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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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Publication of ACE Professional Services Agreement 2017
February 2017The ACE has added a new Professional Services Agreement to its suite of standard forms of Agreement. Tom Pemberton and Nadir Hasan review the key features of the new form. To read the full article, please click on the link below.
Court of Appeal confirms that the Construction Act will not step in following expiry of the dates in a payment schedule
January 2017In our latest article, Tom Pemberton and Andrew Croft discuss the Court of Appeal decision in Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2016] EWCA. This confirmed that after the dates in the agreed payment schedule expired, the Contractor was not entitled to submit further applications for payment. Tom and Andrew consider how… Read More >
NEC Publishes Alliancing Guidance
January 2017Alliancing is being used increasingly on construction and infrastructure projects. The NEC has now published “Guidance on implementing alliancing using NEC3 Contracts”, suggesting how the NEC3 suite of contracts can be used to achieve an alliancing approach. Will Buckby and Andrew Croft comment on this guidance and discuss how useful it will be for those… Read More >
CMA disqualifies director for breach of competition law
January 2017The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has used its powers for the first time under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 to disqualify a director for breach of competition law. The disqualification follows the CMA’s decision that Trod Ltd breached competition law by agreeing with one of its competing online sellers that they would not… Read More >
Accountant’s retainer letters remain of paramount importance!
January 2017On 12 December 2016 Mr Justice Coulson handed down judgment in the High Court in a dispute involving Wilkins Kennedy (now Wilkins Kennedy LLP, “WK”), a UK top 20 firm of accountants, and Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited (“Harlequin”). The case illustrates the importance of a clear retainer letter establishing the scope of the retainer and… Read More >
New Irish High Court rules
December 2016This year two new statutory instruments were introduced which aim to improve the Irish litigation landscape. Michelle Kilroy and Aislinn Cullen discuss how these new instruments will impact litigation law in Ireland. To read the full article, please click on the link below.
New Pre-action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes – Some Practical Tips
December 2016The Master of the Rolls has approved the New Pre-action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes which came into force on 14 November 2016 (the “New Protocol”). Several changes have been introduced into the New Protocol to try to address the trend of protracted and disproportionately expensive protocol periods that were becoming commonplace under the… Read More >
Digital delivery – the legal implications
November 2016Digitising construction will demand a joined up legal, commercial and technical approach, say Andrew Croft and Adam Ifield of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP in this overview of the legal implications of new, digital ways of working. Responsibilities and roles are likely to change quickly, they warn. This article was fist published in November’s edition… Read More >
Reports from the Courts – November 2016
November 2016In our regular roundup of the court cases of most interest to construction, Andrew Croft and Simii Sivapalan of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP focus on a decision highlighting that reservations about an expert’s jurisdiction must be raised at the outset of any dispute; and another highlighting that exclusions to agreements for extensions of time… Read More >
Courts confirm “pay now and argue later” basis of on demand bonds
November 2016A number of recent cases concerning enforcement of “on demand” bonds confirm that they still feature as a requirement of many projects in the UK. In this article, Tom Pemberton highlights that the Courts are extremely reluctant to restrain the calling of such bonds and suggests that there may be scope to negotiate alternative forms… Read More >