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Independent, evidence-based cost advice that strengthens our clients’ position.
Dispute resolution draws on the full depth of our Cost & Commercial expertise. We have tested experience of managing and resolving all types of contract and construction disputes, from a single contractor variation to large disagreements over abnormal costs. Our experts explain complex commercial matters in a way that is clear, defensible and easy to follow.
Why Choose Brookbanks for Dispute Resolution
Our experts have extensive development and construction experience, so they understand how costs arise on site and how they should be measured and evidenced. We review each item on its merits, build an independent view of the costs and set out our findings clearly.
Where a matter can be settled through negotiation, our evidence gives clients a firm basis to do so. Where it moves to a formal process, our reports and expert input help clients present their case with confidence.
Key Client Benefits
- We give clients an independent, factual basis to challenge or defend disputed costs.
- We prepare clear, impartial reports that stand up to scrutiny in formal proceedings.
- We help clients resolve issues earlier, saving time and protecting their margins.
- We bring practical development and construction experience to every dispute.
- We look for resolutions that protect value in its widest sense, keeping projects on programme and preserving relationships and reputations as well as commercial positions.
Specialist Services
Dispute Resolution
Our experts help clients manage and resolve contract and construction disputes, including disagreements over variations, measurement, change and final accounts. We review the contract, drawings, tender documents and site records, and carry out our own measures to establish what is properly due.
With this evidence in hand, clients can negotiate from a clear factual position. That often brings a dispute to an earlier close, saving time and cost for everyone involved.
Read how our review of drawing changes recovered savings at Great Haddon.
Expert Witness and Independent Expert Reports
As expert witnesses, our specialists provide independent commercial and cost advice for disputes, adjudications and other formal proceedings. We prepare clear, impartial and technically sound reports that explain complex commercial matters in an understandable, evidence-based way.
We also provide independent reports of build and abnormal costs for legal proceedings, giving tribunals and other parties defensible cost information on which to base their decisions.
Expert Determination and Arbitration Support
Some disputes are decided by an independent expert or arbitrator rather than through negotiation. Our specialists support clients through expert determination and arbitration, preparing independent cost plans, benchmarking the other party’s figures and reviewing costs site by site.
We collate the evidence and help build a clear, well-argued case, so that clients are fully prepared for negotiation or formal proceedings.
Discover how preparing for expert determination delivered £12m of savings for a landowner.
Sectors We Support
Our dispute resolution experts support landowners, developers, housebuilders, housing associations and their professional advisors. Most of our work concerns residential and mixed-use development, including option agreements, infrastructure works and groundworks contracts on schemes of every size.
Talk to Our Dispute Resolution Specialists
Contact a member of our Dispute Resolution team directly, or email hello@brookbanks.com and one of our experts will get back to you.
FAQs
Can you help before a dispute becomes formal?
Yes, and early involvement often helps most. By reviewing a claim and providing a factual basis to challenge it, we can save the time otherwise spent in back-and-forth negotiation. Many issues are then resolved without a formal process.
What is expert determination?
Expert determination is a process in which an independent expert decides a specific question, often under the terms of a contract or option agreement. We help clients prepare by building an independent view of the costs, reviewing the other party’s figures and collating the supporting evidence.
Do you work with our solicitors and other advisors?
Yes. We regularly work alongside our clients’ professional advisors, providing the cost and commercial evidence they need. Our reports are written to be clear and impartial so that they can support legal advice and formal proceedings.