The Draft Building Safety Bill (“the Draft Bill”) is the government’s long awaited response to the Grenfell fire and Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 review of the building industry, “Building a Safer Future”. The Draft Bill sets out a proposed new regulatory regime for those involved in the design, construction and approval of high rise residential buildings in England. The changes proposed by the government undoubtedly represent the biggest change to the building safety regulatory regime in decades and present new and potentially onerous obligations for those involved in the construction industry.
In this session Joanna Lewis, Nathan Modell and Michael Salau explore the background to the Draft Bill as well as a discussion of the proposed changes and potential new pitfalls for professionals from a practical perspective.
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.
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:
Best key risks and challenges for consultants associated with prolongation from an appointment-drafting perspective;
How effective the traditional standard forms are to protecting the consultants’ position and applicable amendments that should be sought;
Clauses to avoid in non-standard form contracts;
Evidence required to recover additional fees and/or loss and expense; and
Practical tips for tackling the issue of prolongation.
Will Buckby and Ian Masser discuss the ongoing industry challenges surrounding external wall fire safety on buildings over 18m in height. The position in relation to new developments is now relatively clear given the 2018 Building (Amendment) Regulations, which banned the use of combustible materials anywhere on buildings over 18m in height. But what about the significant number of existing buildings that already contain combustible materials?
Construction professionals will be familiar with the Form EWS1 and how this is being promoted as the solution. We at Beale & Co are not so sure. Given the ongoing Government pressure on the construction industry to take the lead in resolving this issue, combined with a recent media campaign to highlight the plight of homeowners who cannot sell, insure or re-mortgage their affected properties means this is a hugely topical issue .
The session covers a history lesson of the changes to UK building regulations post the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, as well as discussing the legal and practical implications of the Form EWS1.
Digital engineering and the tools and processes now available to us are changing the built environment and will alter how the engineering industry operates moving forward. Engineers and architects are increasingly taking the role of technology providers and face new legal issues.
In this webinar, James Hutchinson, a Partner at Beale & Co, examines the difference between traditional professional services and technology services. He focus’ on:
Cloud computing generally
An introduction to Software as a Service (SaaS)
Comparison of professional services v SaaS provision
Look at a typical SaaS contract and SLA terms
IT clauses in professional services contracts
Focus on an example contract
Offer suggestions on the main points when negotiating intellectual property clauses
To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact James Hutchinson at j.hutchinson@beale-law.com
This webinar, held in conjunction with global construction consultancy, WSP, for our clients and contacts in the insurance industry, focuses on the topic of construction and cladding in the Middle East and the UK. The webinar considers a range of issues including recent developments, the regulatory environment, current claims trends and how these might impact insurers.
Key speakers include two façade specialists from WSP. Andy Dean, Head of Façades Middle East and Steve Bosi, Director and Head of Façade Engineering, discuss the implementation of change in the construction industries in the Middle East and how it compares with the UK.
Webinar agenda:
Cladding, construction and building regulatory developments in the Middle East – Andy Dean, Head of Facades Middle East, WSP
Comparison of these developments with the UK – Steve Bosi, Director and Head of Façade Engineering, WSP
Current claims climate and trends in the Middle East – Lyndon Richards, Partner, Beale & Co (Middle East)
Claims climate in the UK and closing thoughts – Peter Sewell, Partner, Beale & Co
The highly anticipated BIM Protocol Second Edition was published last month and Beale & Co were delighted to have joined up with the Construction Industry Council to lead the drafting.
In this webinar, Andrew Croft, Associate at Beale & Co and responsible for drafting the new protocol, explains the key changes that have been made including:
Its closer allignment with PAS 1192-2;
The additional optional provisions in relation to security;
The addition of a collaborative process to resolve inconsistencies in relation to information;
The flexibility in the amended protocol; and
The approach to using the protocol with the JCT suite and NEC4 contracts.
To discuss any of the issues raised in this webinar please contact Andrew (a.croft@beale-law.com) or call us on +44 (0) 20 7469 0400.
Will Buckby (Partner) and Ben Mullard (Associate) of Beale & Co speak about novation, focusing specifically on design and build projects and the issues consultants should consider when negotiating novation agreements.
Design and build projects and the novation of consultants’ appointments from the client to the contractor are increasingly prevalent in the construction sector. This talk provides an introduction to novation and the risks arising, discusses the different approaches to novation (the so called “ab initio” and “switch” forms) and highlights key issues for consultants in novation agreements.
To view a recording of the seminar, please click on the video below.
Historically, the market approach within the construction industry has been to include in professional appointments a contractual obligation relating to a duty of care often equivalent to the common law duty to exercise “reasonable skill and care”.
In more recent times, new suites of standard form agreements, and certainly typical bespoke agreements, are moving away from this approach and adopting an “elevated” duty of care. Bespoke agreements are increasingly introducing fitness for purpose obligations with the obvious consequences for professional indemnity cover. This raises the question: Consultants – Is your duty of care under attack?
In this webinar, Will Buckby and Nadir Hasan will cover the following:
Provide a refresher on the standard of care imposed on professionals under common law;
Discuss the potential implications of drafting which enhances a consultant’s standard of care; this may include policy coverage not responding;
Debate the implications of absolute or strict obligations as well as performance based/fitness for purpose obligations and explain why they should be avoided;
Examine the duty of care obligations in standard form contracts and highlight the changing approach to such appointments, with particular reference to the new suite of standard form appointments such as the FIDIC Consultants Model Services Agreement 3 Edition 2017 (White Book), the ACE Professional Services Agreement 2017 and the IChemE’s Professional Services Contract 2017 (Silver Book), which adopt “enhanced” standard of care drafting;
Assess the approach to duty of care obligations seen typically in client bespoke agreements and set out the risks and mitigation steps in view of these;
Highlight the lessons learned from recent case law, including the case of MT Hojgaard a/s v E.ON Renewables UK Robin Rigg East Ltd [2015], which provides a timely reminder on the perils of imprecise drafting; and
Identify practical tips to avoid the inherent risks with an enhanced duty of care.
Please click here for a copy of the webinar slides.
To view a recording of the webinar, please click on the video below.
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