Prettys

Title
Construction projects are often complex, which is reflected in the contract documentation

Whether your organisation is a contractor, developer, sub-contractor, consultant, supplier, bank, tenant, purchaser or investor, our construction law solicitors offer a specialist commercially-focused service aimed at facilitating the successful completion of your project.

Prettys combine a client-focused approach with commercially-minded strategies to tailor the best approach for each construction project.

What Can We Do For You?

The Prettys team appreciates the challenges your business faces. We take the time to understand your priorities and are adept at navigating the obstacles faced within the construction industry. For this reason, our construction lawyers offer a wide range of legal services relevant to the sector, including:

Preparing, reviewing and/or negotiating building contracts, sub-contracts, consultant appointments, collateral warranties, framework agreements, third-party rights, terms and conditions, development agreements, facility management agreements, bonds and guarantees, novation agreements and all ancillary documentation
Amending standard form construction contracts (including JCT and NEC) and commenting on / negotiating amendments made by others
Writing bespoke internal documentation (such as guidance notes and flow charts) to support client delivery of major workstreams
Delivering tailored training solutions to harness and build on construction law know-how within client businesses
Virtual or actual "in-house" legal support by providing clients with a dedicated point of contact
Collaborating with contacts in other jurisdictions if necessary
Devising and supplying on/off-site accessible legal solutions to our clients via our range of helpline, legal clinics, training and other solutions
Providing – on a one-off or subscription basis – our Fixed Price Construction Contracts which include a sub-contract and consultancy agreement
Discussing topical issues and legal developments of relevance to the industry in a seminar format (via our Developers’ Club and Construction Legal Updates services) contact our experienced team

Where appropriate, we can refer you to our extensive network of professional contacts for support outside of our expertise.

If you are in need of legal assistance regarding any aspect of a construction project, contact our experienced team today to find out how we can help.

Why Choose Prettys?

The Prettys construction team has many years of experience advising on a wide range of projects. We combine the niche expertise and commercial acumen of a dedicated construction law firm with excellent, personalised client service - a combination that provides real value to our client's businesses.

Our legal advisers pride themselves on speaking your language and working with you to achieve your business goals. Drawing on an in-depth understanding of the construction sector, we offer clients the legal guidance they need to achieve and maintain commercial success.

Speak to our team about your construction project to find out how we can help you. Contact us at 01473 232121, submit an online enquiry form or send us an email via enquiry@prettys.co.uk

Sign up to our mailing list

Area of interest:

Business Academy

Commercial Property

Construction & Development

Employment Law

Data Protection

Thank you for providing your personal information. Please be aware that we will use that information to add you to our mailing list but never sell or transfer it to anyone else.

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Title
Useful Links

Construction Disputes Landlord & Tenant Planning Property Disputes Investigations Commercial Property Health and Safety Developers’ Club

sign up for prettys' developers' club

The networking club for professionals in the property, construction and development sector.

Expert

Peter Blake

Partner

What people say

The quality of advice and service levels I received from Prettys was exemplary. (...) Prettys’ awareness of (and sensitivity to) the commercial context within which we work meant our commercial relationships with key client personnel were optimised (...) during the negotiation process. …. easy to work with, approachable, totally reliable and extremely responsive. (...) I have no hesitation in recommending Prettys for legal services

Ian Berney - Managing Director, R G Taylor Engineering Limited

FAQs

We have been entering into contracts for decades and we never have any negotiating leverage; can the guidance of Prettys’ Construction Projects team help us to improve our position?

This question is asked regularly. We would encourage you to engage with us early on a “one-off” trial basis to give us an opportunity to demonstrate how much value we can add. We have seen many instances where our up-to-date knowledge and appreciation of client objectives have enabled us to propose necessary alterations to the contract, by which we have facilitated contractual changes for the benefit of both parties. It is in nobody’s interests for there to be a mismatch between the contract provisions and the commercial reality. Our pragmatic approach enables you (and, in some instances, your clients) to achieve an optimal position by flushing out potential issues sooner rather than later.

We tend to be provided with contracts that have already been prepared by lawyers on the other side; why do we need you too?

Prettys’ team is experienced in advising where the other lawyers involved are at the forefront of their field. Where your client’s lawyers have prepared the documentation, it will be drafted to further the interests of your client. Sometimes, such drafting may well be in your interests too, but there are many instances where it may not be.

Experienced in reviewing, commenting on and negotiating contracts in a myriad of commercial contexts, we are well-placed to highlight to you where and how the drafting is working against your interests and to help you decide whether any issue should be considered a dealbreaker. We couple this with a range of options for altering the status quo (with an explanation of each) so you can decide how best to tackle the situation. Unless you are aware of the areas of risk to your business, you will not be able to manage them effectively.

One of our team members is really clued up about contracts and already carries out our reviews for us; why do we need you?

Several of our clients have senior team members who are well-versed in legal principles and willing to take on the role of “grappling with the details of the contracts”. This crucial role can be a lonely one, and we regularly provide the back-up support they need to talk through the areas in which they are less secure in their legal knowledge or simply, to act as a sounding board.

We have many clients to whom we provide precisely this level of support. We supplement and enhance the contract reviews you are used to receiving internally so that recent changes in the law and the construction market are taken into account. As a result your stance will be supported, explained and more persuasive.

We are happy with, and want to be loyal to, the lawyers we use currently. They cover all the areas of specialism relevant to our business, except for construction – can you help?

Yes. At Prettys we work collaboratively and provide our clients with a high-quality service. If that means working alongside your current legal advisers and supplementing the support they already provide to you, we are more than happy to oblige. We enjoy healthy working relationships with legal practices with whom we have historically adopted this approach, as it provides our mutual clients with the best legal support and advice.

What I need is someone accessible at the end of the telephone who will be a “sounding board” when I need to talk through the position I think I have already reached, which would help me be sure that I have considered all the options. Can you do this?

Yes. This type of service is why several of our clients have chosen us. Directors and other senior-level personnel in a variety of businesses across the construction industry will save our DDI on their mobile, ready for whenever the need arises for a “talk through” and “a bit of backup” regarding any issues that are of concern.

The world of law has changed, and one of the many ways in which Prettys exemplifies a modern client-centred approach to the delivery of legal services is through our willingness to advise on discrete issues in this “informal” way. We regularly field ad hoc calls and emails from clients seeking succinct practical input regarding a discrete issue they are facing at whatever time of the day/night.

I like to take a long-term approach, and in an ideal world I would like to train my team internally so that in time, our need for any external legal advisers will be diminished. Can you help?

Yes. We are very experienced in the preparation and delivery of bespoke training packages tailored to the needs of specific businesses at specific points in their evolution. Training multidisciplinary, in-house teams is one of the most rewarding elements of the construction legal support we provide and we routinely receive delegate feedback confirming the value added and the exceptional development opportunities it has provided.

We pride ourselves on our ability to assess the level of knowledge within your team, harness it, supplement it (filling in the “gaps” along the way) and build on it to generate an up-to-date bank of relevant knowledge that is “fine-tuned” to the requirements of your organisation.

Construction Projects

Title
Construction projects are often complex, which is reflected in the contract documentation

Title
Useful Links

sign up for prettys' developers' club

What people say

FAQs

Our People

Request a call back

Dispute Resolution | Data Protection | Employment Law | Conveyancing | Family Law | Corporate and Commercial Law | Construction | Real Estate | Wills, Estates and Trusts

Latest Articles

Louise Plant

Joe (Joseph) Jordan

Sheilah Cummins

Construction Projects

Title Construction projects are often complex, which is reflected in the contract documentation

Sign up to our mailing list

Title Useful Links

sign up for prettys' developers' club

What people say

FAQs

Our People

Request a call back

Dispute Resolution | Data Protection | Employment Law | Conveyancing | Family Law | Corporate and Commercial Law | Construction | Real Estate | Wills, Estates and Trusts

Latest Articles

Louise Plant

Joe (Joseph) Jordan

Sheilah Cummins

Title
Construction projects are often complex, which is reflected in the contract documentation

Title
Useful Links