News
Howden appoints Beale and Company to surveyors’ panel
05.08.2010
After recently being appointed as the preferred UK professional indemnity broker to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), specialist Lloyd's ...
The Institution of Structural Engineers announces shortlist for Structural Awards 2010
04.08.2010
The Institution of Structural Engineers has announced the shortlist for the 2010 Structural Awards; the industry's most prestigious awards programme which r...
Bribery Act 2010 Update
26.07.2010
The Ministry of Justice has recently announced that the Bribery Act 2010 ("the Act") will come into force in April 2011. In preparation for this, the Governmen...
Emergency Budget VAT Increase - Cash is King
25.06.2010
In the Government's Emergency Budget on 22 June 2010 it was announced that the standard rate of VAT will increase from 17.5% to 20%. This will take effect f...
Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010
14.06.2010
The new coalition government has halted the passing into law of the new regulations stemming from the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010. Vince Ca...
CIC Design and Build Warranty 2nd Edition
11.06.2010
The CIC has recently published the second edition of their form of collateral warranty to be given to the employer by a consultant employed throughout by a desi...
The RIBA Agreements
02.06.2010
The RIBA have published their new Agreements. Electronic versions will be available from 3 June 2010. These supersede the RIBA Agreements 2007 which will be wit...
The ACE Agreements
13.05.2010
The ACE announced on 10 May 2010 that electronic versions of all the Agreements are now available online, as are the printed versions of the English Agreements ...
Bribery Act receives Royal Assent
19.04.2010
In the " wash-up" before the pre-election recess, the Bribery Act did receive Royal Assent on 9th April 2010. However, as anticipated, it will only come into fo...
New partner joins Beale and Company's Dublin office
13.04.2010
We are pleased to announce that Tara Cosgrove has joined us as a partner in our Dublin office. Tara initially qualified in Ireland and has extensive experience...
Beale and Company present Major Consultant of the Year Award
26.03.2010
The great and the good of the construction industry met today at Claridges for the highly anticipated NCE/ACE Consultants of the Year 2010 Awards cere...
Jarvis PLC in Administration
25.03.2010
Jarvis PLC and certain of its subsidiaries have today been placed into administration and its shares have been suspended from trading. The company stated that f...
Beale and Company Expand Construction Practice
01.02.2010
Beale and Company has announced the appointment of partner Simon Delves from Shadbolt LLP. Simon will join the firm on 1 February 2010 with two Shadbolt associa...
Proposed expansion in UK offshore wind generating capacity
11.01.2010
On Friday, the Crown Estate announced the development partner consortia selected as the Round 3 winners for nine offshore wind power development zones. The Cro...
New rights for tenderers to challenge procurement awards
18.12.2009
On 20 December 2009, the Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (“Regulations”) come into force. The Regulations implement the Remedies Direc...
HSE identifies safety flaws in new nuclear reactor designs
18.12.2009
This article looks at the impact of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) recent report which raised safety concerns in the designs for new nuclear ...
Latest news on Construction Act amendments
18.12.2009
The Local Democracy, Economic Regeneration and Construction Act received the Royal Assent on 12 November. It included the amendment for which the CIC lobbied &n...
Irish Architects’ Registration
17.11.2009
A new online Register of Architects was launched by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland on Monday, 16 November 2009. The Register has been set up pursu...
Nuclear Sites Revealed
10.11.2009
Proposed Nuclear Sites The government yesterday identified 10 sites as suitable for the next generation of nuclear power plants. 9 of the sites identified are ...
Chartered Engineer of the Year Award
09.11.2009
Beale and Company is delighted to co-sponsor the Chartered Engineer of the Year Award for the fifth consecutive year. The awards ceremony, at Engineers Ireland ...
Further changes to Irish Minimum Terms for Solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance
30.10.2009
Last month Stephen Chessher wrote about changes to the Irish Minimum Terms to be introduced from renewal on 1 December 2009. Following those changes,...
Chartered Engineer of the Year Award Shortlist Revealed at Beale and Company Reception
12.10.2009
Representatives from across the construction sector turned out in force on Thursday 8 October to join Beale and Company Solicitors at a reception...
Companies House sets out transitional provisions for commonly filed forms
24.09.2009
The final provisions of the Companies Act 2006 come into force on 1 October 2009. Companies House has just published a useful table on its website setting out t...
OFT Bid-rigging Investigation
22.09.2009
The Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") has today imposed fines totalling £129.5m on 103 construction companies which it found had colluded with competito...
New partner at Beale and Company
01.09.2009
We are delighted to announce the arrival of new partner John Sheils . John joins the firm from Shadbolt LLP where he was a partner specialising in a wide rang...
Dublin Change of Address
27.07.2009
Our Dublin practice is expanding and we are pleased to announce that we are moving to new and larger premises. As from Monday 27 July 2009 our new addres...
Ironman Smith
24.07.2009
Congratulations to Senior Partner, Antony Smith (52), who swapped his suit for his running vest and trainers last week and completed the gruelling Iron Man...
The ACE Agreements 2009
06.07.2009
The ACE have recently published revised Agreements and some new Agreements. Rachel Barnes gives a resume of these and describes which of the Agreements have bee...
Slow Start for Limitation of Liability Agreements
12.06.2009
Beale and Company Solicitors LLP appeared in Accountancy Age recently having provided the first evidence that audit firms are struggling to agree Limitation of ...
Employing migrant workers under the new UK immigration laws
08.06.2009
As the trend towards globalisation and mobility continues, and with the widening of the European Union, immigration and visa requirements are increasingly playi...
Langstane Housing Association Limited -v- Riverside Construction (Aberdeen) Ltd [2009]
01.05.2009
Langstane Housing Association Limited -v- Riverside Construction (Aberdeen) Ltd [2009] CSOH 52 is a recent Scottish decision which has been handed down by the O...
ACE Agreements
29.04.2009
In May the ACE are due to publish revised versions of the main ACE Agreements and produce four new Agreements. Electronic versions will be available later. The...
Puzzling Arithmetic
17.04.2009
Written by Rachel Barnes Published in Building 17 April 2009 The causes of loss and damage are often complex and it is frequently alleged that more than one p...
Legal Review Update
30.03.2009
In our Legal Review of 2008, we referred to some cases where the parties argued over the existence of a contract: Vitpol Building Service v Samen (16.09.08 (TC...
Duties on UK pension fund trustees to pursue claims in the US
17.03.2009
Written by Ed Anderson and Lianne Shing. Two local authority pension schemes have launched legal action in the US against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and...
Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009
05.03.2009
Proposed reductions in fees payable to consultants for services provided to the Irish State. The Emergency Measures Act is one of the responses of the Irish Go...
Lawyers urge financial advisers to keep lobbying the FSA
09.02.2009
In the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) feedback statement published by the FSA in November 2008, the FSA indicated that as part of the RDR it would not consult...
Partnerships and Age Discrimination
12.01.2009
A compulsory retirement clause based on succession planning grounds finds favour with the EAT. In a decision given on 19 December 2008 in the case of Seldon v C...
Construction Act Amendments
07.01.2009
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill had its first debate in the House of Lords on the Wednesday 17 December. The Committee stage thr...
New Guidance on Pre-packaged Sales in Administrations
06.01.2009
On 1 January 2009, the Statement of Insolvency Practice 16(E&W) titled "Pre-packaged sales in administrations" came into effect. This SIP is one of a series...
Amendments to the Construction Act
22.12.2008
The Queen's Speech on 4 December 2008 included proposed legislation to amend the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 ("Act"), affecting t...
House of Lords Health and Safety Decision
10.12.2008
The House of Lords yesterday handed down its decision in R v Chargot and others. The facts are not set out in the opinions in any detail, not surprisingly give...
Queen’s Speech: Amendments to Construction Act
03.12.2008
Legislative amendments affecting the construction industry form part of a Bill announced in today's Queen's Speech. The Bill, officially known as the L...
You've made one tiny mistake Published in Building
21.11.2008
Published in Building 21 November 2008 Rachel Barnes I am constantly warning consultants against taking on absolute obligations, or indeed any obligation mor...
Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008
19.11.2008
Designers and others who may have responsibility for health and safety would be well advised to take note of the Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 which c...
Farewell to Financial Assistance ... Almost
22.09.2008
Companies involved in acquisitions or looking to restructure should celebrate the imminent demise of the prohibition on financial assistance including the white...
Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd v Mott MacDonald Ltd – Briefing Note
08.09.2008
The recent Galliford Try v Mott MacDonald judgment (17 July 2008) decided that Motts had not assumed a duty of care to a contractor who was not their client. Ho...
A Slippery Slope – Insurance Disclosure
28.07.2008
Consultants and their professional indemnity insurers were dismayed last year by the implications of Mr Justice Irwin’s decision to order a party to revea...
Briefing Note on the Section 75 debt and the Pensions Trust Growth
21.07.2008
Introduction The introduction of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) (Amendment) etc Regulations 2008 with effect from 6 April 2008 continue...
Cover Confidential – Insurance Disclosure
17.07.2008
The issue of insurance disclosure became a hot potato last year, with many fearing indemnity limits may have to be routinely revealed after one judge gave the g...
The Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) Regulations 2008
04.06.2008
The Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) Regulations 2008 came into force on 6 April 2008. As a result, strict requirements have been introduced for the managemen...