Session 1 · Day 1
Laura Belmont
General Counsel · The Suite
Customer Data Use: The Case of the Open Door
ContractsCon 2026 · A How to Contract Event
The most fun you'll ever have learning contracts.
Guaranteed.*
A two-day, in-character murder mystery training event where sophisticated lawyers in ridiculous costumes help you crack the contract provisions you wrestle with every day. This year's case: Death of a Contract.
In-person Philadelphia
Oct 13 & 14, 2026
Convene · 30 S 17th St
Virtual Event
Oct 21 & 22, 2026
12–4:30 ET · Worldwide
*Guaranteed is mere puffery, not a legal warranty. (We had to say it.)
Past attendees from companies like
- Indeed
- Amazon
- Meta
- Chevron
- EY
- Figma
- Mercedes-Benz
- Salesforce
Why attend
Here’s why you’ll want to attend ContractsCon 2026.
100% practical teaching about how to work the contracts you handle all the time
Built around training bursts with tons of practical training in small groups with experienced lawyers
Fun and laughter is built in to every part of the event
Be part of this incredible contract community
The 2026 Case
Death of a Contract.A commercial deal gone terribly, mysteriously wrong.
Lead detective Laura Frederick deputizes attendees to help investigate the case. Every session is a clue. Every clause is a suspect. By the end of day two, you'll know exactly what happened, and you'll have sharpened the contract skills you use every day to keep it from happening to you.
Real provisions, under the microscope
Each session puts actual contract language on trial: clauses you negotiate every week.
Sophisticated training, ridiculous characters
Expert speakers stay in character while teaching the substance. The training is serious; the costumes are not.
Table-by-table investigation
You're deputized into small groups to draft, debate, and crack the case alongside your peers.
A verdict at the finale
Lead detective Laura Frederick reveals who and what drafting failures did the deal in.
The Program
Two days. Ten cases. No fluff.
Practical, to-the-point training on the commercial contract issues you face every day, taught by speakers who happen to be wearing ridiculous costumes.
Tuesday · October 13, 2026
AI in your commercial contracts
Train on the Nuances of Drafting AI Product Agreements
Day one puts an AI platform deal on the table and walks through the provisions that decide whether your client wins or loses when something goes wrong. Five 45-minute mystery sessions, hands-on drafting, and table-group debate on the clauses you actually have to negotiate.
5 sessions · drafting exercises · table discussions
- 01
Customer Data Use
The Case of the Open Door
Your customer's data just became training fuel for someone else's model. We unpack the consent, scoping, and usage-restriction language that decides whether the AI provider can learn from your data, share it, or quietly pass it downstream. You'll leave with the exact phrasing to lock the door without killing the deal.
- 02
Rights to Output & Customization
The Case of the Unclear Uses
Who owns the output? Who owns the fine-tune? And who gets sued when the model spits out something that looks suspiciously like a competitor's IP? We walk through ownership, license-back, and reuse provisions for AI output and customer-specific customizations, so you can tell exactly what your client is buying.
- 03
Data Flow Architecture
The Case of the Invisible Network
Modern AI deals route your data through sub-processors, inference partners, and storage layers you've never heard of. We map the architecture the contract is silently authorizing and translate it into the data-flow, sub-processor, and cross-border transfer language your security team will actually approve.
- 04
Data Breach
The Case of the Missing Protocol
When something goes wrong at 2 a.m., the contract is the playbook. We compare strong and weak breach-notification, cooperation, and remediation clauses, and rebuild them so notice windows, forensics, and cost allocation are not left to goodwill. Bring your worst breach-clause war story.
- 05
AI Agents
The Case of the Autonomous Actor
Agentic AI takes actions, sends emails, and moves money on your behalf, which means your contract has to scope authority, supervision, and liability for an actor that doesn't read its own NDA. We draft the guardrails, audit rights, and human-in-the-loop requirements that keep an agent from going rogue on your dime.
The Suspects
Expert speakers. One detective. Cases to crack.
Experts step into characters from the Neighborhood Watch & Mega deal, train the room on the provision their character helped break, then walk deputies through what went wrong.
Lead Detective
Your Host
Laura Frederick
Founder, How to Contract
Laura deputizes the room on day one, runs the case through both days, and reveals at the end who and what killed the contract. In the real world she's spent her career inside complex commercial deals and built How to Contract to teach what most lawyers never get to learn.
Session 9 · Day 2
Laurie Ehrlich
VP Legal Product Management · Icertis
Indemnification: The Case of the Tangled Systems
Session 2 · Day 1
Kevin Keller
General Counsel · Neurophos
Rights to Output & Customization: The Case of the Unclear Uses
Session 8 · Day 2
Kay Lee
VP, Legal · Curology
Termination & Exit: The Case of the Hostage Data and Costly Escape
Session 6 · Day 2
Krista Lynn
Head of Legal Supply Chain @ Airbus Space and Defense
Project Management: The Case of the Shifting Blame
Session 5 · Day 1
Olga Mack
CEO · TermScout
AI Agents: The Case of the Autonomous Actor
Session 10 · Day 2
Jonathan Perkel
CLO · Esusu
Liability Limits: The Case of the Disappearing Remedies
Day 2 Feature
Adrienne Valencia Garcia
Deputy General Counsel · Somos
Confidentiality: The Case of the Bleeding Boundaries
Session 4 · Day 1
Shannon Yavorsky
Partner · Orrick
Data Breach: The Case of the Missing Protocol
Pick your format
Be in the room, or join from anywhere.
In PersonOct 13 and 14, 2026
Philadelphia · The full experience.
- 10 hours of mystery training over two days
- Small-group drafting at every session
- Meals, snacks, and after-hours mischief
- Networking with peers from across the country
- CLE credit (pending) in nearly every U.S. state
VirtualOct 21 and 22, 2026
Live online · From wherever you are.
- 7 hours of live CLE programming (pending)
- Same expert speakers in character
- Interactive chat and Q&A
- 180 days of on-demand recording access
- Skip the travel, keep the fun
The Verdict
Everyone who attends agrees.There's no training experience like it.
"Wonderful, RELATABLE content that can be used in the day-to-day."
Jenny Zador
General Counsel @ PlanSource
"Who says legal events have to be dull and boring?"
Obi Ikeme
Ikeme Law LLC
"How many times have you been to a conference that you didn't want to leave?"
Amanda Godlewski
Associate General Counsel
"What's a contract?"
A potato
Starch-based commentator
Hear it straight from past attendees.
Jason Rios
Legal @ Harvey
Scott Schaare
Contract Manager at Xymogen
CLE credit
Rack up CLE credit while you negotiate.
We pursue accreditation across all 49 remaining U.S. states plus every Canadian province that requires CPD. Some jurisdictions credit via self-study, attorney application, or reciprocity. Sorry, Hawaii. We're working on you.
- CLE & CPD credit
- Pursuing accreditation in every U.S. state (except Hawaii) and every Canadian province requiring CPD.
- Hours offered
- Up to 10 hours in-person and 7 hours virtual, depending on how your jurisdiction counts.
The Scene of the Crime
Downtown Philadelphia.
ContractsCon 2026 takes over an event space operated by Convene in the heart of Center City, home of the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks, and every Rocky Balboa souvenir you can imagine.
Convene · 30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Each day runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Where to Stay
Featured hotels near the venue.
Our event host, Convene, has negotiated discounted rates at these and other nearby hotels. Book through the Convene hotel map to lock in attendee pricing.
5-minute walk
Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square
Full-service hotel a block off Rittenhouse Square with spacious rooms, an on-site restaurant, and skyline views of Center City.
Book on Convene hotel map
2-minute walk
The Westin Philadelphia
Modern high-rise connected to Liberty Place with signature Heavenly Beds, a 24-hour fitness studio, and an easy stroll to the venue.
Book on Convene hotel map
6-minute walk
Motto by Hilton Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square
Brand-new lifestyle hotel with playful design, micro-luxury rooms, and a lively lobby bar steps from Philly's best dining.
Book on Convene hotel map
Powered by Whova
Your event, in your pocket.
Every attendee gets the Whova event app to browse the agenda, message speakers and peers, join topic boards, and keep the case-cracking going long after the closing remarks.
- Live agenda, speaker bios, and session materials
- Attendee directory and 1:1 messaging
- Community boards for questions, meet-ups, and recommendations
Early-bird pricing
Lock in the best price.
Early-bird rates end July 15. Both tickets include full CLE pursuit, the Whova community app, and 180 days of recordings.
In-Person
Two full days in Philadelphia. The full mystery.
$1,495$1,895
- Oct 13 & 14 · 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET
- Up to 10 hours of CLE / CPD
- Breakfast, lunch & networking receptions
- Table-by-table investigation in costume
- Everything in the Virtual ticket, included
Virtual
Two half-days, live on Zoom, fully interactive.
$395$595
- Oct 21 & 22 · 12 – 4:30 p.m. ET
- Up to 7 hours of CLE / CPD
- Live Q&A with every speaker
- Whova event app + community access
- 180 days of session recordings
The Fine Print