Commercial Protections

One of the things that still surprises me is how often management teams are looking for new ways to improve performance while overlooking value that's already sitting in their contracts.

Not because anyone has negotiated badly, but simply because nobody has had time to look properly.

I've seen businesses with customer agreements that allow annual price increases which have never been exercised because everyone assumed pricing was fixed. I've seen supplier contracts containing service credits that nobody has ever claimed. I've also seen commercial protections negotiated years earlier which had disappeared from the collective memory of the business.

Individually, none of those things transforms performance. Years ago, a business had millions in unclaimed royalties as no one had reviewed licensee agreements in detail. And an equally high number in withheld taxes.

Taken together, they can make a meaningful difference.

It strikes me that we sometimes assume value creation always comes from doing something new. Launching a product. Entering a market. Acquiring a business.

Sometimes it comes from understanding what you've already agreed.
That isn't really a legal observation. It's a commercial one.

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Indira Hann
Fractional General Counsel | Founder, Juriska
Helping businesses make better commercial decisions.