Construction disputes

Our specialist construction lawyers advise on the full range of construction disputes for individuals, businesses and charities. The complexity and value of construction projects mean that they often give rise to disputes that need to be managed and resolved both during the development and long after completion. We provide advice to help you achieve the best outcome by mitigating the effects of any legal issues that arise on your projects and robustly pursuing and defending claims where required.

Whatever the size and nature of the dispute, you can be confident that it will be handled by a dedicated specialist.

We advise owners, employers, developers, contractors, sub-contractors and construction professionals (including architects and surveyors) on disputes arising from both residential and commercial construction projects and developments. Parties to construction contracts are subject to a special legal regime which affects their rights and remedies.

We can help you with:

• claims pursued through adjudications, adjudication enforcement proceedings and claims for declaratory relief
• the terms of construction contracts, including those produced by the Joint Contracts Tribunal and the Institution of Civil Engineers 
• interim payment regime and “smash and grab” adjudications 
• disputes relating to defective, remedial and snagging works
• final account disputes and delay, extension of time and liquidated damages claims 
• professional negligence claims arising from construction projects 
• contractual terminations and repudiation claims
• contractor and employer insolvencies
• retention of title claims 
• insurance disputes arising from construction and development projects

Our specialist team consists of members of the Society of Construction Law and the Technology and Construction Solicitors Association.

We aim to help you avoid disputes or resolve them at an early stage. We work with you to deliver a service tailored to the size and complexity of each matter. As well as pursuing legal rights and remedies, we provide practical legal advice for you to achieve the best commercial outcome possible.

We also recognise that you have wider objectives beyond your immediate dispute. As part of a full-service law firm, we work alongside our colleagues in the wider commercial development and construction group to build long term strategic relationships with our clients. After our initial instruction we often continue to act for developers and contractors on an ongoing basis so that we can advise on construction law issues as and when they arise.

We are prepared to consider alternative forms of funding in appropriate circumstances.

Russell-Cooke is a signatory to the Greener Litigation Pledge.

Here are some comments made about us.

Charges are usually based on our hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements. We’ll provide an initial estimate of your likely legal costs and will update this if your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.

We also have a flexible and innovative approach to litigation funding which enables us to offer, in appropriate cases, a series of funding choices tailored to your particular requirements. For further information please read our commercial litigation funding information page.