Legal and Commercial Sector Interest Group

The purpose of the legal and commercial group is to consider the legal, commercial, liability, risk and insurance issues impacting on members' businesses and to seek to raise the profile of and represent members' interests, within the construction and engineering industry as a whole.

The group incorporates the following in order to achieve and implement its remit:

• Develop, promote and solve the relevant legal and contractual issues relating to procurement.
• Pre-empt and proactively address legal, risk and insurance issues which are of concern to ACE members.
• Review issues relating to professional indemnity insurance (PII) and provide feedback to the ACE insurance group and the ACE board.
• Develop risk avoidance and PII guidance/briefing notes for implementation by ACE's legal and compliance department.
• Revise and review ACE agreements, developing new agreements where needed.
• Monitor legal and contractual developments and seek changes in legislation, where considered necessary.
• Respond to consultations from government and other bodies.
• Invite speakers from industry bodies, chambers and external law firms to address the group (and select invitees from group members' firms and companies) on topics of prime concern.
• Arrange attendance for group members at select events organised by the Law Society, the General Council of the Bar, the Society for Construction Law, government departments and other relevant bodies.
• Seek to host an annual 'profile raising' dinner/debate and invite key stakeholders from industry to debate a particular 'hot' topic.
• Contribute towards the hosting of seminars/conferences to address specific industry issues, as and when required.  
• The Legal and commercial group is chaired by Allan Thomas, director of operations at Jacobs.
   

  Membership: 

   

  The following ACE member companies participate in the SIG:

  
  Jacobs

  URS Corporation

  Taylor Woodrow

  Hurst Pierce and Malcolm

  Gifford

  Capita Symonds

  Heath Lambert

  Willis

  Griffith and Armour

  Grontmij

  Berrymans Lace Mawer

  Beale and Company

  Scott Wilson

  Buro Happold

  MLM Consulting