Managing Legal Risk in Construction (LAWS70441)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
Contact information
February
Lecturers
Mr David Ulbrick, Coordinator
Ms Kara Vague
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | February |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
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. Therefore, this subject aims to equip industry professionals and lawyers with the skills necessary to identify and proactively manage legal risk during the procurement and delivery phases. Complementing other subjects within Melbourne Law School’s 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:
- An exploration of the concept of legal risk and how it manifests in construction projects
- Project inception, including project feasibility and financing
- Procurement model selection and alternative contracting models and an analysis of the pillars of success in relation to each of the procurement models
- An analysis of pre-tender documentation, including consortium and joint venture agreements; an analysis of tender documentation including expressions of interest and requests for tender; and an analysis of the considerations when responding to a request for tender
- Legal risks to be managed during the pre-tender and tendering phase
- Analysis of the key project risks and their allocation and adoption between a contractor and client under a construction contract, as well as an introduction to qualitative and quantitative risk assessment
- Analysis of the key features of a construction contract and the negotiation positions available to a contractor and client in negotiating a construction contract (this will include consideration of alternative approaches and legal risks to be considered by contractors and clients in the negotiation of these obligations)
- The interface between the project management and legal disciplines, including a consideration of the ethical dilemmas that confront construction professionals
- Risk identification and mitigation strategies employed during the delivery phase and their role in avoiding unnecessary disputation
- Administering (making and assessing) claims for time and cost under construction contracts
- Managing sub-contract and interface risk (including a consideration of building information modelling (BIM))
- Managing the ‘paper war’ during the delivery phase: gaining, keeping, sharing and losing privilege in communications on and off site
- Managing defects to the works: reaching completion and post-completion issues
- A consideration of the practicalities of construction dispute resolution.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of legal risk in relation to construction projects
- Have enhanced their expert and specialised cognitive and technical skills required to manage and advise upon legal risk in the construction industry during the tendering and construction phases
- Be familiar with, be able to critically reflect on, and be confident in working across, the interaction between the technical, commercial and legal aspects of construction risk
- Be able to demonstrate the research and communication skills required to independently investigate, examine and analyse existing and emerging legal issues relating to construction risk.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Successful completion of either of the below subjects:
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAWS70314 | Principles of Construction Law |
July (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| LAWS70176 | Construction Law | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Option 1: Take-home examination
| 20 - 23 March | 100% |
Option 2: Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 6 May | 100% |
| Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Students must choose assessment from the options listed above. If an option contains parts, all parts must be completed if that option is chosen.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- February
Principal coordinator David Ulbrick Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24-34 hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 13 January 2020 Pre teaching requirements The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 10 February 2020 to 14 February 2020 Last self-enrol date 17 January 2020 Census date 10 February 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 27 March 2020 Assessment period ends 6 May 2020 February contact information
Lecturers
Mr David Ulbrick, Coordinator
Ms Kara VagueEmail: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Construction Law Course Master of Construction Law Course Master of Commercial Law Course Master of Laws Course Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies - Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 3 November 2022