Negotiating Business Agreements via Text, Email, and Other Electronic Communications
Avoiding Inadvertent Contracts; Navigating Issues of Enforceability, Authentication of E-Signatures, and Admissibility
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Commercial Law
- event Date
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will examine trends and case law developments affecting businesses negotiating agreement terms via text, email, messaging, or other forms of electronic communication. The panel will discuss steps counsel should take to avoid inadvertently forming an e-contract and strategies to minimize liability exposure in the event electronic communications are determined to create an enforceable contract. The panel will also examine legal and practical issues regarding the authentication of electronic signatures and the admissibility of electronic communications and e-signatures in breach of contract litigation.
Mr. Farnsworth assists clients with all aspects of business law, from transactions to litigation, mergers and acquisitions, brand and intellectual property rights protection and real estate. He provides a comprehensive approach to matters that includes not just guidance, but practical ideas that align with a client’s business goals. He is fond of saying that "an attorney should foster business, not inhibit it." He brings a common sense, practical and strategic approach to navigating the legal complexities of business. He is an outside general counsel to privately held companies and established non-profits. He focuses on counseling clients through complex intellectual property, computer, internet, privacy, website, data breach, and technology legal issues. He has extensive experience in negotiating, drafting, and litigating technology contracts.
Ms. Anderson works with privately held companies and nonprofits, including a number of technology and software companies, on corporate, IP and employment matters. Previously, Ms. Anderson spent over seven years at a mid-size law firm in its corporate and IP practice groups. As part of her business practice, she has advised clients on acquisitions with aggregate deal values ranging up to $250 million and has managed international trademark portfolios for large privately-held and public companies. Ms. Anderson also regularly teaches seminars on contractual and IP issues.
Emails and text messages are now standard forms of business communication and are frequently how corporate counsel outline, negotiate, and revise the terms and conditions of transactions. In recent years, several cases have centered on whether emailed negotiations are enforceable contracts, with courts across the country coming down on both sides of the issue.
Courts generally consider the circumstances surrounding the electronic communications as well as the language used in the exchanges to determine whether the parties intended to create an electronic contract. This CLE will discuss lessons from prior litigants and helpful suggestions of how to pursue best practices.
The panel will examine trends and case law developments affecting businesses negotiating agreement terms via text, email, messaging, or other forms of electronic communication. The panel will discuss steps counsel should take to avoid inadvertently forming an e-contract and strategies to minimize liability exposure in the event electronic communications are determined to create an enforceable contract. The panel will also examine legal and practical issues regarding the authentication of electronic signatures and the admissibility of electronic communications and e-signatures in breach of contract litigation.
- Current trends and recent case law developments
- Avoiding the inadvertent creation of an electronic contract
- Minimizing liability risks when negotiating via text, email, or other electronic communications
- Legal issues with electronic signatures
- Addressing enforceability, authentication, admissibility in breach of contract disputes
The panel will review these and other noteworthy issues:
- What lessons can business counsel glean from court rulings in cases alleging the creation of electronic contracts based on text messaging and other e-communications?
- What are the legal issues surrounding electronic signatures?
- What enforceability, authentication, and admissibility challenges do counsel face in breach of contract actions involving alleged electronic contracts?
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