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Our lawyers contribute regularly to industry and legal journals in addition to writing legal briefings, newsletters and case reports for clients and contacts. All of our articles are free to read and download here.
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Heat-related risks and claims in construction
July 2026Takeaways Recent rising temperatures cause concern for building owners and create risks for project design and delivery. Standard industry form contracts were not drafted for heat-related disruption, creating uncertainty around risk allocation and relief entitlements. Parties should review their approach to contracts and operations to mitigate future claims exposure. UK infrastructure was historically built for… Read More >
TCC’s First Section 149 Judgment Signals Wider Cladding Liability
July 2026The Technology and Construction Court has recently handed down its first judgment dealing with the cladding product requirements in section 149 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). This is likely to have significant implications for foreign manufacturers and parent entities involved in the supply of cladding products used on high-rise residential buildings in England.… Read More >
Global Vantage: Vietnam’s Construction Law 2025
July 2026Vietnam has introduced a significant reform of its construction regulatory framework through the introduction of Construction Law No. 135/2025/QH15 (Construction Law 2025), which came into force on 1 July 2026. The legislation replaces the existing construction law regime and forms part of a broader governmental initiative to modernise the administrative process, reduce bureaucracy and facilitate… Read More >
Mind the Gap: AI Efficiency, Human Oversight and the Risks in Between
July 2026As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into professional services, the benefits and the risks are revealing themselves. Initial assumptions of boundless productivity gains are being met with real-world challenges around the quality of output and the reliability of human oversight. AI appears to create visible savings at the point of production; however, the potential… Read More >
When does a Final Statement become a Final Final Statement?
July 2026In Oakland Wantage Care Homes Limited -v- Stepnell Limited [2026] EWHC 1530 (TCC), the Court considered what constituted a Final Statement under a JCT Design & Build Contract. The parties entered into a JCT Design & Build Contract (2016 edition), subject to a bespoke schedule of amendments. The Works on the project were certified as… Read More >
The CMA’s road and rail report: how to stop it gathering dust
July 2026The CMA’s civil engineering market study finds that fragmented, short-term procurement of road and rail infrastructure is leaving potential savings of up to £5bn a year unrealised and makes 19 recommendations for reform. The greatest risk in our view is not rejection, but polite acceptance followed by inertia. The sector has been diagnosed before, from… Read More >
TCC Guide 2026: Key Developments for Building Safety, Procurement and AI
July 2026On 1 July 2026, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary published the Technology and Construction Court Guide 2026. This fourth edition represents the most significant update to TCC practice since 2022 and reflects extensive consultation with judges and court users. While the Guide contains a range of procedural updates, three developments are particularly noteworthy: the introduction… Read More >
Beale & Co advises NIRAS on its acquisition of engineering consultancy IPDS
July 2026Beale & Co has advised international engineering consultant NIRAS on its acquisition of IPDS (Intelligent Project Design Services), a UK-based engineering consultancy providing project engineering design and specialist services across a broad range of process industries, including renewable energy, petrochemical, chemical, and pharmaceutical. IPDS’s core offering spans process, mechanical, civil/structural, and electrical, instrumentation and control… Read More >
Canada’s Data Centre Boom: What the Construction Industry Needs to Know
July 2026The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and digital infrastructure is driving a significant expansion of Canada’s data centre sector. While data centres have historically been a relatively niche asset class within the construction industry, they are quickly becoming one of the most important areas of development across North America. Recent announcements and… Read More >
NEC4 Project Alliance Contract: A New Era for Collaborative Contracting
July 2026The introduction of the NEC4 Project Alliance Contract (PAC) is a significant milestone in the evolution of collaborative contracting within the construction and engineering industries. Developed to replace the NEC4 Alliance Contract (ALC) and, over time, the PPC2000 Project Partnering Contract, PAC brings together the strengths of several well-established alliance models into a single, modern… Read More >