Schiff Hardin provides comprehensive services to corporate and business clients including a particular emphasis on purchasing/procurement contract review and counseling regarding goods and services required for their ongoing operations. We advise purchasing departments, people in the field and in-house counsel in a wide range of product and service areas.
Our purchasing/procurement services truly differ from those of other law firms practicing in this field. Unlike other firms, our attorneys "work in the trenches" together with our clients' staff to find solutions. As counselors and advisers, we view our role as providing innovative and creative solutions to problems. This allows us to provide excellent legal services that meet the needs of our clients in an efficient and timely manner, ultimately adding value to their businesses.
Our emphasis is on getting the job done properly and as soon as possible. Our attorneys provide important continuity to our clients' projects — they, or someone who works closely with them, see the matter through to conclusion. This is a tangible, value-added service that avoids the delays and inefficiencies of educating new attorneys on the client's needs and on the nuances on the particular project.
This team approach assures continuity of service — from beginning to conclusion — of client matters. Our primary goals are to prevent problems from occurring and to keep any problems that do occur from becoming more serious and quickly solve them.
Our services include:
- Reviewing, revising and preparing purchasing contracts and forms
- Counseling our clients regarding Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) provisions (including Article 2)
- Analyzing risks presented by terms and conditions of forms submitted by vendors and providing advice regarding indemnification, insurance and other risk management strategies
- Reviewing applicable intellectual property or other ownership issues pertaining to the purchase and use of goods and services
- Preparing standard forms and procedures tailored to the client's specific circumstances, including, where appropriate, electronic contracting and electronic data interchange partnership agreements
- Training non-legal client personnel to use standard forms, apply basic principles of contract law and look for danger signals in transactions
- Negotiating and documenting specific transactions (or portions thereof)
- Responding to contract exceptions taken by vendors and other related types of disagreements and disputes, and negotiating settlements
- Providing counsel regarding governmental contracts, including contract negotiation, preparation and compliance
- Litigating or employing alternative dispute resolution if appropriate