Managing Legal Risk in Construction (LAWS70441)

Construction industry personnel and their lawyers are increasingly aware of the need to anticipate the legal implications of communication and ‘issue management’ throughout the project life cycle. This subject aims, therefore, to equip industry professionals and lawyers with the skills necessary to manage legal risk during the procurement and delivery phases. Complementing other subjects within our construction law program that examine legal risks and their management, this subject provides practical insights into key aspects of the legal/project interface, including tendering and contract preparation procedures that efficiently ‘document the deal’ and contract administration techniques that minimise disputation.

The subject lecturers are practising lawyers who have substantial expertise and experience in advising during the various phases of a project, enabling students to develop an advanced and critical understanding of this specialised area of law.

Principal topics include:

• Project inception, including project feasibility and financing
• Procurement model selection and alternative contracting models
• An analysis of pre-tender documentation, including consortium and joint venture agreements
• The key stages of a tender, from expression of interest to requests for tender, and legal issues to be managed during this phase
• Analysis of the key project risks and their allocation and adoption between a contractor and client in negotiating a construction contract. Includes consideration of alternative approaches from contractors and clients to negotiation of these obligations
• The interface between the project management and legal disciplines. This includes a consideration of the ethical dilemmas that confront construction professionals. Project implementation and key steps to start a project to encourage an effective project environment
• Risk identification and mitigation strategies employed during the delivery phase and their role in avoiding unnecessary disputation
• Administering claims for time and cost under construction contracts
• Managing sub-contract risk
• Managing the ‘paper war’ during the delivery phase: legal and technical issues and the role and limits of communication between the parties (including legal privilege issues)
• A consideration of the practicalities of construction dispute resolution.