Presented by
Falconbury
Drafting International Commercial Agreements in English Training Course
The complete guide to drafting clear and concise commercial agreements in English for international lawyers. Presented by an expert linguist with extensive experience in commercial law.
6-7 March 2025
+ 11-12 November 2025 »
from £999
- Format: Live online
- CPD: 12 hours for your records
- Certificate of completion
- 5-day International Commercial Contracts School
- 4-day International Commercial Contracts School
- Liabilities, Damages and other Contentious Issues in International Commercial Agreements
- Drafting and Negotiating International Agency and Distribution Agreements
- Drafting International Commercial Agreements in English
Course overview
Most international agreements are drafted in the English language, irrespective of the nationality of the contracting parties. Language errors in the text and unclear and inconcise phrasing cause confusion and can ultimately lead to a dispute if they go unnoticed at the contract drafting stage.
Under the careful guidance of the expert trainer, this course will ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of the common pitfalls to be aware of. This highly-practical, intensive two-day event will make sure you’re up to date with the key areas of risk and have a full understanding of the latest drafting techniques in English.
This workshop style programme has been designed to offer a practical solution to your drafting challenges. Throughout the course the expert trainer will use a balanced mix of theory, exercises and discussion alongside sample clauses and case studies to help embed the learning.
There will also be plenty of time during the course to ask your questions and get clarity on contract drafting issues, legal writing technicalities and specific clauses. By enhancing your skills and knowledge you will ensure you protect your organisation against unnecessary risk and be successful in your role.
This training course is part of our Commercial Contracts Training Course collection which has been designed for the in-house lawyer.
Benefits of attending
By attending this highly practical course you will:
- Learn how to recognise drafting inaccuracies and effectively re-draft poorly written clauses
- Draft effective standard clauses that can be used across the organisation to manage exposure to legal risk
- Understand the principles of using plain English within your contract to reduce uncertainty
- Focus on agreement structure, linguistic clarity and accuracy to draft with confidence
- Discover how to avoid over-complex sentences and structures to limit the risk of dispute
- Develop more effective legal writing skills that can be used in all your legal and business communications
The practical exercises will ensure the learning is embedded.
Who should attend?
This programme is relevant whether you work in private practice, in-house or for an institution. The course will enable you to be more effective in oral and written communication and contract drafting, as well as improve your listening and reading skills.
- Lawyers working in industry and government
- Lawyers in banks and financial institutions
- Lawyers in private practice
- Lawyers and corporate executives involved in the drafting of contracts in English
This course will cover:
Welcome and introduction to the course
- A summary of the topics to be covered
Guidelines to clear drafting: Part 1
- Avoiding superfluous language
- Old fashioned language
- Repetition and the importance of a good structure
Redrafting exercises: Part 1
Guidelines to clear drafting: Part 2
- Expressing obligations
- Rights and signposting – “subject to” and “notwithstanding”
- Phrasal verbs in legal English
Redrafting exercises: Part 2
Legal vocabulary
- Key clauses from contracts
- warranties, liquidated damages, term and boilerplate clauses such as severability and notice
- Review of the structure and contents of contracts
- Collocation
Legal vocabulary exercises
Review of the language of legal correspondence
- Examples of standard opening and closing
- Differences between semi-formal and informal register
- Differences between British and American English
Legal correspondence exercise
- Participants will redraft a badly written email in formal British English
Reviewing the guidelines to clear drafting covered in day one – practical exercise
- Participants will apply the principles of clear drafting they have learned in day one to the redrafting of a clause from an international commercial agreement - insurance clause from a manufacturing agreement
- Both individual and group work exercises will be undertaken with results reviewed in a group forum and constructive feedback and guidance supplied by the expert trainer
Grammar
- Prepositions in legal English
Ambiguity exercises
- Participants will learn how to identify ambiguity and redraft sentences so that there is only one appropriate meaning
Review of the structure and contents of contracts practical exercise
- Participants will apply the principles of clear drafting they have learned in day one to the redrafting of a clause from an international commercial agreements - secondary activities clause from an employment agreement
Advanced contract drafting practical exercise: Part 1
- With guidance from the expert trainer, participants will be working in small teams to draft a number of clauses from scratch based on written instructions.
- The clauses will be taken from the following types of agreements: membership agreement of a health club and a commercial lease
Advanced contract drafting practical exercise: Part 2
- With guidance from the expert trainer, participants will be working in small teams to draft an audit clause from a license agreement
Course review and final questions
Alan Simmons
Consultant
Alan Simmons LLB (Hons) in Law with French , LLM in International Human Rights Law, RSA CETEFLA. Alan is a highly experienced trainer of legal English who has been working with international lawyers across the globe for nearly 30 years. He shares his expertise by delivering legal and business skills and language training to lawyers, other professionals and businesspeople to enhance their skills at drafting concise and watertight contract clauses in the English language.
He qualified as a solicitor in England having studied law in the UK, Strasbourg and the European University Institute in Florence and then went on to train as a solicitor in an international law firm. He spent some years practising commercial law in law firms in London in the areas of corporate law, construction law, employment law, intellectual property, advertising and media law.
He is fluent in French and Portuguese and has good written and spoken Spanish, Italian and Albanian. He has completed legal translations from French, Spanish and Portuguese and he also has conversational German, Japanese, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Romanian. His passion for different writing systems in languages means he has learnt to read and write Hindi, Persian, Japanese and Arabic.
He has used his skills and experience to successfully train legal staff from junior counsel to judges in all elements of international commercial law across the world. Alan is a dynamic trainer and applies a highly interactive style to ensure complete understanding and an enjoyable learning experience.
NEW higher discounts for multiple bookings - bring your colleagues to make your training budget go further:
- 30% off the 2nd delegate*
- 40% off the 3rd delegate*
- 50% off the 4th delegate*
Please contact us for pricing if you are interested in booking 5 or more delegates
6-7 March 2025
Live online
09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 14685
- GBP 999 1,199
- EUR 1,439 1,719
- USD 1,647 1,959
Until 30 Jan
- 2 days live online training
- Browser-based, no download usually required
- See presenters and interact with fellow attendees
- Download documentation and certification of completion
- Fair transfer and cancellation policy
Not ready to book yet?
for 7 days, no obligation
11-12 November 2025
Live online
09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 15066
- GBP 999 1,199
- EUR 1,439 1,719
- USD 1,647 1,959
Until 07 Oct
- 2 days live online training
- Browser-based, no download usually required
- See presenters and interact with fellow attendees
- Download documentation and certification of completion
- Fair transfer and cancellation policy
Not ready to book yet?
for 7 days, no obligation
* Early booking discounts may not be combined with other discounts or offers. As such, the discounts for 2nd/3rd/4th delegates are based on the full price; and apply only when booking multiple delegates on the same date.
Run Drafting International Commercial Agreements in English Live online for your team
2 days
Typical duration
Pricing from:
- GBP 800
- Per attendee, based on 10 attendees
- Course tailored to your requirements
- At your choice of location, or online
We can customise this course to your requirements and deliver it on an in-house basis for any number of your staff or colleagues.
Contact our in-house training experts Aleksandra Beer and Yesim Nurko to discuss your requirements:
