Consultancy agreement (standard)
For many consultancy arrangements, this standard agreement will represent a sensible compromise between legal certainty and protection on the one hand, and documentary complexity on the other. It builds on our basic consultancy agreement, without including all of the optional provisions of the premium consultancy agreement.
Issues that are not covered in the basic document but are addressed in this standard document include: the provision of works and materials by the customer; reporting obligations; inter-party cooperation and information exchange; licensing and/or assignment of intellectual property rights; personal data processing; confidentiality; indemnity protection for the customer; and the adjustment of charges/fees over the longer term.

Consultancy agreement (standard) contents
- Definitions: definitions.
- Term: commencement of term; end of term.
- Services: obligation to provide services; standard of services; devotion of personnel to services; keeping customer informed of services; services: compliance with reasonable customer requests; services: compliance with internal policies.
- Deliverables: obligation to deliver deliverables; feedback on deliverables; timetable for delivery of deliverables; deliverables warranties (no acceptance procedure).
- ClientMaterials: supply ofClientmaterials; licence ofClientmaterials; warranties relating toClientmaterials.
Intellectual Property Rights : assignment of intellectual property rights in deliverables; licence to use deliverables; mixed assignment and licence of rights; licensing of third party materials; waiver of moral rights in deliverables; further assurance (intellectual property).- Charges: obligation to pay charges; time-base charges limitations; amounts inclusive or exclusive of VAT; variation of charges.
- Payments: issue of invoices; time for payment of charges following invoice; payment methods; interest on late payments.
- Consultantconfidentiality obligations:Consultantconfidentiality undertaking; disclosure of confidential information byConsultantto certain persons; exceptions toConsultantconfidentiality obligations; disclosures ofClientconfidential information mandated by law etc;Consultantto stop using confidential information upon termination;Consultantto delete confidential information following termination;Consultantconfidentiality obligations after termination.
- Data protection: compliance with data protection laws; warranty of Client's right to disclose personal data (GDPR); details of personal data processed bythe Consultant(GDPR); purposes of processing of personal data bythe Consultant(GDPR); duration of personal data processing byConsultant(GDPR); personal data processed byConsultanton instructions (GDPR); authorised international transfers of personal data (GDPR); informingClientof illegal instructions (GDPR); personal data processed byConsultantas required by law (GDPR); confidentiality obligations onConsultantpersons processing personal data (GDPR); security of personal data processed byConsultant(GDPR); appointment of sub-processor byConsultant(GDPR); authorisation forConsultantto appoint sub-processors (GDPR);Consultantto assist with exercise of data subject rights (GDPR);Consultantto assist with compliance (GDPR); obligation to notifyClientof personal data breach (GDPR);Consultantto provide data protection compliance information (GDPR); deletion of personal data byConsultant(GDPR);Consultantto allow audit (GDPR); changes to data protection law.
- Warranties: first party general warranties; Clientwarranty of authority; exclusion of implied warranties and representations.
- Indemnity: first party indemnifies second party upon breach (deliverables); conditions upon first party indemnity; limitations of liability vs indemnities.
- Limitations and exclusions of liability: caveats to limits of liability; interpretation of limits of liability; no liability for force majeure; no liability for loss of profits; no liability for loss of revenue; no liability for loss of use; no liability for loss of opportunities; no liability for loss of data or software; no liability for consequential loss; per event liability cap upon services contract; aggregate liability cap upon services contract.
Force Majeure Event : obligations suspended for force majeure; force majeure notification and information; mitigation of effects of force majeure.- Termination: termination without cause (optionally asymmetric); termination by either party without cause; termination upon breach; termination upon insolvency; termination upon non-payment; rights of termination supplemental or exclusive.
- Effects of termination: surviving provisions upon termination; termination does not affect accrued rights.
- Status of Consultant: first party is independent contractor not employee; no redundancy or compensation.
- Notices: methods and deemed receipt of contractual notices; contact details for contractual notices; substitute contact details for notices.
- Subcontracting: no subcontracting without consent; subcontracting permitted; first party responsible for subcontracted obligations.
- Assignment: assignment by first party; assignment by second party.
- No waivers: no unwritten waivers of breach; no continuing waiver.
- Severability: severability of whole; severability of parts.
- Third party rights: third party rights: benefit; third party rights: exercise of rights.
- Variation: variation in writing and signed.
- Entire agreement: entire agreement: documents; no misrepresentation; section subject to caveats to limits of liability.
- Law and jurisdiction: governing law; jurisdiction.
- Interpretation: statutory references; section headings not affecting interpretation; calendar month meaning; no ejusdem generis.
SCHEDULE 1 (
- Specification of
Services : specification of services prompt. - Specification of
Deliverables : specification of deliverables prompt. - Timetable: timetable prompt.
: second party materials prompt.ClientMaterials- Financial provisions: financial provisions prompt.
SCHEDULE 2 (DATA PROCESSING INFORMATION)
- Categories of data subject: prompt for categories of data subject.
- Types of
Personal Data : prompt for types of personal data. - Purposes of processing: prompt for personal data processing purposes.
- Security measures for
Personal Data : prompt for security measures for personal data. - Sub-processors of Personal Data: prompt for identifying sub-processors of personal data.







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