Construction, infrastructure and project disputes, handled end to end

The project record is often the dispute

Construction disputes grow out of the contract, the site records, events on the ground, technical questions and the regulatory setting. We work from those facts at every stage: prevention, assessment, arbitration and enforcement.

Delay and extension of time

Critical path, concurrency, employer risk, access, approvals, disruption, acceleration and liquidated damages.

Variations and change

Scope change, authority to instruct, valuation, notice, time effect and disputed entitlement.

Payment and certification

Applications, certificates, withholding, set-off, milestone payments, final accounts and cash-flow disputes.

Defects and performance

Design responsibility, workmanship, specification, testing, fitness for purpose, rectification and latent defects.

Subcontracts and supply chain

Back-to-back obligations, nominations, interface risk, delay allocation and liability across several tiers.

Major projects and concessions

EPC, PPP, concession, project finance, land, permitting, utilities and dependencies on States or State-owned enterprises.

Start with the decision you face

We match each problem to the lightest step that will work, and keep arbitration ready for when you need a binding decision.

Before You Sign

Test how your contract will hold up in a dispute while you can still change it.

Before You Arbitrate

Get a clear view of merits, evidence, quantum and commercial exposure before full proceedings.

Arbitration

A procedure built around your project record, your experts, your timetable and the countries involved.

Before You Enforce

Link your award or right to assets, jurisdictions, security and recovery.

Many disputes start long before the first notice

A prevention review targets the parts of your contract and project systems most likely to cause ambiguity, weak evidence, escalation or trouble with recovery.

Notices

Make notices, time bars, instructions, records and escalation work on site, not just on paper.

Programme and delay records

Keep the baseline, updates, progress, critical path, mitigation and disruption evidence in a clear chronology.

Variation control

Set out who can instruct, how change is valued, what support is needed, who approves and the effect on time.

Payment and certification

Make applications, certification, withholding, set-off, retention and final accounts work clearly.

Design and performance

Separate design responsibility, compliance with the specification, performance criteria, testing and rectification.

Dispute boards and neutrals

If you use one, define its role, escalation route, confidentiality, conflicts for later roles and the move into arbitration.

The documents we work with

• Standard-form and bespoke construction contracts: project administration, notices, variations, delay, payment, testing, defects and dispute escalation.
• Project controls and site records: programmes, progress reports, RFIs, instructions, site diaries, correspondence, payment records and change logs.
• Expert evidence: delay, quantum, engineering, valuation, geotechnical, architectural and specialist technical evidence.
• Subcontracts and interfaces: flow-down obligations, work packages, nominated parties, supply chain, interfaces and responsibility matrices.
• Project finance and concession documents: security, step-in, completion, concession, availability and dealings with government, where relevant.

Who we work with

Each party comes with a different commercial question. Here is where we can help you, whether or not your matter ever reaches arbitration.

Developers and project owners

Delay, variation, design, payment, completion, defects and concession disputes.

Main contractors

Entitlement, records, extension of time, disruption, variations, payment, subcontracts and recovery.

Subcontractors and suppliers

Flow-down obligations, payment, delay allocation, variations, defects and interface risk.

Lenders and investors

Completion, performance, step-in, project security and recovery exposure.

Governments and authorities

Public projects, concessions, variations, delay, termination and dealings with States or State-owned enterprises.

Counsel, experts and neutrals

Procedures shaped around project records, expert disciplines and the commercial need to keep the project moving.

Sector Bench members bring real construction expertise

Sector Bench standing helps you find practitioners with genuine construction experience. It gives no right to arbitral, neutral, expert or other appointments.

Qualification

A relevant qualification in law, engineering, quantity surveying, structures, project controls or a related profession.

Experience

Real experience of projects, contracts, claims, expert work or disputes.

Records

Able to work with programmes, notices, valuations, drawings, correspondence and project-control material.

Technical understanding

A defined construction or infrastructure specialism, not just general commercial experience.

Independence

Able to meet the conflict, disclosure and impartiality rules for any later role.

Procedure

Knows how to manage delay, quantum and technical evidence proportionately in arbitration and other processes.

Managed centrally, with local counsel where needed

Online filing, secure document exchange, video meetings, specialist review and country-by-country guidance all work across borders. Work reserved to local lawyers stays with them.

• Remote delivery: central case management, secure exchange, virtual meetings and specialist sector review, wherever you are.
• Local counsel: advice on local law and representation in court stays with qualified local counsel. We will tell you when you need them.
• Appointment firewall: being a Fellow, sitting on a Sector Bench or the Council, or having worked with UNIONE™ before, gives no right to appointments, referrals, clients or cases.
• Enforcement planning: where assets or the shape of the dispute make recovery important, we look at recognition and enforcement early.

Where are you now?

The real question is rarely just whether to arbitrate. It is what you need to protect, assess or decide today.

Contract or project set-up

The risk can still be designed out, allocated or better documented.

Live dispute or claim

You need an independent view before choosing a process.

Binding decision needed

Your matter is ready for arbitration.

Award or recovery

Recognition, assets, security or where to enforce is now the main issue.