Legal services for the construction sector
Our expert team advise on all legal issues affecting those in the construction sector. No matter the size of your project or business, sound practical and pragmatic advice is essential. You’ll benefit from experienced specialist lawyers who understand the commercial realities of construction projects and operating a successful business in the construction sector.
Our construction & engineering solicitors advise on all aspects of setting up project documentation and provide specialist project support to deal with legal issues as they arise and get your project back on track. Should problems occur, you’ll be keen to resolve them quickly and with minimal disruption to your business. Our construction dispute resolution lawyers are expert negotiators and can deal with any formal dispute resolution procedures pro-actively and cost-effectively.
Our construction lawyers work seamlessly with our real estate lawyers in relation to all aspects of residential and commercial developments. The rest of our sector team have considerable experience in advising on all other legal issues businesses operating in the construction sector.
Our construction & engineering sector team is led by Chris Kirby Turner and Chris Whittington.
Our expertise for the construction sector
Our construction sector lawyers use their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the construction industry to help make your projects run smoothly and support the overall success of your business in the sector.
Our specialist experience includes:
- Project documentation
- Project support
- Dispute resolution
- Adjudication
- International project support
- Residential & commercial development
- Real estate
- Planning
- Corporate & commercial
- Employment
Project documentation
We advise on all aspects of project documentation, ideally getting involved as early as possible in the tender process and negotiations.
Where documentation has been prepared by others, we make pragmatic suggestions as to where focused alterations will enhance your position and manage key risks, either up or down the supply chain.
We can assist with funders requirements in respect of collateral warranties and other ancillary documentation and help ensure that obligations are mirrored on appropriate back to back terms throughout the supply chain, to enable effective and proportionate risk management.
Project support
Once a project is underway, we can advise on how the contractual terms in place can most effectively be used to safeguard your position and minimise the risk of a problem escalating into a dispute.
We ensure that you are fully aware of the nature and extent of the obligations under the contract which are commonly misunderstood or misapplied, particularly in relation to interim valuation/ payment disputes and associated rights to suspend works, dealing with variations or delays, or where termination of the contract is contemplated.
Dispute resolution & adjudication
Our construction dispute resolution lawyers are experienced negotiators who employ a wide range of methods to secure the resolution of our disputes, without recourse to formal legal processes.
Our clients see the value of getting us involved early and ensuring that situations are tackled appropriately before they escalate or have knock-on impacts upon other elements of the works.
Our experience as modern dispute resolution lawyers enables us to identify at the outset the most appropriate way of tackling the dispute. Our aim is to contain its scope and minimise its impact on the project or your business. We do this by adopting an entirely bespoke and flexible approach. Whatever the technical issues may be, we recognise that the dynamics of each project and those involved within it will differ significantly each time.
Where an impasse needs to be broken, or a client receives a Referral, we regularly handle adjudications, ranging from interim payment “slam dunk” disputes to complex true value disputes.
We are experienced at dealing with complex multi party disputes involving unusual modes of design failure and negotiation with professional indemnity insurers, and have an extensive network of leading technical experts to assist in resolving such cases.
Residential &
commercial development
Our team have considerable experience of acting for and working with a variety of clients, both landowners and developers, on a range of property development matters. We seek early engagement with clients to ensure their needs and aspirations are clear and to achieve the best outcome for them.
Transactions may involve a range of documentation depending on the size and complexity of specific sites and the nature of the outcome required. We will support you both during the negotiation of a transaction and also once exchange or completion has taken place, supporting you from the initial acquisition stages, through financing, development and onward sale.
Real Estate
Our team deals with all aspects of real estate work. We are experienced in dealing with the drafting and negotiation of all types of general commercial property documentation, ranging from sales and purchase agreements, leases, licences, and all types of secured lending documentation.
We work closely with all clients to understand their corporate or individual requirements in each transaction.
Planning
Our planning lawyers act for developers, builders, sub-contractors, land owners and statutory bodies to achieve the best possible outcome where planning issues arise. They use their breadth of knowledge to offer an extremely well-rounded, jargon-free service.
At any time in a project, planning issues can crop up, causing often unforeseen delays and complications. We are here to help you overcome those hurdles and facilitate the smooth progress of your business.
Corporate & Commercial
Our Corporate & Commercial team advise on all aspects of corporate transactions, with a strong focus on understanding the commercial vision of our clients. This enables us to sit alongside our clients as part of their team of professional advisers so that our legal advice is not provided in isolation. The team pays rigorous attention to detail and does not lose sight of the client’s overall commercial objectives, driving the deal through as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
Employment
Our employment team has a wealth of employment law and HR experience. We deal with all aspects of employment law, from recruitment, through grievances, disciplinary meetings, changing contractual terms to dismissal and offer assistance during any tribunal claims.
We appreciate that employment law issues can be a big distraction when you are trying to run a business and so draw upon our experience to try and resolve matters as cost-effectively as possible.