Statutory adjudication under the Construction Act is the fastest dispute procedure in English law: a binding decision, typically within 28 days of referral, on unpaid invoices, interim payments, defects and delay claims. Notices drafted, the referral built, the whole procedure run at a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work begins.
Handled in writing throughout. No court, no hearings in the usual case, no attendance required.
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Written advice within 24 hours of instruction. Trademarks filed within 48 hours of instruction. Documents in days, not weeks. Never "3 to 5 business days" just to hear back.
| Item | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Payment / pay-less notice review | The notices that decide smash-and-grab claims, checked or drafted against the contract and the Act. | £345 |
| Adjudication strategy and merits note | Your contract and payment history reviewed with a written view: prospects, the right dispute to refer, timetable and cost. | from £550 |
| Notice of adjudication and referral | The notice and referral drafted and served: the documents that frame the entire 28 days. | from £1,950 |
| Full representation, referring party | The procedure run end to end: notice, referral, reply, submissions, through to decision. | from £4,500 |
| Responding party defence | Served with a notice of adjudication? The response and defence built inside the brutal timetable. | from £3,500 |
| Enforcement and next steps | The decision enforced, or the true-value battle planned, with counsel instructed where court proceedings are needed. | from £650 |
Your fixed fee is confirmed in writing once I have seen your document. Pay within 24 hours of that confirmation for the reduced fee.
Bespoke and urgent matters outside the schedule: £650 per hour, capped estimates in advance.
The Act's timetable is 28 days from referral to decision, extendable modestly by agreement. It exists precisely so cash keeps flowing in construction: the decision binds and is enforced by the courts on a pay now, argue later basis, even if a final account fight continues later.
If the paying party misses the deadline for a valid payment notice or pay-less notice, the sum applied for can become due in full regardless of the work's true value. These claims are won and lost on notice dates and drafting, which is why the £345 notice review is the cheapest insurance in the industry.
The statutory right to adjudicate applies to most construction contracts in England and Wales, including many that never mention adjudication, and JCT and NEC forms build it in expressly. Send the contract; the strategy note answers this definitively for your case.
Usually not. Adjudication is overwhelmingly a documents procedure: the referral, the response and written submissions decide it. Where an adjudicator directs a meeting or site visit, that is handled remotely wherever the rules allow, and the fee position is agreed with you before anything extends.
Send a brief outline of your matter. You will receive a personal reply from a solicitor, with a fixed-fee quote where the scope is clear. Payment is taken before work begins; every fee is fixed in writing first.
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