Why your business should review its commercial agreements

In any business, regularly reviewing existing terms and conditions and new commercial agreements is an essential risk management task.

Laws, regulations and industry standards are constantly evolving, and clauses that were once compliant may now expose you to regulatory breach, terminology challenges or unenforceable limitations of liability. Periodic reviews ensure your contracts continue to reflect current legal requirements and best practice, reducing the likelihood of disputes and costly litigation.

Additionally, your business model, pricing and operational processes will also change over time. As you scale, adopt new technology, outsource functions or enter new markets, the allocation of risk, service levels, data protection provisions and termination rights in your contracts must keep pace. Otherwise, you may find yourself locked into commercially unattractive arrangements that no longer match your business’s identity.

At the centre of all contracts are your relationships with suppliers and customers. Regularly revisiting key agreements allows you to reset expectations, correct ambiguities and renegotiate terms on pricing, performance and service levels. This strengthens commercial relationships and can unlock better value, improved resilience in your supply chain, and clearer remedies in the event things go wrong.

Finally, well‑maintained contracts are easier to enforce. Courts look at how clearly rights and obligations are expressed and whether they reflect the parties’ actual conduct. Outdated boilerplate or terms that bear no resemblance to how you really do business are far more vulnerable to challenge.

Here in the Thomson Snell & Passmore Commercial team, we have extensive up to date experience in a wide variety of commercial agreements. We can benchmark your terms against market practice, tighten risk allocation, enhance enforceability and implement a rolling review programme so your documents stay aligned with your commercial strategy. Please reach out to us if you require any assistance to see how we can help.