Legal Issues

Surveyor Advocacy

We can act as surveyor-advocate to argue your case through dispute resolution proceedings, whether that is arbitration, assisting with representations to an ombudsman, or preparing submissions for the consideration of an expert determiner, or some lower court and tribunal proceedings.

At all times we will abide by the mandatory RICS Professional Statement “Surveyors Acting as Advocates”. We will field all communications and ensure you are consulted at every stage, inviting your thoughts and contributions on any representations received and submissions to be made.

We will only accept instructions to act as surveyor-advocate where we have the experience, knowledge and expertise appropriate to the case and the resources necessary. We may advise that it is in your best interests to be represented by a lawyer-advocate or other appropriate representative.

If you need a highly competent surveyor to fight your corner, on a matter that you believe may be within our area of expertise, please do not hesitate to get in touch for an initial consultation. We will then consider whether we are able to take on your case or refer you to someone else.

Litigation Support

Litigation is a last resort but is sometimes unavoidable, particularly when dealing with an unreasonable party or where agreement cannot be reached on a legal point. Litigation should generally always be handled by solicitors but we may be able to assist in achieving a timely resolution.

We can provide high level commentary and advice on submissions to assist with your claim or defence, providing our expert thoughts on any assertion made relating to a technical matter. We can also instruct counsel to provide a legal opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of your case.

In addition, we can assist you throughout litigation as agent, helping you to make decisions and liaise with your solicitor, as well as negotiating on your behalf to try and secure a settlement. We can also provide our surveyors view on any legal issues as a precursor to formal legal advice.

If you are facing property related litigation and need someone to guide you through the process, or to provide pragmatic advice on whether you should take things further, or if there is another alternative, please feel free to contact us in the strictest confidence to discuss your legal issue.

Early Neutral Evaluation

Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution, in which an independent and impartial evaluator is appointed by the parties to a dispute, to provide a non-binding evaluation as to the likely outcomes if the dispute goes to court, or to an arbitrator, for a decision.

The objective is to give the parties a realistic indication of the merits of their respective cases, to help inform negotiations between them and, if appropriate, to put forward a range for settlement. ENE is voluntary, confidential, without prejudice and can be used before or during other processes.

Disputes often arise where all that is needed is a knowledgeable third party to outline the issues, give their own impartial thoughts on the matter and make a recommendation to assist the parties to arrive at a resolution. If a resolution is reached, this can then be put into a binding agreement.

As an experienced Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, with a post graduate qualification in arbitration and a degree focussed on land and property issues, our director is able to accept instructions to act as an EN evaluator, either from a nominating body or from the parties themselves.