23 April 2008

Julie Stagg, in a paper given at the 14th Construction Law Update Seminar, discusses the common problems that can arise with letters of intent and sets out practical tips and advice on how to overcome these difficulties.

23 April 2008

Jeremy Glover, in a paper given at the 14th Construction Law Update Seminar, reviews how a typical English contract treats defects from the viewpoint of a relationship between the employer and the contractor and considers how damages for defects are assessed.

February 2008

Jeremy Glover, in a paper prepared for the MSC in Construction Law and Arbitration course at King’s College, London, discusses issues relevant to international procurement by reference to the FIDIC form of contract and the approach of the World Bank.

6 December 2007

Simon Tolson, in a paper given at the Procurement in Construction Law Conference organised by Butterworths, discusses the various procurement and tendering options available on construction projects. He sets out some of the potential traps for the unwary and provides practical advice on the best ways to avoid those traps. Amongst the issues Simon considers are the difference between a tender and an estimate, problems with traditional tendering processes, good faith in tendering, and the impact of EU legislation.

5 October 2007

Jeremy Glover in a paper given to the FIDIC Contracts Conference 2007, discusses the roles and responsibilities of the Employer under the FIDIC form. In particular, the paper focuses on three issues, employer claims, payment and determination.

5 October 2007

Nicholas Gould in a paper given at the FIDIC Contracts Conference 2007, discusses time bar clauses, with particular reference to Clause 20.1 of the FIDIC form. Are time bar clauses effective in disallowing any claim a contractor may have that might otherwise be legally recognisable?

12 September 2007

Simon Tolson, in a paper given to the IBC Construction Law Summer School held at Queen’s College, Cambridge, analyses the subjects of design risk, responsibility for design, redress when it all goes wrong and the court’s approach to the assessment of damages.  In addition, he considers questions of design liability under the JCT 05, JCT Major Projects Form and NEC3 Contracts.

30 March 2007

Nicholas Gould in a paper given at a conference organised by White Paper entitled “Achieving More For Less In Construction Procurement and Contractor Management” considers the key provisions that are typically included in construction contracts. The paper focuses on the nature of partnering relationships, the types of binding and non-binding agreements that are available and the ways in which the parties might enhance their working relationships.

8 February 2007

Nicholas Gould, in a paper given to the Society of Construction Law Conference in Singapore, provides a summary and overview of the 3 rd edition of the New Engineering Contract.

29 January 2007

In the light of evidence that its use is on the up, Simon Tolson summarises and reviews some of the underlying principles of the JCT Major Projects Form. In particular, he considers questions relating to risks, responsibilities and contractor freedom together with novation, extension of time entitlements, practical completion, payment issues, insurance and third-party rights.

January 2007

Nicholas Gould, in a paper prepared for clients, sets out how the NEC form of contract deals with compensation events. The article includes discussion of early warning and notice procedures.

8 November 2006

Nicholas Gould, reviews some of the standard forms and considers some of the basic principles relating to their use in the construction industry. Amongst the issues and contracts considered are the traditional procurement standard forms, the new JCT 2005 suite, the ICE 7 th Edition, the NEC 3 rd edition and the GC/Works contract. Nicholas also considers some of the options available relating to partnering.

10 October 2006

Jeremy Glover, in a paper given for the Academie voor da Rechtspraktijk at the Kasteel Ammersoyen, in the Netherlands, reviews how a typical English contract treats defects from the viewpoint of the relationship between the employer and the contractor, looks at some of the problem caused by limitation and finally considers how damages for defects are assessed.

31 January 2006

In a briefing paper for clients prepared on 31 January 2006, Matthew Needham-Laing discusses the key points that any party should consider when dealing with the issue of novation.

31 January 2006

In a briefing paper for clients prepared on 31 January 2006, Matthew Needham-Laing discusses the key points that any party should consider before signing a letter of intent.

September 2006

Simon Tolson, in a paper given to the IBC Construction Law Summer School which takes place in Cambridge every September, discusses design responsibility under the JCT 05, JCT Major Projects Form and ECC contracts. The aim of the paper is to address design risk responsibility in construction contracts, redress for defective works and the damages seesaw predicated upon the approach of the Courts to the assessment of damages.

1 November 2005

Matthew Needham-Laing, in a paper given at the second Fenwick Elliott seminar, Capital Projects in the Education Sector, explores some of the benefits to both Employer and Contractor of the new JCT suite of contracts.

12 October 2004

Dr Julian Critchlow, in a paper given at the Fenwick Elliott seminar Capital Projects in the Education Sector, explores the relationship between partnering and the contractual structure of a project and provides some examples of successful partnering case histories.

12 October 2004

Matthew Needham-Laing, in a paper given at the Fenwick Elliott seminar Capital Projects in the Education Sector, provides a brief summary of the existing public procurement regulations and introduces the new European directive that will replace them. In doing so, he identifies the new provisions that will alter existing practice and those provisions that are merely for clarification purposes and can be adopted by public authorities.

September 2004

Nicholas Gould, in a paper given to the IBA Conference on "Construction Projects from Conception to Completion" held in Brussels, considers some of the legal issues arising from the execution of a project in relation to delay and disruption. The paper considers the need to prove cause and effect, float, concurrency, dominant cause, proximate cause and apportionment. In addition, the paper discusses change management - one of the key building blocks of the Society of Construction Law's delay and disruption protocol.

26 March 2004

Dr Julian Critchlow in a talk given at the White Paper Conference Company seminar entitled " Making partnering work in social housing projects" explores how partnering can be tied up with a workable contract. In doing so, he discusses the merits of relying solely on the traditional forms of contract, the key features of the partnering contracts (NEC Option X12 and PPC 2000) together with other issues including risk management, the transfer of financial liabilities and potential areas of exposure.

17 November 2003

Dr Julian Critchlow explains how Fenwick Elliott and Pickavance Consulting have jointly created a change management supplement for each of the major standard construction forms. The supplements set out the changes and additions that would have to be made to each contract in order to make them compliant with the Society of Construction Law Protocol for Delay and Disruption. He gave his paper at the Delay and Disruption in Construction Contracts' Conference held by Pickavance Consulting.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
2000

Simon Tolson provides an introduction to health and safety law for those in the construction industry, including a reminder that every participant in the construction process must address health and safety issues. His article appeared in the Construction Law Review 2000 (a supplement to Civil Engineering Surveyor).
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We don’t need a contract, we’re partnering

Julian Critchlow discusses whether partnering arrangements should form part of a formal contract document or should be expressed separately in a non-binding document.
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Main and sub contract arbitration procedures
June 2001

In an article which appeared in the Chartered Institute of Building’s Contact newsletter, Victoria Russell provides a summary of cases involving main and sub contract arbitrations including Lafarge v Shephard, Dredging v Delta and Al Shaya v Retek.

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Collateral warranties: Just the ticket
3 October 1997

Simon Tolson provides a lawyer’s eye view of the background legal issues relating to collateral warranties in a lecture to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He looks at these issues from the viewpoint of the funder, beneficiary and insurer.
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