Wednesday, 27 August 2025
*Original Content was created in November 2024
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD hour
Chair
John Steadman, General Manager of Procurement, Spark New Zealand
Contract Clauses Potpourri: Getting the basics right
- Deeds versus agreements: When is it appropriate to choose one or another
- Backgrounds and recitals: Understanding why recitals are included and their impact on the contract
- The importance of clear definitions: How to draft precise definitions and why they are crucial for contract clarity
- Governing law and jurisdiction clauses: Choosing the right governing law and jurisdiction to avoid legal conflicts
- General boilerplate clauses: Understanding and drafting standard boilerplate clauses like entire agreement, notices, assignment and delegation, and severability clauses
Presented by Mat Martin, Senior Associate, Lane Neave
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how to draft and assess key foundational clauses in commercial contracts
- Understand the strategic implications of definitions, governing law, and standard boilerplate provisions
Presenters
Mat Martin, Senior Associate, Lane NeaveMat is a specialist civil and commercial litigation lawyer based in Auckland. He has acted in a range of civil and commercial disputes, including in relation to insolvency, construction, contract, shareholder, employment and property-related matters. He has particular experience in dealing with complex litigation, providing accurate and timely advice to clients seeking to resolve difficult issues.
John Steadman, General Manager of Procurement, Spark New Zealand
John has 20 years’ experience in law. He spent 8 years in private practice in a variety of commercial and litigation roles before moving in-house to support the ICT business arm of Telecom New Zealand. John spent 8 years working for the Telecom/Spark in-house legal team in a variety of roles before moving into a commercial role for three years as the Head of Strategic Projects where he was responsible for the negotiation and contracting of $2b+ 4G network contracts, online media platforms Lightbox and Spark Sport and ran the 5G network negotiations. He is an experienced technology and telecommunications lawyer and was working for the Chorus legal team supporting the roll out of fibre across New Zealand before returning to Spark. John also regularly speaks and writes on legal topics. He has taught negotiation for the College of Law since 2011 and has studied at the Harvard Negotiation Institute.
