We offer advice to all professional participants in the building and construction industry. Our lawyers have extensive experience of advising clients, contractors, consultants and suppliers, in both Denmark and cross border.
Real Estate
We advise through all stages of the construction project – from the launch of the procurement and tender process and over project development and conclusion of contract to execution, project hand-over and any subsequent defects liability period.
In addition, we are very experienced litigation and arbitration lawyers, and we assist in connection with reports commissioned from court-appointed experts as well as negotiations and mediations.
Advising clients
We advise both private and public clients on construction and engineering projects. Private clients have a relatively free hand, and we can therefore tailor the procurement and tender process to the specific project. In contrast, public clients are subject to relatively strict rules.
When advising clients – private or public – our focus is always on planning the process in a manner which optimises the attractiveness of the tenders received for the project.
We can provide full-service advice, meaning that we take on the role of project manager during the entire procurement and tender process, or our advice can be tailored to ad hoc sparring. Our legal services include:
- Drafting and negotiation of contracts and agreements in accordance with FIDIC, such as construction contracts and technical consultancy contracts
- Procurement and tender processes
- Choice of contract type (subcontract or main or turnkey contract)
- Environmental issues, including advice on sustainable construction practices
- Project finance and development
- Bonds, guarantees and insurance
- Supervision, hand-over, delay and defects
- Consultants' liability
- Mediation and dispute resolution
We advise you as the client on all aspects of procurement and tender processes and performance of building and engineering projects – new projects as well as renovations, conversions, extensions, etc. In the initial project stages, our legal services include:
- Technical dialogue with the market
- Assessment of duty to invite tenders
- Choice of procurement strategy and method
- Optimisation of competition
- Project planning
- Choice of contract type
When the overall competitive parameters and the procurement method and contract type have been established, our legal services include:
- Advertising of the procurement procedure or drafting and publication of tender notice
- Review of prequalification applications with a view to selecting applicants
- Preparation of tender documents, including tender conditions, construction contracts and consultancy contracts
- Choice of selection and award criteria as well as evaluation model
- Evaluation of tenders received with a view to identifying the successful tenderer
We also advise on the possibility of negotiating with the tenderers and on contract drafting and subsequent contract management.
Moreover, we can also help with the planning and execution of complex building and engineering projects as PPP, PPC and PPI projects.
Finally, we have extensive experience of conflict management and dispute resolution in connection with building and engineering projects. We represent clients before the Complaints Board for Public Procurement as well as before the ordinary courts and arbitration tribunals. For more information, please click here.
For more information on our legal services in relation to procurement and tender processes in general, please click here.
Drafting of construction contracts
A good construction contract is important for the client and the contractor as a control tool and in case of disagreement. We advise you on how to draft the "good" construction contract on the basis of the standard which is best suited for the specific project.
Drafting of construction contracts
A good construction contract is important for the client and the contractor as a control tool and in case of disagreement. We advise you on how to draft the "good" construction contract on the basis of the standard which is best suited for the specific project.
It is a great advantage to involve your legal advisor from the beginning. We can assist in the technical clarification phase, which typically takes place after the contract award, where we help ensure that the parties stay within the constraints of the prohibition on negotiation.
We help ensure that the final contractual basis is in place before the construction contract is signed by the client and the contractor.
In the contract conclusion phase, we assist in the drafting of document templates for specific types of contracts. We also assist in the drafting of the construction contract on the basis of the standard document which is relevant in the specific situation.
The drafting of the "good" construction contract is based on the standard which is best suited for the specific project. We advise on the latest standards in this area (the various general conditions documents). For more information on the new general conditions, see the website of the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority.
Consultants and their liability
In Denmark, construction contracts have evolved from the traditional concept where engineers and architects deliver a finished design basis to the client, which the contractor then builds. Today, there are countless hybrid contract types in which the contractor also undertakes to provide consultancy services.
The client and its consultants therefore often need legal advice in connection with technical consultancy contracts, including how to understand the EU public procurement rules and the Danish Tender Act.
As legal advisors, we can help clients ensure that consultancy and construction contracts clearly define the scope and nature of the consultancy services to be provided by the parties involved in the project. Naturally, we have profound knowledge of the General Conditions for Consultancy Services for Building and Construction Works (ABR 18).
Who is responsible if things do not go according to plan? Under the rules on consultants' liability, a consultant making a professional mistake that has consequences for the client is liable to pay compensation.
Based on many years of experience, we represent architects, engineers and other participants in the construction industry in cases involving consultants' liability – including, of course, the related insurance aspects.
Bonds, guarantees and insurance
We prepare loan documentation for the provision of security and assignment of rights relating to development and building projects, and we represent our clients in cases concerning expert decisions under the General Conditions for Building and Construction Works and Supplies (AB 18) and the General Conditions for Design and Build Contracts (ABT 18).
Provision of security
We advise on the standard documents which are used in the construction industry for the bonds and guarantees provided by contractors or clients.
Loan documentation
We have vast experience of advising our clients on the necessary financial documentation relating to development and PPP/PPC projects. Therefore, we can help ensure that the project finance is in place in time.
Insurance for construction projects is often both complex and costly. We advise our clients on all aspects of insurance law and the law of damages in the context of construction law, such as professional liability, project and all risk insurance.
We also advise all the professional participants in the construction industry on insurance-related issues, including engineers, architects, clients and insurance companies. Our advice focuses on identifying and eliminating the pitfalls and problems which typically arise in situations where insurance must be taken out or has been taken out.
In which situations will it be an advantage for you to take out contractor's insurance – also known as all risk insurance? Below follows a list of five examples where this would be a particularly good idea:
- If the construction project is large and expensive
- If the construction project is long term
- If the construction project is very complex
- If there is a particular risk of anyone being injured in the course of the project
- In construction projects involving many different suppliers
