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PCOA Webinar Series: Event Contract Law Part 1
23/06/22 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm AEST
PCOA Webinar Series: Event Contract Law
Revisiting Force Majeure, postponements, cancellations and conversion to virtual/hybrid
Date: Thursday 23 June 2022
Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm AEST
Webinar Overview
Part One of a Two Part Webinar
Since early 2020 our industry has been walloped by multiple intervening forces beyond our control – most notably COVID-19.
Events contracts typically did not contain adequate provisions to deal fairly with these “Force Majeure” events. Contracts did evolve, but inconsistently. The virus also evolved, giving rise to a variety of government responses – lockdowns, bans on meetings, attendance limits for meetings, various protocols for attendance, such as QR codes, mask mandates and social distancing.
COVID-19 was (and may remain) a major driver of conference cancellations and postponements since 2020 – but we should not forget the bushfires, floods, storms and power outages that have also intruded on conference business.
In this session, Renee Bennett from Encanta, PCO Association councillor (WA), an industry-leading PCO, will quiz Matt Crouch, well-known specialist events lawyer, on the concept of force majeure. Matt will then outline what your events contracts should now be saying about such intervening circumstances.
About the Presenters
Matt Crouch
Matt Crouch is well-known as the legal expert in the events sector, having specialised for over 35 years in assisting event-participants of all kinds, particularly PCOs, event managers (including many who operate in-house, within associations) venues and others.
Matt practices as a solicitor, teaches event-law and frequently contributes legal columns in events industry publications. You may have seen him at one of his many presentations at events-industry conferences, webinars and professional development sessions.
Matt’s approach is always to speak plainly, to un-pack legal complexity and provide practical solutions
Renee Bennett
Renee Bennett, Managing Director of Encanta Event Management, has been involved in the business events industry for over 20 years.
Based in Perth, Renee started her journey at Congress West as an Event Coordinator, working her way through all the event management career milestones until appointed Director of Events of EECW in 2007. In 2015 she purchased the company along with a business partner and changed the name to Encanta Event Management.
A devoted mother to Grace and Max, she fully understands the continuing challenge of maintaining a busy work and home life, whilst running a national business and managing a varied and large client portfolio. Thankfully, she is ably supported by a wonderful understanding husband.
