How important is timing?
Well, very.
Ask any comedian. Funny words at the wrong time don't get laughs, but with comic timing they do.
Ask Gordon Brown. Of all the times to make a gaffe, it's in the closing stages of a close election campaign. Without being political, I’m sure Gordon Brown and his party would admit that it may have been better timing to have made a gaffe eight days after an election rather than eight days before.
Ask me or anyone else who attended a recent event at which Justin Webb, the leading BBC political journalist, spoke. The event had been organized a long time before, but what great timing for it to have taken place just over a week before the election.
And what even better timing to have been less than 24 hours before Gordon Brown's infamous Gillian Duffy encounter. Mr. Webb talked about how surprised he was that there had not yet been a major gaffe; for example when a camera or microphone continues to pick things up after an interview has ended. Well, such prophetic predictions can’t be much better timed than that. If he'd have said it 10 years ago, though, it would have had less effect. I'll certainly now be listening out again for whatever Mr. Webb tells us from now on. But will he get it right every time?
For professional services firms like MAB, timing is important, because we know how critical timing is to our clients.
And when clients are in a contract, timing can be crucial too. The contract may say "time is of the essence". But what does that mean? That time is important? No. It’s more than that. It means that even if the contract has been going for five years and you are just one second late, the other party could terminate the contract immediately for your fault. A lot of lay people don't realize those huge implications. Many people also don't appreciate the meanings given by courts to other expressions that they may think have normal, everyday meanings. For example, "best endeavors" means more than just doing your best, and could put your business in jeopardy. "Including" is often used, but unless it says "without limitation" the phrase may be interpreted in a restrictive way rather than just by way of examples.
As to timing in contracts, it's not just about performing the contract. It's also about getting notices right. If you don't send a notice on the right date and purport to terminate a contract earlier than you should otherwise have done, you may be in fundamental breach of contract yourself, even if the other party had originally been at fault. You could be sued yourself when you were the wronged party – all because you got the timing wrong.
As to timing when consulting with your lawyer, getting him or her involved as early as possible is generally a good idea, whether that's for entering a contract, conducting yourself in a contract or getting out of one. You can always choose not to use your lawyer for everything, but the earlier the better because at least you're then aware of the risks and can take a reasoned decision. I know from experience, because I’ve seen what can happen when lawyers aren’t involved until it’s too late to rescue the position.
