Contractors Legal Group
The Contractors Legal Group (CLG) was set up at the end of 2009 and works in partnership with the National Federation of Builders, the UK Contractors Group, and the Scottish Building Federation, all of whom recognised that there was a need for a unified voice representing the legal affairs of main contractors in the supply chain and that CLG was best placed to provide that service.
The purpose of CLG is to discuss and debate contractual and legal matters of concern to main contractors within the construction industry and to represent them in negotiations concerning legal affairs with government and other industry groups. More specifically the CLG represents main contractors on the
Joint Contracts Tribunal (“JCT”) and assesses the wider impact of legislation and other legal and contractual issues affecting main contractors as a whole.
The CLG has also recently opened discussions with the NEC as to how it might have input into the next edition of the NEC contracts, and the Group is currently undertaking a review of existing NEC contracts to identify and highlight the concerns of main contractors.
The CLG is committed to fair risk allocation and payment throughout the supply chain and will work with other organisations, whether within JCT or otherwise, to achieve that. Examples of the workload undertaken by CLG, apart from its regular input into JCT, includes representing main contractors on:
- Guidance on changes to the Construction Act
- The ongoing development of the OGC Fair Payment Charter and
- Discussions with the RICS on the New Rules of Measurement
There are 15 executive members of the CLG who meet as a whole four times per year (although its members also contribute significantly to other industry bodies). 11 members are appointed by the four Trade Associations and four are additionally co-opted for their specialist knowledge and experience. The CLG has appointed officers and a Director (who services and advises the Group), as follows:-
Chairman: Nick Walden (NFB), Walden & Son (Henley) Ltd
Vice Chairman: Keith Waddington (UKCG), G & J Seddon Ltd
Director: John Bradley, Reynolds Colman Bradley LLP
The CLG also welcomes inclusion amongst its membership of other organisations with similar aims.
For more information or if you have any queries concerning CLG, please contact John Bradley on 020 7220 4703.
CLG Chairman Nick Walden
Nick Walden was born into a Construction family and has, since spending his school summer holiday (aged 8) as a lorry driver’s ‘assistant’, spent most of his life in or around construction.
After studying law at St. John’s College, Oxford, Nick qualified as a solicitor and practiced as a Company/Commercial lawyer for 2 years with law firm Rowe & Maw (now part of Mayer Brown). In 1984 Nick returned to his roots and for over 25 years managed NFB member Walden & Son (Henley) Limited, which comprises a family group of companies that has carried out both main contracting (with redevelopment of listed buildings a specialism) and the manufacture and installation of high quality joinery.
During this period Nick retained his interest in construction law and served for many years as a representative on the Construction Confederation Contracts Committee, representing SME Contractors on behalf of the NFB. He has served on a number of JCT Working Parties and, in 2004, he was one of the Construction Confederation’s representatives on Sir Michael Latham’s review of the Construction Act. For several years subsequently he represented the Construction Confederation and Contractors Legal Group in negotiations with government on amendments to the Act.
He was elected Chair of the CLG on its formation in 2009.
More recently Nick has also applied his legal knowledge and his understanding of the industry to dispute resolution and has undertaken several CIArb courses to become an accredited construction adjudicator.
Outside construction and law, Nick has a great interest in education and has been Chair of Governors of a successful comprehensive school for a number of years.