Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/392122
35 When you enter into a consultancy arrangement you are being paid not purely for the services (or occasionally products) which you are supplying and the level of expertise which you bring, but also the risk which you are assuming as part of the consultancy. It can be all too easy to underestimate the risk which you are taking on board. If you are engaged by a bank to provide consultancy services in relation to cryptology for a fee of £10,000 then you might assume that your risk is £10,000. However, if the advice which you give is incorrect and because of it the bank loses millions of pounds then your risk could be in the millions. A s a researcher your reputation is everything. In addition to managing potential financial exposure, it is also important that your reputation is not tarnished through unnecessary disputes. Consultancy Contract Your obligations to your client will be contained in your contract with the client. The contract does not have to be in writing to be binding. If the client says "I will pay you £X to do Y" and you say "yes", then that is a binding contract. As it is not in writing you may have disputes later on as to what was agreed. It always better to have the contract in writing. Just calling a document 'Heads of Terms' does not mean that it will not form a binding contract. If you are putting a proposal to a client or responding to a client's request for services mark all your documents "subject to contract" until you have a document with which you are happy and that contains all of the terms of the contract. If you are dealing with a business they may send you standard terms of business. You do not have to accept these and you probably should not, as they will have been drafted to favour the business and not you. Sometimes businesses have their standard terms printed on the back of their letter-head or cross-refer to them on their letter-head. If you receive these, be clear in your own correspondence to point out that those standard terms do not apply to the arrangements between you, otherwise you might find yourself inadvertently bound by them. Where the contract goes through various iterations make sure that each draft is distinguishable by either a version number or the date printed on it. That way there should be no confusion which document is to be the final binding agreement to be signed. Managing Risk Section 6