For developers, early involvement from solicitors can help you to put the right contracts in place to manage your projects effectively and efficiently. We are regularly instructed to draft and prepare standard form contracts such as those from the JCT and NEC suites but also bespoke contracts for all types of projects, from care home to commercial warehouse. We can also draft any ancillary documentation, from standard parent company guarantees to specific side letters to accompany your contracts. We can negotiate with your contractors from a perspective on both sides of the coin.
In conjunction with the wider development teams at Holmes & Hills, such as commercial property and land & development, we can review and negotiate any agreements for lease and funding agreements from a property, planning and construction perspective, giving you a whole-sale overview of your obligations under your agreements with third parties.
If you are a subcontractor or contractor, you may well be issued with a contract that you would like some advice on for risk profiling or a full review to understand your obligations or what should be amended. We are available to review these even in circumstances where you are due to commence on site at short notice. You might also need terms and conditions for your downstream contractors and suppliers (or to issue upstream), which we can also provide, tailored to your needs.
The bread-and-butter of solicitors, and the foundation of any deal, it is important to have a robust suite of documents in place, which can help alleviate the risk of disputes further down the line. From which procurement may suit your deal the best, to which amendments to include, we can advise on the most appropriate course of action. Through the entire lifecycle of the project, from initial planning appointments for consultants to collateral warranties for your stakeholders during the construction phase, Holmes & Hills expert solicitors are there to produce strong, effective documentation, amended on a bespoke basis to meet the specific requirements of your project.
In most circumstances, contractual terms can be negotiated between the parties but you need to understand the contract you are entering into to limit your exposure to risk.
We offer clients contract reviews in three different formats:
These services can be offered on a fixed fee to give you cost certainty. Whilst it may be cliché, prevention is better than cure and the costs incurred in reviewing a contract will be far exceeded if a dispute does arise. Understanding the terms you are entering into allows you peace of mind to operate the contract professionally and without fear of putting yourself in breach.
Even if you have an ad hoc query after a contract has been entered into, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our solicitors who will be happy to assist you on understanding your ongoing obligations.
Holmes & Hills’ team of construction solicitors are based at the firm’s head office – the A12 Commercial Hub – at Junction 25 of the A12, Marks Tey, Colchester. From the firm’s seven offices across Essex and Suffolk, the Construction Team provides services to clients which are based across the whole of the UK in addition to those across East Anglia, the South East and in London.
Holmes & Hills specialist construction solicitors, offer construction law training to companies within the industry, with many companies utilising the training to refresh and update their knowledge.
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