The negotiation of a construction management agreement (CMA) for a project of a substantial size can be a long, arduous and costly struggle unless key business and legal terms are resolved before the owner's first draft of the CMA for the specific project is presented to the construction manager (CM) and its counsel for comment.  A good way to streamline this process and save time and legal expense is to start with a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the owner to selected bidders outlining the basic contract terms the owner in anticipating will be included the final CMA. A template form of the CMA should also accompany the RFP and bidders should be instructed to provide high level comments in memo (not redline) form.