Dispute Avoidance & Resolution
I provide technical and strategic support where construction issues have become contentious or are developing towards formal dispute.
Drawing on experience in project delivery, planning, claims and forensic delay analysis, I assist employers, contractors, project teams and legal advisers in establishing the factual and programme position, identifying the matters genuinely in dispute and considering appropriate routes towards resolution.
The emphasis is on bringing structure and technical clarity to the issues at an early stage, before positions become unnecessarily entrenched.
1. Early Review and Dispute Avoidance
Construction disputes rarely arise from a single event. They commonly develop over time through combinations of change, delay, access constraints, programme weakness, incomplete records and increasingly divergent contractual or commercial positions.
Early review can assist in identifying where those differences lie, which matters are supported by the contemporaneous record and whether some or all of the issues can be addressed before a formal dispute develops.
My involvement may include review of programme and project records, identification of key events, preparation of factual chronologies and assessment of the time-related consequences of matters in issue.
Where appropriate, this may also identify improvements in programme governance, record keeping, reporting or issue management that can help prevent further uncertainty or escalation.
2. Clarifying the Technical Issues
Effective resolution depends upon a clear understanding of what happened, why it happened and the significance of the events in dispute.
I review the underlying project information to identify the principal factual and technical issues, including programme logic, critical path development, delay causation, concurrency, mitigation, disruption and the effects of project change.
The purpose is to distinguish matters that can be established from the contemporaneous record from those that remain subject to interpretation or disagreement.
This provides project leadership, commercial teams and legal advisers with a clearer technical basis from which to assess the issues and consider the appropriate next steps.
3. Support for Negotiation and Mediation
Where parties are seeking a negotiated resolution, complex technical issues can make productive commercial discussion difficult.
I provide technical support for negotiations, mediation and other consensual dispute-resolution processes by presenting the relevant project history, programme analysis and supporting evidence in a clear and proportionate form.
Depending upon the circumstances, this may include:
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preparation of factual chronologies and evidence schedules
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programme and delay reviews
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identification of principal areas of technical agreement and disagreement
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preparation of technical position papers
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review of opposing technical positions
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support during commercial negotiations or mediation
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preparation of material for senior management or board-level consideration
The purpose is to ensure that discussions take place with a clear understanding of the factual and technical issues underlying the dispute.
4. Dispute Resolution Routes
Not every construction dispute requires arbitration or litigation.
Depending upon the contract, the nature of the issue and the agreement of the parties, disputes may be addressed through negotiation, mediation, dispute boards, Expert Determination or other agreed procedures.
My advisory involvement will depend upon the particular process and the role for which I am engaged.
Separately from my advisory work, I also accept appointments as an Accredited Expert Determiner. In that role, I do not advise or advocate for either party. I act independently and determine the issue referred to me in accordance with the parties’ agreement and the applicable procedural framework.
Further information on this separate role is available on my Expert Determination page.
5. Working with Legal and Commercial Teams
Construction disputes frequently involve an interaction between technical, contractual, commercial and legal issues.
I work alongside legal advisers, contract specialists, commercial teams and other professional disciplines to ensure that programme, delay and related technical matters are properly understood and supported by the available project evidence.
My role is not to provide legal advice. Where legal interpretation or advocacy is required, that remains a matter for appropriately qualified legal advisers.
This allows the technical and factual issues to be considered alongside the contractual and legal matters addressed by the wider team.
6. Records, Chronology and Technical Evidence
The quality of the project record can have a significant influence on the ability of parties to understand and resolve a dispute.
I use structured review methods to organise programme information, progress records, correspondence and other contemporaneous material into a coherent chronology of relevant events.
This can assist in identifying gaps or inconsistencies in the evidence, testing competing factual positions and establishing the relationship between particular events and programme consequences.
Where a dispute subsequently proceeds into formal proceedings, an organised factual and technical record can also provide a more reliable basis for claims analysis, legal submissions and expert evidence.
7. Scope of Involvement
My involvement may range from a focused technical review of an emerging issue to continuing support during negotiation, mediation or other dispute-resolution procedures.
The nature of that involvement will depend upon the issues in dispute, the stage they have reached and the professional disciplines required.
Any subsequent appointment as an independent Expert Witness or Expert Determiner would be considered separately, taking account of my previous involvement, the nature of the proposed appointment and the applicable requirements concerning independence and conflicts of interest.
Scope of Involvement