This article highlights three recent court cases of importance to the wider construction industry....
The NEC launched its new NEC4 Alliance Contract (“ALC”) in June 2018, a contract which incentivises parties to collaborate more closely. ...
Now we are into the second half of 2018, it is time to look back in overview at the key court decisions that have changed the shape of the adjudication legal landscape....
Many construction disputes involve delay claims. The ‘prevention principle’ operates so that an employer cannot hold a contractor to an agreed completion date if the employer prevented contractor from achieving the date. In such circumstances time becomes at large and the contractor is instead obliged to complete within a reasonable time....
On 5 July 2018, the Government announced its Construction Sector Deal worth £420 million to transform the UK construction industry by improving productivity through greater investment in innovation and skills....
In case you missed our seminar on 20 June 2018 in Reading with BESA (The Building Engineering Services Association), here is our summary of what was said, and the key take-away points from the event. ...
Hannah Mycock-Overell explains how good record-keeping practices will help if disputes later arise...
The proposal for a ‘golden thread’ should be extended to all buildings, argues Hannah Mycock-Overell....
In the UK construction industry, payment is usually made at intervals during a project, often by way of a monthly application by the party seeking payment....
For many people, “construction” conjures images of scaffolding, bricklaying, and piledriving. But there’s always been more to it than that, and new technologies are increasingly disrupting established practices and processes....
Dame Judith Hackitt recently published her report, Building a Safer Future. The report was commissioned by the Government as an independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire last year. ...
In the final of our interview videos from the seminar earlier in the year, Partner and head of the construction team, David Rintoul discusses with Dr Michelle Agha-Hossein of BSRIA the benefits and advantages of working with the ‘soft landings’ framework, along with some of the contractual and commercial risks to consider....
Hannah Mycock-Overell, senior solicitor at Clarkslegal, analyses the legal landscape in light of the recent update to the BIM Protocol and the Winfield-Rock report....
Recently I was asked for my views on the potentials and challenges of BIM in light of the Winfield Rock Report and the new CIC BIM Protocol. This blog summarises some of the key themes....
It is hoped by many that the well-publicised Main Contractor insolvency earlier this year may prove to be a huge catalyst for change in the construction industry. One of the key focus areas is the future of retentions. A private members bill, the Construction (Retention Deposits Scheme) Bill, also known as the “Aldous bill” after Peter Aldous MP, has been picking up traction since its first reading in January 2018. At last count, over 120 MP’s had given the bill their backing. In late April, industry bodies including BESA, representing 355,000 business across the construction industry handed in a petition to 10 Downing St. The petition called for payment and retention reform. Whilst the second reading due on 27 April 2018 was postponed to 15 June 2018, the wording of the bill has now been published. ...
In this video, Hannah Mycock-Overell, Senior Solicitor examines issues surrounding record keeping in construction projects. What records should be kept, and how best to prepare records should a delay or other issue arise to minimise later costs if a dispute occurs. ...
There are many risks in terminating a contract, particularly in construction contracts - get it wrong and you risk being in breach of contract yourself. The two main pitfalls are:...
We are seeing an increased adoption of BIM (Building Information Modelling) in the projects we are advising on across the private sector. Of course, BIM Level 2 became mandatory for use on all UK public sector works in April 2016. The implementation of BIM means that the contract documents for the contractor and through the supply chain and professional consultants will need to consider the specific implications of BIM....
This video looks at the risks surrounding insolvency in the construction supply chain. ...
Construction and engineering Partner, Ruth Wilkinson discusses the key risks on a construction project and how to manage those risks. How can different parties manage their risks in the event of worst-case scenarios? What are the most common risks that have to be dealt with?...