The book now in its second edition remains a well written and practical practitioner’s text. It is a compact, portable and easy to use reference guide for both lawyers, architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, project managers and students alike. The book is practical and user friendly. The topics covered are varied and comprehensive. Chapter 2 begins by setting out and summing up the different types of construction professional and their functions. It helpfully sets out the different professional regulations and also introductory case law on the duties and standards expected of each category of construction professionals. Chapter 3 sums up the contractual obligations of construction professionals and also sets out their obligations of duty of care towards third parties and tortious liability.

Chapter 5 sets out the levels of professional standards expected of each professional category. It also deals with important practical considerations which should also be considered by construction industry professionals. The chapter also sums up various planning and regulation rules while also providing very practical tips including the need for early site investigation. It sets out examples to demonstrate how a surprising number of claims have been made against construction industry professionals mistakes and missed planning opportunities at this early stage of site investigation and ground condition investigations. Experienced arbitrators often see disputes over such basic issues and tribunal discussions often lament over why such simple issues could not have been sorted out by contractors and their construction industry professionals.

Chapter 6 deals with causation, loss and damage in claims against construction professionals. The authors skilfully summarise these essential concepts in the light of applicable English law and refer to useful authorities pertaining to such claims made against construction professionals. The section on breaks in the chain of causation and examples of how English Courts deal with this contentious area of law is well set out.

The dispute resolution chapter has been written in a straightforward way for the ease of non-lawyers and in-house project management professionals to understand the various informal and formal processes of dispute