6.1  Establish the negotiating team

Negotiations are typically led by the Project Director, and as a general rule, smaller teams lead to more efficient negotiations. Note that the negotiating phase can significantly extend the project timeframe and budget if not well-managed.

The project's legal and commercial advisors play a key role in supporting the negotiations. However, it may be appropriate to hold initial negotiations to identify key issues without legal advisors present. This enables negotiations around commercial issues rather than detailed points of law or contractual terminology. Once the commercial issues are agreed, reflecting this in the contract should be relatively straightforward.