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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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Oil and grease: Third wave of bribery convictions in Petrofac investigation
October 2021Introduction On 4 October, the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) confirmed it had secured the conviction of Petrofac Limited for seven separate counts of failure to prevent bribery between 2011 and 2017[1]. Petrofac, a Jersey-registered energy services company, pled guilty to the charges and was ordered to pay £77 million. This is the third set of… Read More >
Public Procurement: Round-up of three recent judgments
October 2021Introduction and summary The previous three weeks have seen the release of three interesting judgments in relation to public procurement. Two are from the UK and the third is from the General Court of the European Union. There is quite a lot to get through here so we hope readers will forgive the length of… Read More >
John Doyle Construction Ltd v Erith Contractors Ltd – Insolvency and Adjudication continued
October 2021The case of John Doyle Construction Ltd v Erith Contractors Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1452 (07 October 2021) saw the Court of Appeal re-explore the conflict between the adjudication process and insolvency following the Supreme Court decision of Bresco Electrical Services Ltd v Michael J Lonsdale Ltd. Last October, we followed the case of John… Read More >
CONTRACTING FOR NET ZERO
October 2021Both purchasers and suppliers of construction services have an important role to play in achieving net zero objectives. As part of our “Beyond Net Zero” series in the run up to COP26, this article explores the opportunities and challenges for employers and contractors of incorporating provisions designed to promote net zero objectives into construction contracts.… Read More >
Bribery, Debarment and DPAs in the Construction Industry: an update
October 2021What has happened? Why is it relevant? On 17 August 2021, five individuals (including two former senior executives) appeared in court having been charged by the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) with various counts of bribery and money laundering. The charges were brought under S 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010 (the “Act”) and… Read More >
Administration of NMCN plc
October 2021According to press reports, utilities contractor NMCN (formerly North Midland Construction) plc and its subsidiary NMCN Sustainable Solutions Limited, have gone into administration. Administration is the procedure by which a company that is, or is likely to become, insolvent can be reorganised or have its assets realised for the benefit of creditors. The primary aim… Read More >
The Mission is Decarbonising Construction: is the industry ready?
October 2021The National Engineering Policy Centre (“NECP”), which includes the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) and is led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, connects policy makers with critical engineering expertise to inform and respond to policy issues of national importance. The NECP advises the Government to help address the long-term global threat posed by… Read More >
Reports from the courts – October 2021
October 2021This month Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth review a case that involved a post-Grenfell claim for fire defects in a building; and another that clarifies the extent to which liquidated damages are now recoverable upon termination of a contract before completion of the works. This article was first published in Construction Law, October 2021. To… Read More >
A crude or refined approach?: Government disapplies competition law for fuel suppliers
October 2021Background Faced with fuel supply shortages across the country, Secretary of State (“SoS”) for Business Enterprise and Innovation, Kwasi Kwarteng announced on 26 September that the Government had triggered the “Downstream Oil Protocol”, a mechanism which suspends the application of the Competition Act 1998 (“CA 98”) to the fuel supply industry for the purpose of… Read More >
Silent Cyber – the ICAEW’s Response
September 2021In this modern technological world, it comes as no surprise that professional firms, who typically hold significant amounts of client money and personal data, are subject to ever-increasing cyber-risk. This has no doubt been exacerbated post- COVID due to the necessary dependence on technology it has caused. Under traditional professional indemnity (PI) policies, cyber coverage… Read More >