Time certainly is flying at RJC, no sooner have we all just got back into the swing of work again after Christmas, than Easter has flown by already.
Marketing
RJC, once again, had the pleasure of hosting an evening at one of our favourite venues, The Bleeding Heart Restaurant in London just before Christmas. As usual, the food and wine surpassed expectations, the service was excellent and the company was both entertaining and we hope well-fed, well-watered and well-entertained.
Commercial Workshops
RJC’s ‘in-house training’ continues to be very popular and we will be happy to give seminars on a wide range of topics either at Clients’ premises or at one of our offices. We are delighted that clients continue to find this input useful to their business and we hope to further develop this sphere of work.
Business Development
In December, we said a fond farewell to two of our most well respected Senior Consultants, Bill Woodruff and Mark Stevenson, who have both gone to pastures new to further their respective careers. We wish them both every success and the very best of luck in their new posts.
Life at RJC continues however. Not only have we now bought both our offices in Bristol and in the Thames Valley, our work-load continues to expand. We are continually actively looking to recruit additional Consultants with the relevant expertise and experience to complement our existing staff in all regions of the UK.
RJC office suite at Colne House. We have similar office space like this available for rent. If you are interested, please contact us for more information. |
Dispute Resolution Update
RJC have been engaged by clients in conducting several serial Adjudications on single projects. This approach enables our clients to adopt an incremental approach. The tactic keeps the momentum in the hands of the Referring Party and allows the Adjudication to concentrate on a Narrow Issue which is key to our clients’ position. By doing this you are able to marshal all of the key arguments on this Narrow Issue with a greater prospect of a successful outcome.
Obtaining such a decision in your favour often gives a tactical advantage in negotiations on the larger issues of obtaining further payments or avoiding L A D S. This approach often suits complex disputes and avoids the necessity of having to expend considerable time and expense on preparation before commencing the process and or risking an unsuccessful outcome due to a failure to discharge the burden of proof.
RJC can bring their extensive experience to bear in these matters and can help you to decide if the incremental approach is suitable to your particular needs.
Burden of Proof
More and more Referrals are failing to produce the desired outcome as a result of the Adjudicator finding that the Referring Party have failed to discharge the necessary burden of proof. In simple terms he or she finds that the Referring Party has failed to prove his case. Where complex E O T issues are at stake this burden of proof is a difficult hurdle to overcome. At the very least what is expected is:
- Proper Notices of Delay to be issued in accordance with the contract.
- A fully linked critical path contract programme to be provided or if this is not available an agreed baseline programme representing the intention of the parties which is shown to be viable and clearly demonstrates the critical path.
- A properly formulated delay analysis demonstrating how the notified delay impacted on the critical path and what effect this had or is likely to have on the date for completion.
Different Adjudicators require different levels of proof but without the aforementioned information/analysis you may fall foul of the trap and be found not to have discharged the burden of proof. RJC can advise you on the merits of your case and can assist you in complying with these requirements and thus avoiding this particular pitfall.
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