Proposals, Fees, Terms and Commercial Expectations · Lesson 3

Surface risks, changes and dependencies

Course overview · 4 min reading + 12 min practice, estimated

Principles and method

Discuss payment events, cancellation, role changes, introductions, duplicate representation and any replacement or rebate arrangements with appropriate legal review. These provisions can vary materially and should not be improvised from a generic template. Record who may authorise changes and how disputes are escalated. Explain operational dependencies such as timely feedback and accurate role information. A clear discussion before work begins is usually more useful than relying on a clause nobody understood. Do not make candidate-facing promises that conflict with the engagement.

Worked example

A client changes the role after a finalist is selected. The parties need to determine how the new scope affects delivery and commercial arrangements under their actual agreement, not assume a universal industry rule applies.

Put it into practice

Create a negotiation checklist with eight questions and mark those requiring legal input.

Use fictional information and keep your work in your own notes.

Compare your approach: self-review guidance

Focus on clarity and scenario testing. Include a cancelled role, duplicate introduction and changed compensation. Do not write definitive legal conclusions from the course example.

Download the course workbook

Sources and further reading

Original Academy teaching and fictional examples. These references provide context, not endorsement. Edition 2026.09; updated 2026-09-24.

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