Live Claim Stress Test
ForensicFixed FeeFor Subcontractors, Main Contractors & ClientsTimetable agreed in writing at scoping
We test a claim already advanced or received, then make the next commercial decision clear on the evidence available now.
The problem
A substantive claim has already been sent or received, including an informal, provisional or unquantified claim and ongoing exchanges. Proceedings do not need to have begun. The question is what the actual claim, response, disputed items, new evidence, counterclaims and concessions mean now, and which next decision is worth the remaining time and effort. A protective notice alone does not automatically cross this boundary; urgent dates are triaged and legal effect or time positions remain with the appropriate adviser.
The solution
We take the live exchange as it stands and review every material head technically: the amount advanced or received, arithmetic, measures, rates, source records, replies, concessions, new evidence, counterclaims and unresolved gaps. Alongside that head-by-head valuation, we review the commercial next step: supported quantum versus the conditional amount or option being assessed, sourced future expenditure and management effort, collection uncertainty, and the effect of settlement or counterclaims. Where essential evidence is missing, the affected assessment is not assessable and any demonstrated critical finding remains visible. We do not promise a win, recovery or solvency outcome.
The advice is for the instructing client, not a neutral determination or expert witness appointment. Legal rights, remedies, enforceability and limitation go to a solicitor; delay analysis goes to the appropriate specialist. Existing independence commitments may restrict future work, and any claim preparation, repair, response or negotiation support is optional, separately scoped and subject to a further conflict and scope check.
How it works
You identify what has been advanced or received
You send the current claim or response, including informal or provisional material, negotiations, concessions, disputed items and every known urgent date. Whether adjudication or other formal proceedings have started does not decide the route by itself.
We clear conflicts and confirm the decision
We check the parties and project against existing commitments, then confirm in writing the live status, decision to support and advisory boundary: not legal advice, delay analysis, neutral adjudication or an expert witness appointment.
Live Position Fixed
The version being tested, the external status, urgent dates and decision the report must support are identified before the review starts.
You share the live file as it is
You share the available live-file evidence as it stands, including exchanged material, partial records and gaps. After the call, we agree the final requirements for the scoped review; a complete or tidy file is not a condition of starting.
- A
Written review purpose, instructing party, intended readers, authority, reliance limits and next decision date
EssentialWithout it: The review cannot start safely without an agreed purpose and role
Where to find it: Instruction, appointment and initial discussion
Why we need it: Fix the advisory role and what decision the work supports
- B
The claim actually advanced or received, its date and recipients, all versions, current build-ups and the latest response or counterposition
EssentialWithout it: The current live position cannot be reliably reconciled or assessed
Where to find it: Current matter records and the person who prepared or received them
Why we need it: Fix the live position, identify movement and avoid reviewing a superseded version
- C
Contract or order, relevant amendments, pricing documents and the contractual basis relied on for each head
ImportantWithout it: The quantum cannot be assessed against a verified contractual basis
Where to find it: Executed project documents and the advisers holding them
Why we need it: Identify the actual valuation provisions and assumptions used
- D
Supporting records by head, including native calculations, instructions, invoices, timesheets, allocations, measurements and source rates
ImportantWithout it: Unsupported values remain unassessed or unsupported, not automatically zero
Where to find it: Commercial and site records, accounts and the person who assembled the position
Why we need it: Trace the method and every material sum to evidence
- E
Relevant payments, agreed valuations, final-account items, credits, settlements and other overlapping claims, or confirmation of none known
EssentialWithout it: A total could repeat paid, agreed or overlapping sums
Where to find it: Project ledger, payment records and account correspondence
Why we need it: Remove duplicate amounts and distinguish money already resolved
- F
Known deadlines, notices, procedural directions and advisers' written advice on relevant legal or time issues
EssentialWithout it: The review cannot confirm whether an action remains available or fits the actual time allowed
Where to find it: Solicitor, appointed adviser, notices and procedural documents
Why we need it: Triage urgency and attribute conditions on the next step
- G
Attributed period or time analysis for time-related costs and the underlying cost records, where a head relies on time
ImportantWithout it: A time-related amount cannot be supported as an established period or result
Where to find it: Client and competent delay specialist, with cost records from accounts
Why we need it: Separate duration assumptions from the calculation of money
- H
Objectives, decision-makers, budget for next steps, management capacity and sourced future costs from the client or advisers
EssentialWithout it: No complete comparison of future cost and benefit can be made
Where to find it: Client decision-maker, role and time estimates, current written adviser scopes or cost inputs
Why we need it: Compare the value of a practical next step with its incremental cost and burden
- I
Existing or proposed settlement options, counterclaims, concessions and the precise sums and terms being compared, or confirmation of none known
EssentialWithout it: A settlement comparison could omit liabilities, payments or conditions
Where to find it: Claim correspondence and the client or legal adviser
Why we need it: Compare equivalent positions and identify what an option would resolve
- J
Correct counterparty identity and any held payment history, security information and current collection concerns
ImportantWithout it: Payment prospects cannot be established from a valuation alone
Where to find it: Contract and client ledger, current attributed adviser or public-record evidence where scoped
Why we need it: Identify collection uncertainty separately from supported quantum
- K
Earlier reviews, advice and their assumptions, plus changes since they were written
OptionalWithout it: No comparison with previous advice can be claimed
Where to find it: Earlier advisers and the client's matter file
Why we need it: Explain differences and preserve restrictions attached to earlier appointments
Copies are fine. Send what you have and we will tell you what's missing.
- A
We test the exchanged heads technically
We review the actual position head by head, checking arithmetic, quantities, rates, records, responses, counterclaims, concessions and repairs. We distinguish supported quantum from conditional amounts or options and state the remaining uncertainty rather than turning it into a prediction.
Exchange Reconciled
Each material head is matched to the current exchange and its evidence, with disputed, conceded, missing and conditional elements kept distinct.
We review the commercial next decision
We compare supported quantum and any conditional amount or option with sourced future expenditure, management effort, collection uncertainty and counterclaim or settlement effects. The review describes choices and consequences without fake probabilities, rates or solvency opinions.
You and your current team decide what happens next
You choose the immediate self-help or current-team actions, evidence repairs, response or settlement position and decision date. The report names owners and decision points before any optional further instruction.
We explain the findings and next steps
We issue the findings and discuss the next-step choices with you, identifying any legal, delay or other specialist referral without making it a condition of using the report.
We deliver the written review and next steps
What you get
A written review with checked workings and an explained risk profile. It covers the position and contractual assumptions, valuation method, records, consistency and overlap, specialist time inputs, the other party's position, relevant deadlines, future cost and capacity, and collection or settlement uncertainty. Where the information supports an assessment, we explain each material issue’s severity on a 1–5 scale and show the strength of its evidence separately. The overall assessment reflects the highest material unresolved severity, rather than an average. If essential information is missing, we mark the relevant assessment as not assessable and keep any demonstrated critical finding visible. The score helps you prioritise action; it is not a percentage chance of success or failure. The report answers five practical questions: what did we review, what did we find, what does it mean for you, what should happen next, and how can we help if further work is worthwhile? Actions have an owner and a decision point, including steps you or your current team can take. Any optional further service is separately scoped and agreed after the review. This is not a prediction of winning or recovering money.
The Handover Pack accompanies the work with its dates and sources, likely outcomes and responses, scope boundaries and ready-to-send correspondence where needed.
The fee and timetable are agreed in writing after the evidence and scope have been reviewed.
We will agree the timetable in writing when we scope the work. We will confirm the start and target dates once we have the information needed for the agreed work. If something is missing or unusable, we will explain the options and agree any change before starting. We will confirm your target date.
Where the turnaround is stated in working days, the confirmed start day is day zero.
The turnaround ends when we issue the agreed deliverable and its supporting handover documents.
Tell us about any live deadline straight away. Contractual or statutory deadlines continue to run while information is being gathered.
We will confirm the target date for your agreed work.
Free Service Pack
A step-by-step Handbook, with the templates and working documents you need to carry out the work it covers yourself. You supply your own project information and records.
Follow the Handbook's scope and stopping points, and obtain independent advice where required. The pack is not project-specific advice or independent sign-off.
Products used
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Frequently asked questions related to this service
If the findings call for it, optional further work can be scoped separately: Claim Preparation and Assembly, Adjudication Quantum Support, or Settlement Negotiation Support. None is required to use this report.