On Tuesday 11 March 25 I will be giving a 2-hour seminar on the Fundamentals of Contracts for Lawyers and Legal Professionals at the Madrid Bar Association. This will be an initial introduction, and the topics we’ll discuss include:

• Basic Contract Terminology
• Step-by-step Through the Life of a Contract (basic contract theory)
• Contract Terminology Pitfalls (“trampas”)
• Beware! Most contracts are NOT written in plain English (examples of what to look out for)
• Structure of English-language Contracts
• 27 (!) Standard Contract Clauses

The session is sponsored by Fernando Cuñado (Traducción Jurídica) and will be presented by Mercedes Carmona Mariscal, Co-chair of the ICAM’s Corporate Law section.

Time: 16:00-18:00

Place: Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Madrid

c/Serrano 9 (Madrid)

You can sign up to attend in person or remotely here

And for all attendees, here is a “handout” of the basic contract vocabulary that we will be discussing:

Basic Contract Terminology (with possible Spanish translations)

To start you off compiling your own personal bilingual glossary of contract terminology, here are some of the terms and expressions that we will be discussing during our survey of the Fundamentals of Contracts. They are listed in thematic rather than alphabetical order, because it’s easier to learn them that way.

But please note: 1) when rendering common law concepts into Spanish there are very few true “equivalents;” 2) a single term often has more than one possible translation, and 3) you may sometimes have to find a “definitional translation” when there is no similar concept in Spanish law.

to make an offer (hacer una oferta)

offeror (oferente)

offeree (destinatario de la oferta)

to accept/reject an offer (aceptar/rechazar una oferta)

to revoke an offer (revocar una oferta)

to make a counteroffer (hacer una contraoferta)

contract; agreement (contrato)

to draft a contract; to draw up a contract (redactar un contrato)

(a first/rough/final) draft of a contract (borrador de un contrato)

to negotiate a contract (negociar un contrato)

to bargain (negociar)

to make a deal (hacer un trato)

to reach an agreement (alcanzar un acuerdo)

to enter into a contract (celebrar un contrato)

“meeting of the minds” (“acuerdo de voluntades”)

contractual capacity; capacity to contract (capacidad contractual)

lack of capacity (falta de capacidad)

incompetence (incapacidad)

person adjudicated incompetent (incapaz; persona judicialmente incapacitada)

adjudication of incompetence (declaración judicial de incapacidad)

minor; infant; child (menor de edad)

minority; infancy (minoría de edad)

age of majority (mayoría de edad)

consideration (contraprestaciones que deben dar las partes para que un contrato sea válido)

“quid pro quo” (“algo por algo”)

precontract (precontrato)

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); Letter of Intent (LoI) (“acuerdo de intenciones”)

Non-disclosure Agreement (acuerdo de confidencialidad)

contracting parties; parties to a contract (las partes contractuales; las partes del contrato)

to execute/sign a contract (firmar un contrato)

execution copy (ejemplar del contrato, listo para la firma)

the undersigned (el abajo firmante)

a valid contract (contrato válido)

a binding contract (to be binding on/upon the parties) (contrato que obliga a las partes; contrato de obligado cumplimiento)

to be bound by (an obligation, contract, etc.)

a void contract (contrato nulo)

a voidable contract (contrato anulable)

an enforceable contract (contrato exigible ante los tribunales)

effective date; date of entry into force (fecha de entrada en vigor)

the subject/subject-matter of a contract (el objeto del contrato)

the term/duration of a contract (plazo/duración del contrato)

the terms/conditions of a contract (condiciones generales del contrato)

to perform a contract (cumplir/ejecutar un contrato)

performance (cumplimiento contractual)

breach of contract (incumplimiento contractual)

material breach (incumplimiento grave)

contract default (incumplimiento contractual)

failure to perform a contract (incumplimiento contractual)

nonperformance of contract (incumplimiento contractual)

the breaching/defaulting party (la parte incumplidora)

the nonbreaching/ nondefaulting party (la parte cumplidora)

the injured/aggrieved party (la parte perjudicada)

to remedy/cure a breach of contract (subsanar el incumplimiento)

supervening impossibility of performance (imposibilidad sobrevenida de cumplimiento)

remedies for breach of contract (medidas resarcitorias del incumplimiento)

compensation for damages (indemnización de daños y perjuicios)

rescission and restitution (resolución y restitución)

“status quo ante”

specific performance (cumplimiento en natura, cumplimiento forzoso en forma específica, i.e., cumplimiento del contrato en sus exactos términos)

to amend a contract (modificar un contrato)

amendment (modificación)

to terminate a contract (resolver un contrato)

early termination (resolución anticipada)

notice of termination (preaviso de resolución)

to extend a contract (prorrogar un contrato)

to renew a contract (renovar un contrato)

automatic renewal (tácita reconducción)

assignment of contract (assignment of rights/delegation of duties) (cesión de la posición contractual)

assignor (cedente)

assignee (cesionario)

to interpret/construe a contract (interpretar un contrato)

interpretation/construction of contract (interpretación del contrato)