Our Contracts team advises on, drafts and negotiates research and enterprise-related agreements between our University and external organisations. These include:
We aim to achieve the best possible contractual terms and reduce unnecessary financial/legal risks to the University by ensuring that contracts are clear and robust.
If you enter into preliminary discussions with a third party, make clear that all communications are Subject to Contract and that any contract must be signed by authorised signatories.
Contact us as early in the process as possible. The more notice of a proposed project we are given, the more time there is to prepare and to negotiate to achieve the best possible result.
If you wish to discuss confidential information with a client, or if there is a possibility of disclosing unprotected intellectual property, then contact us about having a confidentiality agreement (NDA or CDA) in place prior to such discussions.
Please provide us with the contact details of the other party and describe in plain English what each party's role will be. We will ensure that contracts are clear, robust and reduce any unnecessary financial and legal risks to the University.
We will analyse the agreement for you. You may feel that the terms are perfectly reasonable but we often identify serious drafting errors which may affect the interpretation of a clause. Please also send us any accompanying documentation (for example, a project description), as this will give us some context in which to review the agreement and properly analyse the risks involved.
We will negotiate the agreement on your behalf and although we aim to achieve the best possible terms for the University we attempt to take a flexible approach to negotiation whilst taking into account the relative risks. We'll keep you informed of the progress of negotiations.
Do not sign any agreements if you are not an authorised signatory. We will arrange signatures by a University-authorised signatory for you. In rare circumstances, we will be unable to arrange signatures if we identify serious errors or unacceptable commercial or legal risks.
Senior Contracts Manager
Contracts Manager
Contracts Officer
Contracts Administrator
Business Contracts Manager
Business Contracts Manager