Construction Disputes and Developments
2020 has been an unprecedented year for the construction sector. Keep up with developments in security of payment, COVID-19 relief, and liability in construction disputes. Plus, benefit from a practical guide to mediation and negotiation in the construction sector with a focus on remote video conferencing. Put your practice in a strong position moving forward.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on VIC legislation
Chair: Harriet Warlow-Shill, Partner, FAL Lawyers
1.00pm to 2.00pm: Construction Cases Year in Review: Security of Payment Focus
- Analysis of the 10 major cases from the past year
- Key takeaways from the judgments
- Security of payment legislation, performance security, issues relating to contract interpretation and other issues
Presented by Ben McLeod, Special Counsel. Maddocks
2.00pm to 3.00pm: The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Construction and Infrastructure Projects
- COVID-19 related directions and restrictions: What are they?
- What relief is available?
- Health & safety: obligations of ‘principal contractor’
- Implications for dispute resolution
Presented by Anna Scannell, Partner, Maddocks; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2020
3.00pm to 3.10pm: Break
3.10pm to 4.10pm: Mediation and Negotiation in the Construction Sector
A review of new developments in mediation and negotiation in the construction sector in the age of COVID-19, including using remote video conferencing in construction mediation and practical considerations in preparing for and participating in remote mediation and negotiation.
Presented by George Golvan QC, Svenson Barristers
4.10pm to 5.10pm: Liability in Construction Disputes
- Construction professionals’ liability
- Duties of construction professionals (head contractors, builders, subcontractors, and their consultants, such as architects and engineers), both in contract and where common law intervenes to impose a non-contractual duty
- Cases on pure economic loss such as Perre v Apand (1999) 198 CLR 180, Bryan v Maloney (1995) 182 CLR 609, Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan No 61288 (2014) 254 CLR 185
- The vulnerability of professionals for direct claims, where they would otherwise appear to be protected by a contractual framework
- The nature of loss (in contract, and pure economic loss in negligence), together with essential concepts such as apportionment and contribution
Presented by Joel Silver, Barrister, Svenson Barristers
Presenters
Harriet Warlow-Shill
Harriet is in construction, start-ups and charities law and leads those divisions at FAL Lawyers. Harriet has acted for a broad range of clients including charities, developers, government, some of Australia’s most successful and innovative start ups, major mining companies, and builders across three states: WA, NSW and Victoria. Harriet has been involved in many reported decisions involving construction law across New South Wales, ACT and Victoria. She has also held board positions on a variety of not for profit organisations for over 20 years, currently assisting Chabad Institutions of Victoria Ltd and the United Israel Appeal.
Ben McLeod
Ben is a Special Counsel in the Construction and Projects team at Maddocks. He has extensive experience advising on construction and engineering projects across a variety of sectors, including utilities, road, rail, healthcare, industrial and residential projects. He has particular expertise in the strategic and successful management and resolution of complex construction disputes. Ben is a preeminent practitioner in the area of security of payment, He recently acted successfully for a head contractor making an adjudication application in excess of $24m in respect of a current Victorian PPP. The determination is considered to be the highest in Victorian security of payment history.
George Golvan QC
Mr Golvan practices in the areas of Building and Construction Law, Commercial Arbitration, Commercial Tenancy, Banking and Insurance, General Commercial and Company Law. Mr Golvan has also actively practised mediation and arbitration for over thirty four years, and has been involved in numerous substantial commercial and construction matters as Counsel, mediator and arbitrator, specialising in complex building and engineering disputes. He was a Grade 1 Arbitrator and Past Chairperson of the Institute of Arbitrators (Victorian Chapter) and the Building Dispute Practitioners Society. He is a member of the Victorian Executive of the Law Council of Australia Construction and Infrastructure Law Committee.
Anna Scannell
Anna is a partner in Maddocks’ Construction & Projects team. She has over 15 years’ experience as a construction law specialist, having practised in New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Victoria. Anna acts for a wide range of participants in the construction and infrastructure sectors, including Government entities, private developers, head contractors, sub-contractors and consultants. Anna’s area of practice is focussed primarily on dispute resolution and dispute avoidance. She has advised and represented clients in relation to a wide range of issues arising out of construction and infrastructure projects, including contract termination and claims in respect of variations, extensions of time, prolongation and acceleration costs.
Joel Silver
Joel is a trusted commercial adviser to a wide range of clients. His increasing focus is in the building and construction field (from smaller domestic building disputes to larger security of payment issues), together with property law (advising on easements, owners' corporations, leasing disputes, and nuisance matters), insolvency, and insurance. He often advises parties from the earliest stages of their disputes (including on obtaining expert evidence), and is experienced in the preparation and running of trials, both led and unled. He has a keen interest in alternative dispute resolution in the construction sphere.
You can find out more about Joel through his Victorian Bar profile (https://www.vicbar.com.au/profile/8082).