Have you noticed how the existing technology stack providers quietly added an AI layer to their existing offerings? These days, you open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat and a floating panel appears: "Ask questions, get summaries, and find information across your document." You begin drafting an email in Gmail and Gemini offers to finish the sentence for you. You click into a Word document and Copilot is sitting in the toolbar, ready to summarise, rewrite, or generate content from your files.

When contracts need to change - because a business restructures, a project moves from construction to operations, or a new operator steps in - the question we’re most often asked is: “Can’t we just assign the contract?” Understanding the difference between assignment, novation, and deeds of covenant can save time, cost, and serious risk - particularly in long-term, operational or regulated arrangements.

Over the last year, directors and board advisors have told us there is plenty of noise about AI - but far less meaningful guidance that speaks to the realities of the boardroom and would make directors comfortable with the unique risks AI introduces.