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Flexibility in Contracting A Special Issue of the Lapland Law Review 2015, Issue 2
Flexible design in contracting may be the next technical evolution that is needed to cope with Information Age levels of complexity and risk. Contract design and management practices that accommodate (or even promote) more flexibility in dealing may be more resilient to inevitable changes. In addition, they may allow innovation and help create new opportunities. Stability remains vital, of course. But greater flexibility is also needed. The key question becomes: How can greater flexibility in contracting be realized while maintaining necessary levels of stability for them to operate legally? In other words, how can better contract design and management simultaneously advance both stability and flexibility? Arguably by three strands of reform coming together: (1) stronger collaborative, or at least more communicative relationships, among the contracting parties and within the organization of each party; (2) far better contract design and information design practices that engage stakeholders, enhance managerial-legal decision-making, and involve communicating contracts differently; and (3) better working relationships between the legal profession and the commercial clients they serve. Our chapter will treat each of those three strands.