Fox Williams will hold its annual agentlaw seminar at 6.30pm on Tuesday 6 February 2024 at its offices at 10 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AF. This year the seminar will cover issues for principals and agents, suppliers and distributors in 2024.

Principals and agents – what is reasonable and what is not?

Guest speaker Oliver Segal KC will share his views on the requirement under the Commercial Agents Regulations that the agent comply with the principal’s reasonable instructions; the obligations under the Regulations for the principal to act in good faith towards the agent, and therefore what is reasonable.

Set-off – do your supply and distribution agreements allow you to exercise a right of set-off? And why it is important?

Commercial partner Lucy England will explain why it is important to be aware of set-off and how it can all go wrong if the issue is not properly addressed in your contracts.

Commission – what are an agent’s entitlements following recent court judgments?

Is an agent entitled to receive commission on repeat transactions of the same kind with the same customer? Should the extent of an agent’s entitlement to a post-termination indemnity under the Regulations take account of hypothetical future transactions between the principal and customers following termination of the agency agreement? Commercial associate Millie Pierce will tell you what these judgments mean when it comes to how much is to be paid by principal to agent.

Giving notice of termination – how you can get it wrong when terminating your agency, distribution, or supply agreements and what you need to do to get it right.

There is often confusion between the two main grounds for terminating a contract – contractual termination and termination at common law. Contracts typically confer rights of termination, which specify the circumstances in which one or both parties can terminate the contract. For example, a failure to meet targets. However, under common law, contracts can also be terminated if a repudiatory breach occurs. But several mistakes are commonly made by the party seeking to terminate the contract. Commercial associate Jessica Howard highlights the potholes when giving notice of termination and explains how to avoid them.

Stephen Sidkin, partner and head of the agentlaw team at Fox Williams, will chair the seminar. After the formal presentations, there will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and then network over drinks and canapés. The seminar is free to attend and registration is available here.