Indemnification

Dear Management Doctor:
I am trying to track down any indemnification language that has been found or proven to be generally acceptable from a consultant's standpoint, particularly with regard to environmental services, but not necessarily just to that issue.

I would appreciate any (re)sources you can direct me to or any networking you can help facilitate for me.

Mary Beatie
TPG Consulting, Inc.

Dear Mary,

In my consulting practice, I have given up on this topic. Cities and counties all have standard indemnification language that requires us to indemnify on almost everything. I simply carry a good errors and omissions policy and keep my fingers crossed. In 23 years and 200 contracts I have yet to be sued or had an indemnification clause used. If you are looking for language to use with your private clients, I suggest you look at the city/county clauses and have your attorney work it over.

Good luck and keep out of court.

The Management Doctor