Apparently there were over 2000 adjudications in the past 12 months, close to 2500 I read elsewhere in a report on adjudication in 2024.
An average of 50 adjudications per week, 10 per day.
The costs to parties are considerable.
I have witnessed adjudicators charging £6000 for reading initial submissions before then resigning. In another case. an adjudicator charging £45,000 in fees for a £400,000 dispute on a singular issue.
Of course there is the costly issue of adjudicators who get their decisions wrong. Although infrequent, these are then overturned in the courts. The costs can then stretch to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Source of Costly Disputes?
The rise of the full time adjudicator, a term heard at many a networking event, may account for these enhanced scale of fees. Or, there may be a general misconception of the underlying principle of adjudication. The principle of dispensing with matters in an almost rough and ready but quick and effective manner.
On the counter side, there are many higher profile adjudicators who continue in the manner of the original intention with fees at a wholly reasonable scale. For this reason, inviting parties to accept them is a primary option in any notice that we draft.
It appears avoiding certain adjudicators is becoming an issue in any decision to adjudicate.
Additionally, the support of law firms in adjudication can be essential but often costly. And of course you usually pay on a scale determined by hourly fees that may be difficult to fathom on a common sense basis.
Fixed Fee Support
In an effort to further the resolution of disputes in the same vein as the intention of the act, we support clients on a fixed fee basis. We work to a scale of service that allows parties to attend to the specific issues in dispute.
When this service is combined with our contract review service, the maximum benefit to a party can be gained. The prior knowledge approach of having conducted a contract review may mean that adjudication is not the preferred approach. Alternatively, issues that may be part of a dispute can be amended and place a party in a better position than initially anticipated.
Equally, our approach to retentions is robust and seeks to maximise recovery with minimum costs.
A Philanthropic Approach to Construction Adjudication?
Our approach is not quite philanthropic. But it represents a conscious approach to retain as much money in the bank balances of construction companies. The primary aim being to avoid the shift of large sums to the full time adjudicator and/or legal industry.
If our multi tiered approach can help your business, we are happy to discuss how it can be used to assist your business and cash flow. Get in touch today to find out more.