Legal

The immigration white paper: what builders need to know

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Clara Gautrais is a senior associate and Sean Pearce is an immigration paralegal at Fragomen In May, the government outlined a series of proposals in a white paper aimed at reducing net migration and incentivising businesses to recruit domestic talent. The plans affect every major visa route, including work, study,…

The WhatsApp minefield: when texts become contracts

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Alex Delin is a partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell April saw the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) release a judgment in Jaevee Homes Ltd v Fincham [2025] EWHC 942 (TCC), which concerned how WhatsApp communications could constitute a contract between parties to a construction project.  “It would have been…

Why is building safety litigation on the rise?

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Chloe Derrick is a partner at law firm Stewarts The construction sector has been subject to a significant liability shift, following a wholesale review of building regulation and practice after the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. Legal claims for cladding and fire safety losses continue to rise following Grenfell,…

TCC narrows scope for Building Liability Orders

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 Matthew Taylor is a partner and Aidan Steensma is of counsel at law firm CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang A recent Technology and Construction Court (TCC) decision has significantly limited the scope for claimants in building safety cases to make related parties of an original developer or contractor liable for…

JCT 2024: can contracts create a culture of collaboration?

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Shy Jackson is a partner at law firm BCLP It was back in 1994 that Sir Michael Latham stated that a modern form of contract should include a specific duty for all parties to deal fairly with each other, and with their subcontractors, specialists and suppliers, in an atmosphere of…

Site unseen: Is the sector still guilty of modern slavery?

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A decade has passed since the Modern Slavery Act became law. CN examines how far the industry has – or hasn’t – changed There is a popular concept in criminology called routine activity theory. It posits that the ideal environment for criminals to offend is when the opportunity and the…

Dispute boards: the secret to cheaper construction conflict resolution?

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Bill Barton is director of law firm Barton Legal Disputes continue to occur with troubling frequency across the construction industry – and remain extremely expensive. Unsurprisingly, the sector is searching for ways to limit their frequency and cost. “In the lifecycle of a construction project, it’s highly likely that some…

Courts provide some clarity on pay-less notices

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Mark Christie is a partner at Clarke Willmott A recent case this year in the Technology and Construction Court has shed some very welcome light on a fairly obscure part of the Construction Act relating to the correct timing for issuing pay-less notices. “The judge accepted that the argument was…

Standard deviation: Reining in standard contract changes

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Construction leaders are calling on clients to stop placing more risk on contractors by amending standard contracts. CN examines what drives the practice and how it might be reined in It’s not unusual for details of amendments to construction contracts to run to the same 100-page length as the original…

What’s next for professional indemnity after the Grenfell Inquiry?

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Quentin Fox is a partner and head of professional risk at law firm Weightmans The final Grenfell Inquiry report, published in September, marked an end to the seven-year probe into the horrific apartment block fire that took the lives of 72 people on 14 June 2017.  The report and the…