Our construction law team has advised on some of the UK’s most significant construction projects over the years, including infrastructure projects, commercial/residential schemes, town centre redevelopments, urban regeneration schemes and portfolio acquisition/disposal projects.
Clients can tap into our commercial and contractual experience to explore ways to de-risk projects. We can give strategic advice at scheme inception on procurement and institutional expectations. After works commencement, we can offer transactional support. Our skilled contentious lawyers can help to avoid claims and resolve any disputes that may arise.
We also have specialists who can advise on the development of brownfield sites to ensure that necessary remediation can be identified and carried out satisfactorily, and suitably validated. We can help our clients to put in place appropriate appointments for environmental consultants and remediation engineers.
Our advice factors in the challenges typically faced by our clients. These include issues such as skills shortages, material price volatility, the use of digital tools and offsite construction. We listen to our clients’ concerns, preferences and ambitions. We try to identify all related risks, and offer ideas for potential solutions. Our understanding of the market and knowledge of proposed legislative change means we are able to apply a long-term perspective to our support.
We have particular expertise in:
Building agreements - Our team acts for a broad range of clients across the industry, including major developers, financial institutions, employers and contractors. We are familiar with the common commercial requirements of other parties and how these can be implemented in deliverable building agreements. Our team has an in-depth knowledge of all of the well-known standard form contracts and professional appointments (including the JCT suite, NEC, IChemE, FIDIC and PPC 2000).We also draft and negotiate bespoke forms of contractual arrangements where appropriate.
Read our building agreements case study.
Dispute avoidance & resolution - Our specialist construction disputes lawyers advise on all time, money and defects disputes. We offer work with clients to prevent problems escalating into formal proceedings, always looking to achieve the earliest possible resolution. We have experience in all forms of dispute resolution (Technology and Construction Court, arbitration and adjudication).
We have resolved a number of disputes by mediation. Identifying and managing potential problems at an early stage will almost always pay dividends. This can sometimes entail more than just traditional legal advice and involve us in formulating strategies with our clients, reviewing all commercial options and minimising the opportunity for problems to fester. All with a focus on the client’s bottom line.
Read our dispute avoidance and resolution case study.
Construction & infrastructure - We have wide experience in: energy, transport (including roads, rail and ports), regeneration, hotels & leisure, water & utilities and waste management. We advise on standard form contracts and bespoke forms of contractual arrangements specific to infrastructure projects, and can help with the myriad ancillary documents that are typically required, such as collateral warranties, parent company guarantees, performance bonds, retention bonds and variation agreements. Besides construction contracts, the team advises on: framework agreements, remediation strategy & implementation, facilities management, joint venture vehicles, Invitations to Tender (ITTs), procurement routes, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Construction Act obligations, post-project de-briefs and support to real estate and corporate acquisition projects.
Read our construction and infrastructure case study.
Engineering, process & power - We have acted on a wide variety of engineering, process & power projects, in both non-contentious and contentious matters, including in relation to pharmaceuticals, power plants and the food sector. On the non-contentious side, the team has been involved in the drafting and negotiating both standard form contracts (such as IChemE, FIDIC and MF/1) and bespoke contracts, together with ancillary documentation, such as agreements on harbour usage, joint venture agreements and consortium arrangements. Our experience in this field includes numerous biofuels projects and wind energy projects (on and offshore) both in the UK and abroad.
Read our engineering process and power case study.
