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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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Solicitors’ Negligence: Failure to Communicate Counsels’ Advice
February 2022In the recent High Court judgment of Mervyn Lambert Plant Ltd & Anor v Knights Solicitors, a solicitor was found not to have acted negligently in passing Counsel’s contrary views on merits to his client, orally rather than in writing. The case is a useful reminder that claimants will not succeed in establishing that a… Read More >
UK sanctions on Russia: What do they mean for construction and engineering businesses?
February 2022Introduction Vladimir Putin announced on 21 January 2022 the Kremlin’s recognition of the two breakaway territories in Eastern Ukraine, along with orders for Russian troops to occupy the two territories in a “peacekeeper” capacity. Many observers view these moves as a precursor to a wider invasion of Ukraine. Western nations promptly announced plans moved swiftly… Read More >
Japanese Knotweed – It’s Knot that Bad
February 2022The flip side of being fortunate enough to own a property, is that, as soon as you do, you become very aware and anxious of the risks and costs associated with protecting it. One such risk, that has traditionally struck fear in the heart of even the most relaxed and carefree of homeowners, is Japanese… Read More >
RICS PII Market: Call for views
February 2022In the context of a hardened insurance market cycle, with surveying firms facing challenges acquiring adequate, appropriate and affordable professional indemnity insurance (PII), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) opened a review of its PII model in the UK. RICS subsequently produced a series of short-term proposals to support regulated firms and medium-term actions… Read More >
War (Exclusions) – what are they good for? The Merck Decision and its interpretation
February 2022Insurance policies typically exclude losses proximately caused by war or “hostile or warlike” action. The reasoning for this is due to Insurers’ inability accurately to assess the risk of such an event and the potentially catastrophic aggregative losses that war might trigger across a wide suite of policies at the same time. The ambit and… Read More >
Global Vantage: Law Commission Announces Review of the Arbitration Act 1996 – What Can We Expect?
February 2022The Law Commission has announced that it will be conducting a review of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”), the principal legislation governing arbitrations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (the “Review”). The Review, which will aim to publish a consultation paper later this year, is tasked with ensuring that the Act is as “clear,… Read More >
Cladding Fire-Safety Claims: Court leniency to amending pleading
February 2022A recent Court of Appeal judgment, regarding a claim in respect of cladding fire-safety issues, allowed the claimant to amend its claim notwithstanding limitation arguments raised by the defendant. The decision indicates that the Courts may adopt a lenient approach to issues of limitation in these types of claims. In Mulalley & Co Ltd v… Read More >
All or Nothing – Singapore Introduces CFAs in Further Sign of Efforts to Become Dispute Resolution’s Number One
February 2022On 12 January 2022, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill (“the Bill”). The Bill, which allows lawyers and their clients to enter into Conditional Fee Agreements (“CFAs”) – otherwise known as ‘no win, no fee’ agreements – in certain proceedings is a further sign of what look to be continuing efforts… Read More >
The Health & Safety Authority Annual Report 2020 – a summary for the construction sector
January 2022INTRODUCTION In 2021 the Health & Safety Authority (“HSA”) published its annual report for 2020 (“the Report”) to Damien English TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail. The HSA has also published its Annual Review of Workplace Injuries, Illness and Fatalities 2019-2020 (“the Review”). The HSA is the Irish statutory body responsible for… Read More >
Reports from the Courts
January 2022Our regular round up of court decisions of most interest to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth who look at a dispute over whether a client had verbally agreed to waive liquidated damages; and a rejection of a claim to strike out an action that confirms the high threshold the courts set for… Read More >