Holmes & Hills construction solicitor appears on a podcast about intelligent construction management

Following Lawrence Pearce’s appearance on the construction industry-specific podcast ‘Own The Build’ (OTB) in May, Holmes & Hills’ specialist construction solicitor, Sam Bawden also joined Paul Heming on the OTB Podcast last week. Paul Heming is a Quantity Surveyor and founder of C-Link, he hosts a weekly podcast where he interviews experts from the world of construction.

Sam’s episode focused on construction contracts, Paul and Sam discussed common misunderstandings and misconceptions, and how to avoid legal mistakes that can have material consequences for a business in the construction industry.

The podcast opened jovially with Sam talking about attending a sandcastle competition (!) and his legal background. Sam initially worked as a specialist litigator across a broad range of industries, and from there went on to specialise as a construction lawyer where he felt the strongest affiliation with those hard-working clients in the construction industry from his earlier experiences.

Initial conversation on the podcast introduced an early, key theme that developed through the episode, this being the importance of contractors and sub-contractors of education educating themselves on the legal risks both, are exposing themselves to regarding the legal aspects of working in the construction industry and with construction contracts. Throughout the podcast, Sam and Paul discussed the notion that prevention can be better than a cure, particularly when it comes to contracts in the construction industry.

Sam talked in-depth about his passion and enjoyment of the non-contentious work within his remit, such as contract reviews and, training those in the construction industry on the legal pitfalls that your average construction client could face. Sam talked about how the dispute avoidance training run by Holmes & Hills Solicitors is often of greater value (and usually cheaper!) to a client than the legal work that needs to be undertaken to resolve a dispute.

Paul and Sam role-played a typical training session scenario discussing how it may play out when Sam and the Construction Division deliver guidance to a new construction business.
This included discussing:

• What is and isn’t included in construction contracts
• Legal tips that may be covered (such as education on whose terms and conditions the parties are contracted under, understanding the ‘battle of the forms’ and ‘who fired the last shot wins’)
• How to improve on terms and conditions
• How the commercial realities and legal principles often do not align and how this can limit what a client can do
• As well as going into detail on how the payment mechanism operates under the Construction Act.

Furthermore, Sam talked about how these informative sessions often spark a ‘light-bulb moment’ for clients, when they are directed to an opportunity of enormous benefit to them and their business whilst Sam and his fellow construction lawyers are delivering the training seminar. For example, this may be a way that ultimately helps the clients be paid correctly and on time, or clearly demonstrates how they can avoid a typical or recurring problem before it arises.

Moreover, Paul and Sam spoke of the long-standing reluctance of construction industry professionals to seek legal advice in this order (avoidance before dispute). This often results in clients only undertaking these training sessions after having dealt with Holmes & Hills’ Construction Division on a dispute, Sam advocated the benefit of training at an earlier stage.