International Dispute Resolution Agreements

Every properly drafted international commercial contract must contain a well-functioning dispute resolution and governing law clause. Yet few attorneys pay sufficient attention to these clauses before a dispute arises when it is often too late, and repairing the defects costs a multiple of the amount it would have taken to prepare a well-functioning clause. Applying several key principles will help better protect clients and gain a certain level of proper partisan advantage. In this course, attorneys will learn how to better draft and strategically negotiate well-functioning commercial dispute resolution and governing law clauses in international contracts.

Attorneys of all levels are encouraged to attend this course to become more familiar with international arbitration and litigation. Attorneys who draft and negotiate international commercial contracts will especially benefit from the content of this program.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify actors to consider when to include arbitration and when to include a choice of court agreement in an international commercial contract
• Describe how to draft critical elements of arbitration clauses in an international contract
• Explain how to draft critical elements of a choice of court clause in an international contract
• Explore how to draft more “optional” elements of arbitration and choice of court clauses in an international contract
• Delineate how to draft a well-functioning governing law clause in an international contract 
• Investigate strategic factors in negotiating arbitration, choice of court, and governing law clauses in international contracts