Matters / Position and preparation
Escalate without starting again.
Dispute Preparation
Corvinus turns the complete construction record into a chronology, evidence set, technical analysis and defined position ready for specialist legal advice.
What Corvinus does
What Corvinus does on this matter.
The work within Corvinus's control, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Assembles and indexes the complete matter record.
- 02Builds the chronology, issue list and evidence matrix.
- 03Analyses the contract, lease and technical position.
- 04Produces a briefing a solicitor or counsel can work from directly.
Typical situations
- A solicitor is about to be instructed
- Pre-action correspondence is being prepared
- Mediation or negotiation is being arranged
- An expert may need to be instructed
- The record is large, incomplete or disordered
Typical situations
- A solicitor is about to be instructed
- Pre-action correspondence is being prepared
- Mediation or negotiation is being arranged
- An expert may need to be instructed
- The record is large, incomplete or disordered
How it is examined
How the matter is examined.
- 01
Assemble the record
Collect, index and de-duplicate the documents that make up the matter.
- 02
Build the chronology
Set events, instructions, decisions and correspondence in order.
- 03
Map issues to evidence
Connect each issue to the documents and technical material that bear on it.
- 04
Brief the professional
Produce a summary, analysis and briefing the legal team can work from.
The difficulty
Why the matter becomes difficult.
A matter that reaches a lawyer as a folder of unsorted correspondence has to be reconstructed before it can be advised on. The construction, contractual and evidential work still has to be done, and it is rarely done best under procedural pressure.
What Corvinus establishes
What is established before any position is advanced.
- 01
Parties and relationships
Parties, roles and contractual relationships.
- 02
Events
Key events and decisions across the life of the matter.
- 03
Governing documents
The applicable contract, lease and professional appointments.
- 04
Issues
Allegations, responses and the issues that remain unresolved.
- 05
Technical evidence
Technical evidence and the gaps within it.
- 06
Financial position
Financial and valuation material.
- 07
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths, weaknesses and likely counterarguments.
- 08
Urgency
Immediate deadlines or issues requiring an authorised lawyer.
Legal and technical framework
What may govern this matter.
Jurisdiction: England and Wales. Applicability depends on the contract, lease, works, parties and facts. This page provides general information and does not determine the position on a particular matter.
View the legal and technical framework
- Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes
- The Protocol encourages sufficient, proportionate exchange of information so the parties can understand their positions, make informed settlement decisions and consider resolution before proceedings. It does not require parties to marshal and disclose every item of evidence that would ultimately be needed in litigation.
- Disclosure in proceedings is separate
- Any disclosure obligations arising in proceedings are distinct from pre-action information exchange and should be handled by the authorised legal team.
- Privilege is a legal question
- Confidentiality is not the same as legal professional privilege. Whether privilege attaches depends on the engagement, the purpose of the work and the legal context, and specialist legal advice may be needed.
- Corvinus does not conduct litigation
- Proceedings, deadlines, procedure and advocacy are matters for an appropriately authorised legal professional.
- Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes
- The Protocol encourages sufficient, proportionate exchange of information so the parties can understand their positions, make informed settlement decisions and consider resolution before proceedings. It does not require parties to marshal and disclose every item of evidence that would ultimately be needed in litigation.
- Disclosure in proceedings is separate
- Any disclosure obligations arising in proceedings are distinct from pre-action information exchange and should be handled by the authorised legal team.
- Privilege is a legal question
- Confidentiality is not the same as legal professional privilege. Whether privilege attaches depends on the engagement, the purpose of the work and the legal context, and specialist legal advice may be needed.
- Corvinus does not conduct litigation
- Proceedings, deadlines, procedure and advocacy are matters for an appropriately authorised legal professional.
Resolution
What resolution may look like.
These are the routes the work is intended to make available. Whether any is realistic depends on the lease, contract, works and facts.
- Informed pre-action correspondence
- Focused specialist legal advice
- Negotiation or mediation preparation
- Efficient expert instruction
- A solicitor or counsel beginning with a coherent record
- Identification of matters that should not be pursued
What you receive
The output is the product.
The deliverables within Corvinus's control on this matter, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Matter Summary
- 02Chronology
- 03Indexed Document Record
- 04Issue and Evidence Matrix
- 05Contract or Lease Analysis
- 06Technical Issues Schedule
- 07Responsibility Matrix
- 08Strengths and Weaknesses Review
- 09Professional Briefing
If the matter does not resolve
Prepared for specialist legal escalation.
This matter type is escalation preparation. The output is the record, analysis and briefing an authorised legal team can take forward. Corvinus does not conduct litigation.
- Matter summary and chronology
- Indexed document record
- Issue and evidence matrix
- Contract or lease analysis
- Strengths, weaknesses and counterargument review
- Briefing for a specialist solicitor or counsel
Common failure points
What goes wrong, and the better route.
Handing over an unsorted file
The record has to be reconstructed before advice can be given.
Better route
Provide an indexed record, chronology and issue list.
Leaving the technical case undefined
Expert instruction can become broad and unfocused.
Better route
Define the technical issues and evidence gaps before instruction.
Ignoring the weaknesses
Adverse material emerges at the least useful moment.
Better route
Record strengths, weaknesses and likely counterarguments from the outset.
Common questions
Questions about dispute preparation.
Other matters
- Consent and alterationsLicence to AlterMove the alteration towards consent.Move the alteration towards consent.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.
- Consent and alterationsRetrospective ConsentCreate a route to regularisation.Create a route to regularisation.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.
- Construction disputesConstruction DisputesEstablish responsibility and the route to resolution.Establish responsibility and the route to resolution.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.
Present a matter
Escalate without starting again.
Present the issue first. Corvinus will determine whether the matter is suitable, what information is required and what the proposed scope should address.
Initial enquiry · No obligation to proceed