Dispute resolution and adjudication

We've acted for clients bringing and defending proceedings in the Technology and Construction Court, in arbitration proceedings, and in adjudication. We also have significant experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and expert determination.

We've advised and represented clients in countless adjudications. Our team also acts on enforcement of those decisions in court and has featured in a number of reported cases on the subject. We deal with claims of delay, disruption and loss and expense, along with payment and notice issues and defects of design and workmanship.

We work with a wide cross-section of clients on national and international projects, including government departments, local government, housing associations, building contractors and developers and main contractors and clients across the green energy sector.

Our varied client base means we have extensive experience advising and supporting clients in relation to disputes under all major forms of construction and engineering contracts, including standard form contracts produced by the JCT, NEC, ACA and FIDIC , as well as bespoke agreements.

Our team's in-depth industry knowledge enables us to see disputes in their commercial context and explain critical factors in easily understood terms, breaking down the complexities and formulating strategies for effective resolution.

We support clients with:

• Understanding the nature of the dispute they are facing
• Identifying the appropriate options available and devising the best strategy for dispute resolution
• Understanding associated costs, prospects, and risks
• Working with experts and Counsel to support a client’s claim
• Providing a bespoke and tailored solution to achieve the best outcome

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• Advising an airport on delays, payment and quality issues on a major capital project, threatening to cause substantial disruption to its business. We worked alongside the client’s technical team to address claims and issues in mediation, alongside negotiation of a revised agreement on scope, quality and programme allowing the project to continue to completion.

• Supporting our client in relation to an international building project, which includes claims across three separate jurisdictions involving international arbitration and associated mediation. Assisting our client in prosecuting its claims for technical defects against the designer and the builder, and associated delay damages, working closely with the client team and technical experts, and assisting with live issues in the final account process.

• We represented one of the most respected private housebuilders in the UK in relation to a substantial claim brought in the TCC arising out of a major residential development. There were multiple disputes between the parties related to legally and technically complex issues, including legal interpretation, liability and entitlement, causation and loss. Our team worked seamlessly with technical advisers and external Counsel, successfully settling the dispute prior to trial.