header-logo header-logo

Dodgeball

29 May 2015 / Martin Burns
Issue: 7654 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Profession , ADR
printer mail-detail

Don’t resolve disputes, avoid them, says Martin Burns

Transport for London (TfL) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have developed a practical conflict avoidance and early intervention procedure for construction and engineering contracts, which is designed to save money and preserve commercial relationships.

Disputes on major construction and engineering projects can cause immense harm to long term relations between employers and contractors.

Resolving a dispute is more difficult when a difference of opinion between an employer and contractor is not addressed early. In such circumstances parties frequently descend into the trenches. Their views become rigid and, in many cases, parties become so manifestly inflexible that meaningful dialogue is almost impossible.

Traditional methods for resolving disputes can be very expensive and inordinately slow. The commercial and human consequences of litigation, arbitration and adjudication can often be intolerable. This is usually the case even when parties manage to settle their differences before a judgment; award or decision has been given on a dispute.

Avoidance v resolution

In respect of major infrastructure projects, particularly those which

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll