A BOURNEMOUTH solicitor is diversifying into the complex area of construction law - after two decades working as a building subcontractor.
Alan Stanley only decided to retrain as a lawyer nine years ago and became fully qualified in 2022. Starting in family law, Alan quickly expanded into civil litigation and dispute resolution.
But before switching to a legal career in 2016, he spent more than 20 years as a civil engineering subcontractor getting developments of all kinds out of the ground and up to the ground floor level.
Alan 53, of Rawlins Davy Reeves said: “I spent an awful lot of time in muddy holes getting very wet and cold, pouring concrete, installing drains and putting pipes together.”
He is now setting up a construction law department at the firm which has offices in Bournemouth, Poole and Wimborne.
He said: “Unsurprisingly there are a huge number disputes in the building world, for example between clients and contractors or between contractors and subcontractors over issues such as non, late, reduced or withheld payments, quality of work, failure to pass on warranties, negligence and missed deadlines.
“It can be an incredibly complex and contentious area and affects many groups in the sector including builders, developers, surveyors, architects, carpenters, engineers, construction workers to name just a few.”
As well as dealing with litigation when things go wrong Alan says reviewing and drafting contracts up front, explaining pitfalls and risks is also important.
There are a raft of standard construction contracts in the construction sector and understanding the obligations on each party is crucial for any business that trades in the sector.
Construction law is based on the usual laws of contract with added obligations and protections implied in large part by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. This legislation prohibits practices such as ‘pay when paid’ which can be disastrous for small and medium size sub-contractors and provides the right to refer disputes to Adjudication which is much quicker and more cost effective than litigating through the Courts.
Most disputes referred to Adjudication are resolved within a month from commencing. Other commonly adjudicated disputes centre around stage payments, completion and stage deadlines.
The purpose of the legislation is to ensure the construction industry is fluid and fit for purpose. Very large sums of money are often invested into construction contracts and the government of the time considered the issues faced by the industry to be sufficiently serious to warrant the additional protections afforded by the 1996 Act.
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