Black Counsel Forum 2023

We are delighted to be Bronze Sponsors of the Black Counsel Forum 2023!

Taking place on the weekend of Saturday 30 September – Sunday 1 October at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, this event empowers us to redefine the legal landscape through inspiring sessions, engaging keynotes and interactive workshops.

Partner Michael Salau will also be speaking at the event on the ‘Associates Track: Interactive Case Study’ panel on the Saturday at 1pm.

For more details on the event please visit the website here.

Construction Week Middle East: Leaders in Construction Summit 2023

We are delighted to be a Bronze sponsor of Construction Week Middle East’s Leaders in Construction Summit 2023.

Taking place in Dubai on 20 September, the Summit aims to bring together industry experts to share their insights on the latest trends and technologies that will help drive net-zero strategy and achieve UAE’s Vision 2031.

Lyndon Richards, Partner in our Dubai office, is speaking at the Summit on the panel ‘Arising opportunities in the GCC construction sector amidst changing regulations by the government’. He will also be joined by other members of the team Claire Miller, Jeremy Russell, Natalie Ledger and Ilham Adan who will be attending the event.

For further details and to register your interest for event, please click on this link.

Special Risks Week – Directors & Officers Seminar

As part of our Special Risks Week commencing 9th October, Partners Nathan Penny-Larter and Ross Baker are hosting an in person seminar where they will consider the landscape of the D&O Insurance market and the types of claims we see as trending over the next 12 months or so.

  • The increase in personal and corporate insolvencies and director disqualification risks
  • ESG-related claims
  • High-profile litigation
  • Concerns over the use of AI
  • Increased focus on personal liability including from changes arising out of the Building Safety Act 2022
  • The growth of the D&O market

If you would like more information on the event or would like to sign up, please email our events team at events@beale-law.com.

Webinar: Russia Sanctions – your questions answered

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, the UK and EU have swiftly imposed waves of sanctions against an increasing number of Russian entities and individuals. This has caused confusion and concern for construction and engineering companies involved in projects with a Russia dimension (in terms of client ID, financing or location). Within the past ten years, Russia has developed into an important market for construction opportunities. Despite that, guidance issued by Government bodies often fails to address the questions which construction and engineering companies have.

Their questions include:

  1. Can we be paid for services provided under a contract with a Russian client?
  2. Do we need to stop performing our contract? Could we be sued for suspension?
  3. Are we still insured for work carried out?
  4. What penalties could we face for breaching the sanctions rules? Are directors and employees at risk?

We know many construction companies feel left in limbo right now. Drawing on our experience of advising on the Russia sanctions rules, this Beale & Co webinar hosted by Paul Henty and Kathryn Willis will explain the application of the sanctions rules to the sector and deal with some of the FAQs which have been put to us by clients since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine.

To download a copy of the slides, please click here.

 

Webinar: A Practical Guide to Adjudication and Case Law Update

The original aim of adjudication was to provide parties to a construction contract with an accessible and efficient method of resolving payment disputes. However, parties have utilised the speed and cost benefits of adjudication for a wider range of disputes related to construction projects.

Although this has led to a broader case load, the focus of the Courts remains that unless clear issues arise from an Adjudicator’s decision, they should be enforced.

Join James Vernon and Jack Swadling for a webinar that provides a brief introduction to the structure of the adjudicative process and discuss considerations for Referring Parties and Responding Parties bringing and defending claims via adjudication.

Topics include:

1. Aims of the adjudication process.
2. Steps to consider when bringing an adjudication for the types of claims: defects, valuation and delay
3. Steps to consider when defending an adjudication including jurisdiction.
4. Recent case law and where this fits in to adjudication process.

To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact James Vernon at j.vernon@beale-law.com and Jack Swadling at s.swadling@beale-law.com.

Please click here for a copy of the slides.

To view a recording of the webinar, please click on the video below.

Webinar: Contractual Considerations in 2021 – a New Landscape?

For construction professionals, the contractual landscape has unfortunately been ‘hardening’ in recent years. In addition, the professional indemnity insurance market has also “hardened”, with cover being limited in areas such as in respect of fire safety, ACMs and combustible materials, amongst others. And then we have the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK’s transition period after Brexit coming to an end on 31 December 2020.

Will Buckby and Robert Read discuss those important contractual considerations that construction professionals should be considering in the current market.

To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact Will Buckby at w.buckby@beale-law.com and Robert Read at r.read@beale-law.com.

Please click here for a copy of the slides.

To view a recording of the webinar, please click on the video below.

Webinar: A Practical Guide to Adjudication

Adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act 2013 is a very accessible and efficient method of resolving payment disputes on construction projects.

Join us on Thursday 4 February 2021 for a webinar that will involve a detailed consideration of Adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act 2013. This webinar will focus on the structure of the adjudicative process and the considerations for Referring Parties and Responding Parties in adjudication.

Topics
In particular, Killian Dorney and Cian O’Gorman will address the following:

• Disputes that can be adjudicated
• How to commence adjudication
• The adjudication procedure and timetable
• Adjudication as a tool for settlement
• Compliance with the Decision
• Costs
• Matters to consider before commencing adjudication

There will also be a live Q&A at the end of the webinar, where our speakers will be able to address questions from their talks.

Please click here to register.

Webinar: Prolongation and Variations in Consultant’s Appointments

Andrew Croft and James Vernon will discuss the thorny issue of delay caused to the provision of consultants’ services by reasons beyond their control. This is a particularly topical point given the impact of COVID-19. In such circumstances, what contractual provisions are needed to allow the consultant recover additional fees and/or loss and expense? In addition, can the consultant be held responsible for the delay?

This session will cover:

  1. Best key risks and challenges for consultants associated with prolongation from an appointment-drafting perspective;
  2. How effective the traditional standard forms are to protecting the consultants’ position and applicable amendments that should be sought;
  3. Clauses to avoid in non-standard form contracts;
  4. Evidence required to recover additional fees and/or loss and expense; and
  5. Practical tips for tackling the issue of prolongation.

To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact James Vernon at j.vernon@beale-law.com or Andrew Croft at a.croft@beale-law.com.

Please click here for a copy of the slides.

To view a recording of the webinar, please click on the video below.

COVID-19 – What does the future look like for construction?

COVID-19 – What does the future look like for construction?

With many construction firms either already back to work or planning an imminent return amidst the current government lockdown, there are a number of issues businesses should be considering to protect their staff, business and their projects in the future.

In this next COVID-19 webinar Partners Antony Smith and Sheena Sood will briefly recap what has happened over the last few weeks and advice given in our previous webinars, before moving on to focus on rebuilding and the future. From a legal/risk management perspective they will cover topics such as remobilisation issues, the importance of communication now more than ever and the longer term impact of COVID-19 on the construction industry.

This webinar will follow the next government announcement due on the 7 May where we expect there to be some guidance on the exit strategy for the country as a whole in relation to COVID-19. We will be drawing on any updated guidance provided during this webinar.

To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact Antony Smith on a.smith@beale-law.com or Sheena Sood s.sood@beale-law.com.

Please click here for a copy of the slides.

To view a recording of the webinar, please click on the video below.