Opinion

Infrastructure is the bedrock of everyday life, from the roads we drive on and the sporting arenas we cheer in to the buildings where we live and work. It gives communities their roots and a physical foundation from which to grow. At heart, it’s a tale of bricks and mortar. But these days it’s so …

Leading the Way in Sustainable Construction Read More »

Our weekly blogs aim to provide advice from the lessons that we’ve learnt in our collective commercial dealings. But we can’t take credit for all the guidance we impart. Thinking back over my own commercial development, two people (once bosses now friends) were instrumental in my growth as a commercial professional. So, I thought I …

Lessons from my Mentors Read More »

For those of you that haven’t heard the expression ‘drawn on to the sword’ it refers to a scenario where a Contractor doesn’t remedy its poor performance, but rather sits back and waits for the desperate employer to rush in with ‘help’ in the form of directions and resources. The Contractor then relies on those …

Drawn On to the sword Read More »

Hiding the risk: Misleading contract terms don’t help. If you’re being bounced around the contract to get to the true allocation of risk, it’s probably time to revise the drafting. Risk offloading: Passing all risks off to the supply chain may seem like a good idea, but the reality is those risks don’t go away. …

The Lewis Woolcott Top 10 Destructive Commercial Practices Read More »

While enjoying a steak and a few wines at the Boatshed, LW’s regular haunt, I told a friend of mine about the software we had been developing and the consultancy work that we did, when he posed the question – so, what are you? He was trying to put us in a box.  Were we …

Black with White Stripes or White with Black Stripes? Read More »

Imagine a project where you could see all your people and resources working in real time. What would you do differently? You would warn people if they strayed into a high-risk area and let them know if a train or wide load was coming. You would make sure they weren’t working on top of each …

SMART – The Future Is Coming Read More »

Many companies turn to their lawyers to seek a prospects advice before deciding whether to settle or pursue formal recovery of a dispute. At first glance this seems the sensible thing to do, why not turn to a legal expert to advise on prospects? After all, it’s most likely to be a legal process that …

The Wisdom of Prospects Advice Read More »

Whether you work in Commercial Management, Claims Consulting or Construction Law, eventually you will look back and realise that you have been arguing about the same things again and again, time after time. Here are a few examples to jog your memory – you’re time barred; no, I’m not, the notice requirements weren’t adhered to …

Not Again Read More »

We had been invited to attend a meeting at one of the prestigious law firm’s offices in the city. The magnificent views allowed us to see the full panorama of Brisbane and you could just about make out the law firm Partners’ boats luxuriating on the river below. We were advising on time and cost …

A Course of Leeches Read More »

We often advise our clients on the best allocation of contractual risks and provide contingency valuations. We find that many owners and operators’ first instincts is to offload risks to the supply chain – relying on tightly worded contracts to ensure that rights can be enforced if and when risks arise. But here’s the rub …

I Can Lift It, Dad Read More »