Claims · Delay attribution
Arbitration and dispute management
Construction disputes are won on records, not arguments. By the time a matter reaches arbitration, the outcome is largely determined by what was documented while the work was happening.
Two questions in every dispute
Almost every construction dispute reduces to two questions: who caused the delay or the cost, and how much is it worth. The first is a question of attribution, answered from the programme and the contemporaneous record. The second is quantum, answered from measurement and contract rates.
Parties tend to argue the first emotionally and the second not at all. We approach both as technical exercises, which is how a tribunal will approach them.
What we do
- Claim preparation, with supporting delay and quantum analysis
- Claim defence and independent assessment of claims received
- Forensic delay analysis and critical path reconstruction
- Extension of time claims and responses
- Variation and change-order valuation disputes
- Final account disputes and re-measurement
- Documentation and expert support through arbitration
Why records decide the outcome
The strongest position in a construction dispute belongs to whoever kept the better contemporaneous record: dated progress photographs, signed site instructions, approved programme updates, correspondence sent within the notice periods the contract required.
Reconstructing this after the fact is possible but always weaker, and always more expensive. Where we are engaged during construction rather than after a dispute has crystallised, the record management alone usually pays for the appointment.
Before it becomes arbitration
Most disputes are cheaper to settle than to arbitrate, and a well-documented position is what makes settlement possible. We frequently produce the analysis that lets both parties see the likely outcome clearly enough to negotiate — which is a better result than winning slowly.
What a claim needs to succeed
Claims are decided on records, not on merit. A contractor who genuinely lost time will still fail if the delay cannot be traced through a baselined programme, contemporaneous progress records and correspondence that raised the issue when it happened. Equally, a client defending an inflated claim wins on the same evidence.
That is why the work starts with the documents rather than the argument. We establish what the records actually support before advising on position, and where the records are weak we say so early, because the cost of pursuing a claim the evidence will not carry is considerably higher than the cost of knowing that at the outset.
Common questions
Questions we are asked about this.
At what stage should we bring you in?
As early as possible. Once a dispute has crystallised, the available records are fixed and we can only work with what exists. Engaged during construction, we can make sure the records that will matter are actually being kept.
Do you act as an expert witness?
We prepare technical analysis, delay attribution and quantum documentation, and support counsel through proceedings. Formal expert appointment is agreed case by case.
Can you assess a claim a contractor has made against us?
Yes. Independent assessment of contractor claims is a substantial part of this work — establishing which parts are substantiated, which are not, and what the defensible number actually is.
At what point should we involve you?
As soon as the delay or the disagreement is identified, not when the claim arrives. The records that decide the outcome are created during the event and cannot be reconstructed afterwards.
Do you act as an expert witness?
We prepare the delay analysis, quantum assessment and supporting documentation that expert evidence is built on, and we work alongside the legal team appointed to the matter.