LAWBUILD Letter No. 16

Thursday, 30 August 2007

Lawbuild provides construction law expertise to save clients time and money. A personal message from Lawbuild's Principal David Lewis

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The Lawbuild Blog

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to produce The Lawbuild Letter No. 16. The fact is, there hasn’t been very much to write about; and you know what? There still isn’t!

I would, however, urge you to visit The Lawbuild Blog and read my articles published there since the last newsletter. I’m afraid there’s not much law, though.

“Back to school” is an account of a visit I made to Westcliff High School for Boys, some 45 years after I left its precincts in 1961. Remarkably in our times, this institution still provides its pupils with something approximating to the first rate education it delivered in my day.

“Iraq and the Mutiny of the Generals” sits on the borderline between law – in this case, international law - and politics. If you are convinced that the invasion of Iraq was illegal, you may find this article extremely irritating.

Not much to show for seven months, you might say, and I would have to agree with you. I can only hope you will find that quality compensates to some extent for lack of quantity.

With kind regards.

Principal of Lawbuild, solicitors
Editor of the Lawbuild Letter

A glossary of construction law expressions: T is for …

Tender

A prospective contractor’s or subcontractor’s offer (in response to the employer’s invitation to tender) to carry out and complete certain works at the price or rates stated in the tender. The invitation to tender may be addressed to a number of companies, and usually encloses forms for the tenderers to complete, as well as setting out the contract conditions which will apply if the tender is accepted.

A letter accepting a tender may well constitute a legally binding contract, unless the parties take steps to avoid this (e.g. by stating in the letter of acceptance that it is “subject to contract”). In either case the parties usually enter into a formal building contract or subcontract.

Traditional contracting or procurement

Under traditional forms of contract (such as SBC/Q and IC), the works are designed by designers appointed by the employer. There is a fixed price contract between the employer and the main contractor, who employers subcontractors.

In such contracts there is little or no design by the main contractor, except where “contractor’s designed portions” are used.

However, even under traditional contracting the contractor usually designs the temporary works.

Trade contract

In construction management, a contract between an employer and a company (which would normally be a subcontractor), for the design and/or execution of particular elements or trades.

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About Lawbuild

Lawbuild is a specialist construction law practice offering expert advice and services to anyone carrying out or lending money for construction, and to any buyer, seller, landlord or tenant of recently built or refurbished property.

We also enable commercial property solicitors to provide a construction service to their clients, and quantity surveyors to provide a legal service to theirs.

We do development work.  Despite writing occasional articles on litigation, arbitration and adjudication, we do not undertake dispute resolution but will offer to refer callers to various associates who do this work.

Lawbuild’s principal, David Lewis, has been a solicitor since 1969 and has more than 30 years’ experience in contracts and construction law.

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