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2026: ARE YOUR CONTRACTS STILL FIT FOR TODAY’S ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENT?
In 2026, many businesses continue to operate on the basis of contracts drafted for a very different economic climate — and which may now be outdated.
Rising costs, pressure on delivery times, renegotiations imposed by certain commercial partners, increasing payment defaults: are your contracts absorbing these shocks, or are they making them worse?
In practice, we often find that disputes do not arise because of a “bad customer” or a “bad supplier”, but because of outdated contractual clauses which have never been reviewed, even though the business, its margins and its risk profile have changed significantly.
The real question is therefore no longer whether your contracts are legally “compliant”, but whether they remain fit for the commercial reality of 2026.
WHEN THE CONTRACT MAKES THE CRISIS WORSE INSTEAD OF CONTAINING IT
Some businesses only discover, once a dispute has arisen, that their contract:
- prevents them from passing on cost increases, even where those increases were foreseeable;
- provides no exit route where a strategic partner becomes unreliable or defaults;
- leaves unresolved grey areas around delays, penalties or recurring late payments.
All of this may have seemed manageable while the relationship was running smoothly.
Nietzsche wrote that the devil is in the detail — “Der Teufel steckt im Detail”.
And he was right.
It is precisely when pressure builds that these “details” create deadlock, translate into financial losses, or give rise to claims for compensation which had not been anticipated.
CONTRACTS OFTEN INHERITED, STANDARD TERMS COPIED, BUT RARELY QUESTIONED
In many organisations, current contractual templates:
- were copied from a previous commercial relationship;
- are the result of clauses being added over the years;
- worse still, may have been produced using unsuitable public AI tools;
- or have not been reviewed despite changes in the business, the market, new technologies or new commercial strategies.
Yet these same documents continue to govern significant revenue streams, sometimes in markets that are entirely different from those for which they were originally drafted.
In other words, they create an illusion of security, while failing — or failing properly — to deal with situations that have now become commonplace.
WHAT A DISPUTE REVEALS
When a dispute arises, a clause that once appeared harmless can suddenly become decisive:
- an ambiguous term relating to delivery times;
- an imprecise reference to liability;
- a generic provision on payment terms.
It is at that moment that one realises the contract was not designed for the very scenario the business is now facing.
At that stage, this is no longer about optimisation. It is about avoidable damage: lost margin, disrupted operations, and a commercial relationship that may be permanently damaged.
2026: THE RIGHT TIME TO REVIEW YOUR CONTRACTS
Most business leaders are fully aware of the importance of their contracts. Yet many postpone reviewing them, either for lack of time or for fear of opening a “Pandora’s box”.
In reality, a review of a few key points is often enough to identify:
- inconsistencies between your internal practices and your written documents;
- clauses that are no longer appropriate in light of your current volumes and risks;
- blind spots that remain invisible until the business is already in a crisis situation.
The aim is not necessarily to rewrite your entire contractual framework. It is to identify where your real areas of vulnerability lie.
HOW WEST AVOCATS CAN ASSIST
At WEST AVOCATS, we intervene precisely at this critical stage: when a business owner or senior executive questions whether the company’s contracts are genuinely aligned with its commercial reality.
In practical terms, we:
- review your most exposed contracts;
- identify the main weaknesses in light of your economic and operational priorities;
- propose targeted and progressive adjustments, designed to secure your commercial relationships without disrupting your business.
Many clients tell us afterwards:
“We thought our contracts were more or less in order. We had not realised how exposed certain provisions left us.”
WHERE DO YOUR CONTRACTS STAND?
You may not have faced a major dispute yet.
But the real question is this: if a significant dispute were to arise tomorrow with a key customer or supplier, would your business be properly protected?
If the answer is not obvious, now is probably the right time to take a closer look at your contracts — before the next dispute becomes too costly.
WEST AVOCATS can assist you with this review in a pragmatic manner, tailored to your business and its commercial priorities.
Thierry Ygouf de Varese
French & Swiss Attorney at Law
