California consumer ‘shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the consumer.’ ”

The alert, written by Paul J. Hall, Isabelle Ord and Alec Cierny, says, “The law creates a higher legal standard that the automatic renewal terms and cancellation rights be disclosed in a more conspicuous manner than the rest of the contract.  The law applies to contracts entered into by any consumer in California regardless of the location of the company.  Recent class action lawsuits allege that several national companies with consumer-interfacing websites are not in compliance with the enhanced disclosure requirements of the Automatic Renewal Law.”

Read the alert here.

Baker Tilly will present a free webinar to help participants better understanding construction contract controls and construction audit best practices.

The webinar will be Wednesday, Nov. 12, beginning at noon Eastern time.

On its website, Baker Tilly says all construction contracts have general conditions provisions. These are project terms that govern how project management costs, mobilization, site clean-up, information technology, and other project support costs are budgeted and billed. Analyzing these contract terms enables the construction contract auditor to build the project audit program and contribute to on time, under budget project delivery.

This case study presentation will illustrate to webinar participants typical general conditions terms, contract red flags, and risk mitigating recommendations.

Register for the webinar.

The George Washington University School of Law has posted online the slides of a webinar about changes to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement.

Twenty years after the 1994 version of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement was signed, a new version of the international accord–probably the most important free trade agreement in world public procurement markets–has taken effect, the school says on its website.

The United States, the European Union and many other nations, industrialized and not, are members of the GPA, which has been revamped and revised. George Washington University Law School’s Government Procurement Law Program is pleased to host this free colloquium, where experts will discuss the new agreement, what is new in this revision, and the likely impact on procurement markets, here and abroad.

The event was sponsored by The George Washington University Law School Government Procurement Law Program, the International Procurement Committees of the ABA Section of International Law, and the ABA Public Contract Law Section.

See the webinar’s presentation slides.

Aronson LLC has posted online a complimentary on-demand webinar on the importance of concentrating on winning a federal contract before performing the contract. This is because winning the work is more expensive and time-consuming than ever before.

Presenters are Tom Macinko, principal consultant of Aronson, and Jeff Shen, vice president of Red Team Consulting.

Marcinko states at the beginning of the webinar that the presentation will discuss strategies and tips to help contractors ensure that they are pursuing the correct opportunities and pursuing them well so they are positioned to write a winning proposal.

The agenda includes understanding government evaluation methodologies, researching and influencing methodologies, making effective bid/no-bid decisions, conducting competitive analysis, creating compelling win themes, and assembling a winning team.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Baker Tilly has posted a free on-demand webinar on how to assess a unit priced construction contract for project risk and develop an audit program for unit priced projects.

Tony Ollman is presenter for the webinar.

The topics include risk analysis, audit plan development, red flags and case studies.

The goal of the webinar, according to the firm, is to help participants learn to recognize when to use unit price contracts, to learn how to identify unit price contract risk, and to understand the primary audit plan elements to minimize risk.

Watch the on-demand webinar and see the presentation slides.

GovWin from Deltek offers a free white paper about the government’s many contract types and how to understand as the rules, regulations and laws that dictate the type of work that contractors do.

In its latest free white paper, Types of Government Contracts, GovWin examines and defines the four most used contract types and answers the most common issues or misunderstood facts about those types, as well as:

• Pros and cons of each contract from the contractor perspective
• Why government uses particular types of contracts over others
• Which contracts offer contractors incentives, rewards and awards
• Reasons behind the rise in fixed-price contracts

Download the white paper.

Novations can be tricky transactions and often require a combination of legal know-how as well as business sense and close communication with the government personnel responsible for approving the transaction, says Piliero Mazza PLLC on its website. Many clients and companies we come across are confused about novations or have misconceptions about what a novation is, when it is required, or what it means for their company or their customers.

The firm will present a complimentary webinar on the topic on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. Central time.

Attoneys Cy Alba and Kimi Murakami will clear up those confusions and discuss the tools and knowledge needed to maximize the possibility of a successful novation, or avoid the process where possible.  Some of the key topics to be discussed are:

• What is a “novation,” and what is required for such a transaction?
• When are novations necessary and when can they be avoided?
• What is the impact a novation will have on  your small business status?
• What are some of the main problems that contractors encounter when novating contracts?
• What is the difference between a novation and a change of name agreement?
• What are some of the unwritten rules certain agencies have regarding novations?

Register for the webinar.

Dallas lawyer Glenn D. West recently posted a complimentary white paper on the use of fraud carve-out in acquisition agreements.

In the introduction to the white paper, West says that “a well-crafted waiver of reliance provision can effectively eliminate the specter of a buyer’s post-closing fraud claim based upon alleged extra-contractual representations of the seller or its agents. But undefined “fraud carve-outs” continue to find their way into acquisition agreements not-withstanding these otherwise well-crafted waiver of reliance provisions.

“An undefined fraud carve-out threatens to undermine not only the waiver of reliance provision, but also the contractual cap on indemnification that was otherwise stated to be the exclusive remedy for the representations and warranties that were set forth in the contract. Practitioners continue to exhibit a limited appreciation of the many meanings of the term “fraud” and the extent to which a generalized fraud carve-out can potentially expand the
universe of claims and remedies that can be brought outside the remedies specifically bargained-for under the parties’ written agreement. Given the frequent insistence upon (and continued acceptance by many of) undefined fraud carve-outs, and recent court decisions that bring the undefined fraud carve-out issue into focus, this article will examine the various (and sometimes surprising) meanings of the term “fraud,” and the resulting danger of generalized fraud carve-outs, and will propose some possible responses to the buyer who insists upon including the potentially problematic phrase “except in the case of fraud” as an exception to the exclusive remedy provision of an acquisition agreement,” the article continues.

Read the white paper.

DLA Piper has posted a free on-demand webinar on payment provisions that can be used in contracts.

On its website, DLA Piper says the payment provisions are a fundamental part of any sourcing arrangement. There are a range of models which can be used in a contract – each of which have pros and cons and strike a different balance between risk and reward. A combination of factors will dictate which model is likely to work best in any given circumstance, including the risk appetite of the customer, the need for flexibility to deal with changing circumstances, the relationship of the parties and the incentives which otherwise exist in the contract.

This seminar considers both traditional and newer payment models, and discusses the key issues to consider with each, the firm says.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Oil and Gas IQ has posted a free on-demand webinar on better management of contractual information to reduce major cost overruns and delays in oil and energy projects.

Information can be both structured and unstructured, formal and informal, and marshalling these efficiently will guarantee a successful formula for all oil and energy companies to better do their business, Oil and Gas IQ says on its website.

The three pillars discussed in this webinar include understanding and organising all that constitutes Contract Relationship Information, fostering communication between buyer and contractor teams, and maintaining a structured approach to information throughout the lifecycle of a project.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

The international law firm Eversheds has posted a free on-demand webinar on various issues which commonly arise in international contracts and will provide practical tips on how to deal with them by reference to recent cases.

Richard Little and Alison Brearey are presenters for the webinar.

The webinar covers protection in advance (performance bonds, guarantees, letters of credit, currency risk), governing law and jurisdiction clauses, international contractural interpretation (focus on good faith), litigation or arbitration and tiered dispute resolution clauses, and practical tips for dealing with disputes.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

IBM presents a complimentary on-demand webinar on legal risk management and increased pressure to renegotiate contracts.

On its website, IBM says legal teams across global organizations are dealing with rising regulatory and compliance demands while also managing legal risks and increased pressure to renegotiate contracts.

M.C. McBain, General Counsel, discusses how to learn how to gain visibility and control over legal documents—from email threads to contracts—and stay a step ahead of your next audit.

You will learn:

• Why increasing business pressure is causing general counsels and corporate legal departments to do more with less
• How the lack of a centralized contract management system is leaving legal departments with limited visibility into their global contracts
• Ways to mitigate risk in contracts across the organization with visibility and control

Watch the on-demand webinar.

An update is available to the Reed Smith white paper titled A Guide to Contract Interpretation, by Vincent R. Martorana and Michael Zitelli.

Martorana says the guide includes a brief introduction on our philosophy regarding contract interpretation, a flow chart that illustrates the typical contract-interpretation process, and an outline of excerpts from recent opinions rendered by New York and Delaware courts (which form the basis for the contract-interpretation principles that we set forth in the guide).

Updated features include the analysis New York and Delaware court opinions from July 2013 to early July 2014; added depth to certain sections to provide a more nuanced treatment of how courts approach interpretive issues; and new sections discussing both interpretive issues and certain types of contracts and contractual provisions that merit special attention.

Download the guide.

What will it take to identify the right contract management system for your organization – and get senior management on board? The answers are in this complimentary white paper, “State of Contract Management: Merrill Datasite 2014 Annual Report.”

This report:

• Identifies the five categories contract managers need to address when looking for a new system
• Highlights specific details that need to be considered
• Identifies challenges when advocating internally for a new solution
• Offers details on how best to evaluate vendors

To gain these valuable insights which will help you move forward with implementing a new contract management solution, download this report now.

Download the white paper.