Civil & Structural Engineering

Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a broad discipline that plays a fundamental role in the delivery of safe, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure, including transportation systems, water systems, and public works. Civil engineers are responsible for the planning, design, construction, and management of large-scale infrastructure projects that are critical to the functioning of society.

Our expert civil engineers have been involved in:

• Evaluating failures and defects in highway, rail, and water infrastructure projects.
• Investigating drainage and flood management systems to identify design or construction deficiencies.
• Advising on delays, cost overruns, and claims arising from civil infrastructure projects.
• Supporting law firms and clients in arbitration, dispute resolution, and technical due diligence.

Common issues that our clients and law firms encounter include:

• Risk assessment and mitigation for complex or high value construction projects.
• Alleged structural defects or design inadequacies in buildings and infrastructure.
• Non-compliance with design codes, contract specifications or regulatory requirements.
• Failures in water, drainage and transportation systems leading to service disruption or damage.

Structural Engineering

Structural engineering is the design, analysis and construction of buildings, bridges and infrastructure, and the assurance that they remain safe, serviceable, and durable under the loads and conditions they face across their design life.

Our expert structural engineers have been involved in:

• Preparing technical reports for litigation, arbitration, and adjudication; including analysis of disruption and compliance with standards
• Reviewing complex structural failures and defects in commercial and residential buildings
• Assessing building performance under varied loading conditions and post-event scenarios

Our expert structural engineers have worked across residential, commercial, industrial, healthcare, education, transport and heritage projects, collaborating with developers, contractors, insurers, and government bodies at every stage of the design and construction process, from feasibility and concept through detailed design, site supervision, completion and in-service assessment.

That breadth of experience, and in particular first-hand experience of how buildings are actually built rather than how they are drawn, underpins our Expert Witness and Advisory work. It gives our experts a practical understanding of the matters they are instructed to opine on, and our clarity of explanation helps clients and their legal teams grasp the technical issues, supporting informed decisions on complex problems.

Common technical issues our experts are instructed to opine on include:

• Structural collapse and partial collapse, including root-cause analysis and failures during construction
• Cracking, deflection, and excessive movement in completed buildings
• Reinforced concrete defects, including cover, reinforcement corrosion, and honeycombing
• Structural steelwork defects, including connection design, welding, fabrication and erection tolerances
• Adequacy of structural design and compliance with the Building Regulations, Eurocodes and British Standards
• Design liability, delegated and contractor’s design, and design team competency
• Defective construction and workmanship
• Failure to comply with the Employer’s Requirements