Dispute Viability Review
ForensicFixed FeeFor Subcontractors, Main Contractors & Clients5 working days
A straight answer to whether this dispute is worth pursuing, on what merits, and for how much.
The problem
Not every dispute deserves to be run. Some cases are strong but small, some are large but built on records that do not exist, and some are exactly as good as they feel, and the expensive mistake is finding out which yours is halfway through an adjudication rather than before it starts. The decision needs an honest, independent read before momentum takes over: the merits tested against the contract and the records, the realistic range on your own figures, and the effort the recovery would actually take.
The solution
I review the case as the other side and the adjudicator would: the contractual basis of each head, the records that exist to prove it, the defences available against it, and the realistic outcome range on your figures, strengths and weaknesses both, in writing, with the reasoning shown. You get a short written opinion: pursue, pursue after named repairs, or leave it. If the answer is pursue, the review becomes the first document of the case; if leave it, you found out before the dispute spent a year of your attention.
What you receive
You decide whether to run the dispute the way the well-advised side does: on tested merits and a realistic range, before the spend starts, instead of on momentum and a round number. The answer lands as a short written opinion: pursue, repair first, or leave it, with the realistic range on your figures and the reasoning shown.
The Handover Pack accompanies the work with its dates and sources, likely outcomes and responses, scope boundaries and ready-to-send correspondence where needed.
Turnaround: five working days.
The working days start when the agreed scope and required inputs are available. Optional items do not hold the start unless the agreed scope says otherwise.
Need it faster? Ask on the first call: an express turnaround is quoted in writing where the diary allows it.
How it works
You send me the paperwork
I test the case on what you can prove, so the list below asks for what exists, not what you wish existed.
- A
The dispute, head by head, with a sum against each
EssentialWithout it: The review can only be done on one total, and a strong head gets dragged down by a weak one hiding inside it.
Where to find it: Whatever exists today: the draft claim, the account extract or a simple statement of what you believe you are owed.
Why I need it: Viability is assessed per head, never as a total
- B
The executed contract and every amendment
EssentialWithout it: The merits cannot be tested against anything, so the review has no contractual basis for its verdict.
Where to find it: The commercial folder or the order email.
Why I need it: What each head stands on
- C
The honest state of the records, head by head
EssentialWithout it: The review scores heads on records that turn out not to exist, and the verdict is wrong exactly where it matters most: whether to spend money pursuing it.
Where to find it: The site office, the diary, the photo folders. Send what is really there, not what should be.
Why I need it: An optimistic answer here makes the whole review worthless
- D
The sums at stake, and what has already been paid
EssentialWithout it: There is no ratio to weigh the cost of pursuing this against, so the recommendation is a feeling rather than a number.
Where to find it: Your account or valuation file: the total claimed and the total paid to date, side by side.
Why I need it: Viability is a ratio, not a feeling
- E
The timeline: completion, final account, certificates, notices
EssentialWithout it: It cannot be shown where the time bars actually sit, and a dispute can be found dead on time after the merits work is already done.
Where to find it: The completion certificate from the contract administrator, the final account from your QS's file, and the notices from the correspondence around each event.
Why I need it: Where the bars sit
- F
Any limitation date, from their solicitor
ImportantWithout it: The time position is incomplete, and a dispute can be pursued past the point it was ever going to be recoverable.
Where to find it: Your solicitor, who confirms it in writing.
Why I need it: Adopted and attributed, never worked out here
- G
Any period of delay relied on, and who assessed it
ImportantWithout it: The head resting on delay is scored with no period behind it, and the management time to obtain one is carried as a cost of proceeding.
Where to find it: Your programmer's report, or whoever produced the delay analysis you are relying on.
Why I need it: Adopted and attributed, never assessed here
- H
What is known about the counterparty's financial position and how they have behaved before
OptionalWithout it: The filed position still gives ability to pay, but appetite rests on nothing, your own payment history with them is not available, and anything since the last filed accounts is unseen.
Where to find it: Whatever you already know: their accounts if you have seen them, trade reports, or simply how reliably they have paid you before.
Why I need it: A good claim against a company that cannot pay is not a good claim. The filed position is read by this practice; what you add is appetite, anything more recent than the last filed accounts, and your own payment history
- I
Who inside their organisation would run this, and how many days a month they have
ImportantWithout it: The real cost of pursuing this is understated, because the time your own people spend on it is left out of the sum.
Where to find it: Your own knowledge. Think about who would actually run this day to day and how much time they realistically have free.
Why I need it: The cost that is always forgotten
Copies are fine. Send what you have and I'll tell you what's missing. Download the client request PDF or editable Word version to pass to whoever holds the files.
Time Checked Before Merits
Every contractual period and cut-off date is established and recorded before any head is scored, so you never invest in a claim that is already out of time.
- A
You are candid about the weak points
The review only protects you if it tests the case the other side will actually attack.
I test the merits
Each head of claim against the contract, the notices given and the defences the other side will run.
I test the evidence
What each head needs to prove and whether the records you hold prove it.
I put the range and the route on it
The realistic outcome range on your figures, the effort the recovery would take, and the recommendation that follows: pursue, repair first, or leave it.
Findings Plain and Traced
Every figure traces to its working, every clause cited is verified against the executed contract, and any head not worth pursuing is named plainly.
You make the call
The opinion is advice; whether the dispute runs is your decision, made with the range in front of you.
