Dispute Resolution

Most construction disputes are lost long before the hearing — in the records that were never kept, the notices that were never served, and the position that was never tested before it was committed to.

We act on both sides of that divide. We prepare and present parties’ cases in adjudication, mediation and arbitration, and we are also appointed independently to evaluate and determine disputes between employers, consultants and contractors. Acting for claimants and respondents alike, and as determiner, is what keeps our assessment of a case realistic.

What we do

• Drafting references to adjudicators and statements of case, and attending preliminary meetings
• Quantum and forensic delay analysis in support of a party’s case
• Independent third-party evaluation and determination of disputed claims
• Expert and arbitration support, including reports prepared to withstand cross-examination
• Realistic assessment of the merits and likely value of a dispute before costs are committed
• Support in reaching amicable settlement, where settlement serves you better than a hearing

How we work

The work is done by the firm’s principal, who holds a Master’s in Construction Law and Arbitration from Robert Gordon University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Arbitration from the College of Estate Management, and who is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He works to the Arbitration Act 1996, the UNCITRAL Model Law, and the arbitration law and civil codes of Oman, the UAE and Sri Lanka, as the seat requires.

Where we are appointed as independent determiner, we do not act for either party and we do not publish who prevailed. That discretion is the point of the appointment.

Where we have done this

As RFICCC

• Kadawatha–Mawaramandiya bridge reconstruction, Sri Lanka. Drafted Reference No. 01 to the Adjudicator for the main contractor, over responsibility for the cost and delay of a high-tension pole relocation, converted it to a Statement of Claim under the Adjudicator’s procedural rules, and attended the preliminary meeting. Settled out of the Dispute Board process. August 2025, and our most recent dispute engagement.

In the chairman’s career

• Guest Palace Complex, Oman — infrastructure roads and external works. Advised the Management Contractor defending an arbitration brought by the works contractor. The Management Contractor succeeded.
• School of Research Science, Dubai. Independent evaluation and determination of multiple disputes between the client and the consultant, and the client and the contractor, together with extension of time evaluation and arbitration support.
• Dubai Hospital Phase 2. Evaluation and determination of the extension of time claim submitted by the contractor.
• Umm Suqeim New Health Centre. Third-party independent evaluation and valuation of completed works.

On the three engagements above where the appointment was as independent determiner, the outcome is deliberately not stated.