Do you know how basic contract strategies and clauses can play a major role in minimising unavoidable risks?

Businesses and individuals lose funds every day due to poor contract management strategy and policies. Poorly-negotiated contracts and associated damages sometimes lead to business collapse, not only for large corporations but also small and medium enterprises.

This six-hour course, held over two days, provides useful insights into effective contract finalisation skills and will help you understand the full extent of the associated contractual risks into which you are entering.

When and where?

30 and 31 July 2025, 09:00 to 12:00 SAST

This course will be held remotely, most likely on Zoom - exact details will be sent to registered participants a few days before the course.

Course outline

The course offers a smart mix of theoretical legal principles and practical guidelines into finalising various forms of effective agreements and contracts. These agreements or contracts can be across different industries; from the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) to the telecommunications sectors; from simple goods and services procurement agreements to sophisticated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts in the energy and extractive industries.

The course will provide a useful practical guide for contracts conception, planning, contractor/supplier qualifications and negotiations towards not only managing associated contract risks or saving costs, but also avoiding needless contract disputes over project delays and cost claims.

The course will cover:

  • An overview of contract law
  • Risk assessments prior to opening contract negotiations
  • Use of contract templates
  • Practical implications of specific contractual clauses
  • Red flag clauses in contracts across sectors and industries
  • Managing taxes, indemnities and liabilities
  • Managing contractual milestones and liquidated damages
  • Intellectual property control and confidentiality clauses
  • Boilerplate clause assumptions and risks
  • Proper contract record keeping
  • Dispute resolution

Who will benefit from this course?

The course will be suitable for small and medium scale business owners, corporate executives, attorneys, state counsel, compliance officers, corporate lawyers, government procurement officers, contract analysts and specialists, contracts engineers and risk managers, among others.

Presenter

Sinikiwe Mzezewa is a legal scholar and lecturer specialising in commercial law, with a strong research focus on the socio-legal approaches to contracts. She holds a PhD in Commercial Law and an LLM in International Trade Law from the University of Cape Town, as well as an LLB from the University of Venda. 

She currently lectures law of contract, insolvency and company law at Varsity College, Cape Town. Previously, she held academic positions at the University of Cape Town, where she lectured and convened commercial law courses. 

Beyond academia, Sinikiwe has experience in learning design and content development, having worked with Africa Legal to create structured, interactive legal education materials.

How much?

R2,970 per person

Certificate

A digital certificate of attendance from UCT will be issued to those who attend the full course.

How to sign up

Complete and submit the registration form. You will then be given the payment information. Please note that registrations will not be accepted until payment has been made.

One or two days before the course, we will send you the Zoom link. You will need to register and use a password to enter the virtual classroom.

Registrations close three days before the course starts.

Download the brochure.

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