Legal Opinion

Construction projects are complex and involve high levels of risk.  When issues arise, it is therefore advisable to obtain a legal opinion as early as possible to minimise the chances of disputes occurring.  If a dispute has already formed, obtaining a legal opinion on the best way to resolve it can often avoid a significant amount of wasted time, effort and fees.

Commercial Focus

A “legal opinion” provided by Fortfield & Brown will analyse the legal issue(s) you are facing against the relevant legal and factual backdrop.  The aim of a legal opinion is to provide an overview of the options available to our clients so that they can make informed commercial decisions on how to proceed.

Our legal opinions are provided in writing and are normally structured as follows:

• Confirmation of client instructions – we work with our clients to develop our instructions via an initial consultation as we appreciate that neatly identifying the legal issue(s) can often be a difficult task in its own right.
• Identification of relevant legal principles and key evidence – we work with our clients to pull together the relevant information we need to review the issue(s) including contract documents, programmes, email correspondence, defect notifications etc.
• Analysis of the issue(s) – we apply the legal principles and evidence to the facts of the matter to determine what options are available to our clients.
• Conclusion and recommendation – we provide a concise summary of our legal opinion that sets out any options available and the recommended way forward for our clients to consider on a commercial basis.

Our legal opinions are written in plain English.  They are designed to be used by senior management to make informed commercial decisions.  Our recommendations are clear, and if appropriate, will identify the potential costs associated with implementing any suggested next steps. 

If we get involved with issues at an early stage, this can often lead to savings in the long run if things progress to making or defending a claim or through to a more formal dispute resolution process such as mediation or adjudication.