Run a contract handover meeting with the right attendees, agenda and timing before performance starts.
Law & Contract Management
Contract Handover Meetings and Obligation Registers After Signature
Learn to run contract handover meetings and build obligation registers that turn a signed contract into obligations someone actually owns and tracks.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
A contract that took months to negotiate is often handed to the team that must perform it with nothing more than a signed PDF and a shared folder, so obligations get missed, renewal notice windows pass unnoticed, and the careful risk allocation the deal team negotiated is never actually applied in practice. This course closes that gap between signature and delivery. Participants learn to run a structured handover meeting, with the right attendees, agenda and timing, and to produce a plain-language contract summary that translates legal terms into the actions an operational team must actually take. Sessions cover building an obligation register directly from the signed contract, recording who owes each obligation, by when, and what evidence will demonstrate it has been met, supported by a RACI where more than one function is involved. The course gives close attention to key date calendars, since missed renewal, termination and price review notices are among the most costly and avoidable failures in contract management, and works through calculating notice windows and serving notices correctly. The final sessions cover keeping the register current as the contract is varied, handing it over cleanly between contract owners, and feeding lessons back to the negotiation and drafting teams.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Produce a plain-language contract summary that translates legal terms into operational actions.
Build an obligation register that records who owes each obligation, by when, and what evidence is required.
Assign named owners and a RACI for obligations that require input from more than one function.
Build a master key date calendar with reminders that reach the right owner before each deadline.
Calculate notice windows and serve renewal, termination or price review notices correctly.
Hand over the obligation register between contract owners and feed lessons back to drafting teams.
Who Should Attend
Contract managers responsible for a portfolio of agreements after signature.
Operations and service delivery leads who perform contracts they did not negotiate.
In-house counsel handing signed contracts over to commercial or operational teams.
Procurement and vendor management staff tracking supplier obligations and renewal dates.
Legal operations professionals building obligation registers within a contract management system.
Finance and commercial staff monitoring price review, renewal and termination notice deadlines.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Designing the Contract Handover Meeting
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Handover Meeting Agenda, Attendees and Timing
- Schedule the handover meeting before performance starts so obligations are understood before they fall due.
- Invite the deal lead, legal, finance and the operational owner who will perform the contract day to day.
- Structure an agenda covering commercial terms, key dates, risk allocation and named escalation contacts.
- Confirm that every attendee leaves the meeting knowing which obligations they personally now own.
Session 2Producing a Plain-Language Contract Summary
- Draft a one-page contract summary translating legal terms into the operational actions a delivery team must take.
- Summarise pricing mechanisms, payment terms and volume commitments in language a non-lawyer can apply.
- Flag unusual or heavily negotiated clauses that the operational team would not expect from a standard contract.
- Attach the contract summary to the main agreement so both documents travel together throughout its life.
02Building the Obligation Register
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Extracting Obligations from the Signed Contract
- Read a signed contract clause by clause to extract every obligation owed by either party into a register.
- Record for each obligation who owes it, to whom, by what date, and what performing it actually requires.
- Use contract analysis tools to flag candidate obligations for a human reviewer to confirm, not finalise alone.
- Cross-check the completed register against the contract a second time to confirm none has been missed.
Session 2Assigning Ownership and Evidence Requirements
- Assign a named owner to every obligation in the register, not just a department or function.
- Define what evidence, such as a report or certificate, will demonstrate that an obligation has been met.
- Record the consequence of missing each obligation, including any notice, cure period or penalty that applies.
- Build a RACI for obligations that require input from more than one internal function to complete.
03Key Dates, Deadlines and Renewal Windows
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building a Master Key Date Calendar
- Extract every date-driven term, including milestones, renewals and expiry dates, into one master calendar.
- Set automated reminders that reach the responsible owner well before each key date actually falls due.
- Distinguish dates that are merely informative from dates that trigger a notice period or a loss of rights.
- Reconcile the key date calendar against the obligation register so both tools stay consistent.
Session 2Managing Renewal, Termination and Price Review Notices
- Calculate the exact notice window for renewal, termination or price review from the contract's own wording.
- Decide, well before a notice deadline, whether the organisation intends to renew, renegotiate or terminate.
- Draft and serve a renewal, termination or price review notice in the form and method the contract requires.
- Record confirmation that a served notice was received, so a missed renewal window cannot later be disputed.
04Governance After Handover
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reviewing and Updating the Register Through the Contract Life
- Update the obligation register whenever a variation, amendment or side letter changes an existing obligation.
- Schedule periodic reviews of the register against actual performance to confirm evidence has been collected.
- Audit a sample of obligations to test whether recorded compliance evidence would satisfy an external audit.
- Escalate obligations that are consistently missed so the underlying cause can be fixed, not just recorded.
Session 2Handover Between Contract Owners and Feedback to Drafting Teams
- Hand over the contract summary and obligation register formally when a contract owner leaves their role.
- Brief an incoming contract owner on open issues, disputed obligations and pending notices before transfer.
- Feed back to the negotiation and drafting teams which clauses caused confusion or evidence problems.
- Use handover feedback to revise contract templates and playbooks so the next agreement avoids the same issues.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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