Seminars

Managing Contractual Risks in Romania - FIDIC Training Workshop 20 May 2010, Bucharest, Romania

We are pleased to announce the association of Fenwick Elliott with Bucharest firm SDC & Partners, Romania’s first construction law specialist. With our combined resources, our firms have the largest and most highly rated construction law specialist teams in Romania, offering an integrated legal service to international clients operating or investing in the region.

To celebrate the lauch of our association, we held a half-day training workship on FIDIC specifically designed to address issues commonly encountered by international organisations operating in the construction sector in Romania. The event recevied the approval and support of FIDIC. For a copy of the workshop notes please contact skirby [at] fenwickelliott [dot] com.

Fenwick Elliott Seminars

We are pleased to announce the 2010 dates of our series of hosted seminars.  Information regarding the content of each seminar will be posted closer to the event date.  To register your attendance please contact Susan Kirby skirby [at] fenwickelliott [dot] com 0207 421 1986.

Adjudication Update Seminar
29 September 2010
4pm - 6pm
Simpson's in the Strand, London WC2 0EW

Capital Projects in the Education Sector Seminar
18 November 2010
4pm - 6pm
Simpson's in the Strand, London WC2 0EW

Procurement Update Breakfast Seminar
On 17 June 2010, we held our most recent Procurement Update seminar. Chaired by Victoria Russell, the seminar was split into two parts. The first half focused "Good procurement in practice". This was a joint presentation by Alan Saunders, Projects Director at Cyril Sweett and Julie Stagg, who took a practical look at all stages of the procurement process before looking at the practical decisions you need to consider when setting up and managing a framework.

In the second half of our seminar, Jeremy Glover of Fenwick Elliott and Sarah Hannaford QC of Keating Chambers looked at the effect of recent caselaw on challenging the tender process. In particular, they looked at the impact of the new Remedies Directive as well as practical challenges both contracting authorities and potential tenderers face. What steps can you take to avoid breaching the procurement regulations? What information do you need to advance a claim and how might you obtain it? How confidential are the tender documents? What are the time limits for making a claim and what remedies are available to an aggrieved tenderer?

Construction Law Update Seminar 
Over 100 attendees arrived at Simpson's in the Strand on Thursday 22 April 2010 for the annual Fenwick Elliott Construction Law Update seminar chaired by partner Victoria Russell. We were delighted that Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart, the latest Judge to join the Technology & Construction Court, provided us with some interesting comments on recent key cases and the practical use of Part 8.

The focus was also on the resurgence of adjudication and, as is traditional, we providee a comprehensive update of exactly what you need to know about all the recent developments in practice, law and procedure. In particular we looked at the use of Part 8 proceedings, including as an alternative to adjudication. We also considered the role experts play in dispute resolution and provided a round up of recent developments concerning expert evidence in construction disputes. As part of this review, we looked at difficulties that can arise with the various types of delay analysis, especially when the requirements of a particular contract conflict with what might be your preferred approach.

The papers by Ted Lowery entitled "Expert evidence: all my own work", by Toby Randle on "Recent trends in dispute resolution" and Charlene Linneman headed "Adjudication caselaw update" given at the seminar are now available online.

In-House Seminars

Fenwick Elliott provides in-house training seminars on a wide range of construction law topics. We can also offer bespoke seminars tailored to your specific training requirements. Click here to view the most commonly requested seminar topics. If you are interested in Fenwick Elliott providing in-house training to your organisation and would like more information please contact Susan Kirby - skirby [at] fenwickelliott [dot] com - 0207 421 1986

Seminars 2009

Procurement Update Breakfast Seminar 2009
Our Procurement Update Seminar took place at the beginning of November 2009. We examined the effect of the latest developments in case law onprocurement issues and looked ahead to the anticipated impact of the planned Remedies Directive. We provided strategic advice to deal with the ever increasing number of challenges to the tender process from a practical perspective, and gave an overview of the legal framework as well as provided tips as to how you can avoid the potential pitfalls.

Click here to read papers given by David Bebb, entitled "Tendering? Know your contract!" and Jeremy Glover "Challenging the tender process – what is the effect of recent case law?"

Capital Projects in the Education Sector Seminar 2009
This mid November seminar looked at how the Government's criteria for the allocation of capital funding is likely to change as a result of the current economic climate, what opportunities currently exist and what will be the potential prolems during the economic recovery. We also reviewed the most recent legal developments, ranging from the current "hot topics" in procurement to aspects of project risk management and dispute avoidance. We were delighted to welcome as our external speakers Rod Mallinder, recently retired as Secretary of AUDE (Association of University Directors of Estates) and Director of Estate and Facilities Management at the University of Brighton and Laurence Brett, Head of Higher Education at Davis Langdon.

16th Adjudication Update seminar
This took place on 15 October. Our Fenwick Elliott speakers reviewed the lessons that can be learnt from the previous 11 years of adjudication as well as provided an experienced view on how best to deal with the thorny problems which emerge during the adjudication process itself; they also provided valuable information on what you will need to know about the impending adjudication reforms.

Our first external speaker was Michael Shane of Atkin Chambers, a renowned Mediator and Arbitrator, who will examined whether mediation is a viable alternative to adjudication. We were delighted that Lord Justice Jackson, of the Court of Appeal, took time out from finalising his preliminary report into how to control the costs of litigation to attend our seminar and provide us with his "View from the bench".

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FENWICK ELLIOTT'S IN-HOUSE AND HOSTED SEMINARS PLEASE CONTACT SUSAN KIRBY skirby [at] fenwickelliott [dot] com