Make consequential amendments when amending drafts.

It seems obvious but sometimes the draftsperson forgets or misses out consequential amendments when amending draft documents.

When amending draft agreement, circular or prospectus, you should also make amendments which are consequential to the amendments you are seeking to make.

For example, if you are adding a party to a draft agreement, you may need to make the following consequential amendments (in addition to adding the party on the cover page of the draft agreement):

1. Amend the definition of “Parties” in the draft agreement to include the additional party.

2. Set out the address and contact details for service of notice to the additional party under the notice provision in the draft agreement.

3. Add the additional party as a signatory on the signing page.

Say you are amending the number of shares held by shareholders in a table in a draft prospectus. You need to check whether the amendment affects other numbers and percentages set out in the table.

These tasks seem simple but I have seen oversights (including my own) on various occasions. They require you to understand the amendments you are seeking to make and to pay attention to details.

‘Ctrl F’ on Microsoft Words is a useful function. Use ‘Ctrl F’ to search for relevant key words and make consequential amendments to the documents.

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This post was first posted on Linkedin on 16 March 2022.