Construction Law Solicitors in Birmingham
Witan Solicitors advises developers, contractors, subcontractors, funders, consultants and public sector estates teams on the contracts and disputes that shape construction projects.
Based in Birmingham, we work across the West Midlands and nationally where projects or disputes demand specialist legal advice.
As Featured In
Our work spans project documentation, such as JCT, NEC and bespoke arrangements, risk allocation and security packages, and fast-moving disputes including adjudication, payment claims, delay and defects, termination and insolvency fall‑out.
When a live project issue lands, it is understandable to want a clear view of risk, options and next steps before you commit time and budget.
Advice at Every Stage
Construction risk rarely arrives all at once. The right legal input at the right stage can protect cashflow, programme and leverage later.
Before You Build
When you are locking down the building contract, consultant appointments and the security package. This is where allocation of design responsibility, programme risk, payment mechanics and termination rights are set.
During Your Project
When variations, delay, valuations, retentions or notices are becoming contentious. This is often about keeping the job moving while protecting entitlement and evidence.
When Disputes Arise
When adjudication, litigation or urgent relief is on the table, or where insolvency has changed the commercial reality overnight. Speed matters, but so does strategy.
Our Construction Law Services
We handle contentious and non-contentious construction work in Birmingham, across the West Midlands, and nationally on higher-complexity matters.
Your Confidence, Our Commitment
Sectors We Advise
Sector context matters in construction because risk allocation, procurement routes and stakeholder pressure look very different depending on what you are building and who is funding it.
Residential Development
We advise on mixed‑use and residential procurement in Birmingham, where contract strategy is shaped by programme certainty, feasibility, sales/forward funding constraints and Building Safety Act obligations.
Documentation often needs to align with funder due diligence and handover requirements, not just build delivery.
Commercial Development
On commercial schemes, we focus on certainty of design responsibility, tenant requirements, warranties, and the interplay between the building contract and leases or agreements for lease.
Where tenant fit‑out and landlord works overlap, we help provide clarity on interfaces and practical completion milestones.
Healthcare and Care Sector
Healthcare and care projects bring layered governance, compliance expectations and reputational sensitivity.
We advise on contract structures and dispute handling where continuity of service and stakeholder management are as important as legal entitlement.
Education
With Birmingham’s four universities continuing to expand and remodel, our team advise on many education construction projects.
These often involve tight, term‑time programmes, public sector procurement constraints and heightened scrutiny on change control and cost reporting. We advise on documentation and dispute resolution routes that keep decision-making clear and defensible.
Infrastructure and Civils
For civils and infrastructure work, risk often concentrates around ground conditions, utilities, interfaces and delay analysis.
We advise on notices, records and dispute strategy so that claims are evidence‑led and commercially proportionate.
Public Sector
Public bodies, such as Birmingham City Council, and public-sector delivery partners need procurement compliance, auditability and strong contract governance.
We advise on frameworks, call‑offs, transparency obligations and dispute handling where maintaining delivery momentum is essential.
What We’re Seeing in the Birmingham Construction Market Right Now
Across Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, construction programmes remain busy, with tight delivery conditions. City-centre and HS2-related activity around Curzon Street is increasing interface risk, labour and logistics pressure, and the likelihood of valuation disputes, delay arguments and risk re-pricing.
Payment discipline is under sharper scrutiny where cashflow is strained, with “true value” disagreements, pay less notices and retention withholding arising earlier, and adjudication used sooner to protect position. At the same time, insolvency risk is driving closer attention to bonds, PCGs, collateral warranties and step-in rights at contract stage.
Building Safety Act duties on residential and mixed-use schemes, and Procurement Act 2023 transparency requirements for public bodies, are now shaping procurement and contract management across West Midlands projects.
Matter Highlights
Contractor
Multiple adjudications
Acting for a contractor pursuing three simultaneous adjudications with a combined value of over £1.2 million, managing strategy and timetable across parallel claims.
Employer/developer-side dispute
Property development contract claim
Successfully defended a breach of contract claim for a wraparound house extension
Adjudication enforcement
JCT contract dispute
Settled dispute under a JCT Design and Build Contract (2016) after the Costs and Case Management Conference.
Why Clients Choose Witan Solicitors
Construction issues rarely stay in a single lane. We advise on contract drafting and negotiation through to dispute resolution, giving you a consistent legal position from procurement to close-out. That matters in Birmingham and across the West Midlands, where live projects often need decisions in days, not weeks, particularly around payment notices, suspension, adjudication timetables and insolvency disruption.
Where a dispute is unavoidable, we are used to working with commercial teams, QSs, project managers and funders to turn records into a clear, evidence-led case theory and a realistic route to resolution.
Witan Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the firm’s accreditations include recognition by Legal 500. For dispute work that benefits from ADR input, our team includes a CEDR-accredited commercial mediator, which can be valuable where preserving relationships or managing parallel settlement discussions is commercially important.
Meet the Birmingham Construction Law Team
Qarrar Somji
Director, Solicitor-Advocate
Qarrar leads Witan's dispute resolution, focusing on construction, high-value commercial, and insolvency litigation, including multi-adjudication strategies.
Preetam Singh Samra
Litigation Executive
Preetam specialises in commercial and construction litigation, with experience advising on payment disputes and delay and termination disputes.
Your Confidence, Our Commitment
Construction Disputes Advice and Support
Our team of solicitors in Birmingham can offer qualified, specific advice on your construction dispute or project and help you find a way forward.
0300 303 2071
Mon - Fri 8:30 - 5:30
or email us at info@witansolicitors.co.uk
FAQs
Can you advise on both the build contract and any disputes that arise from it?
Yes. We advise on the project documentation and also handle disputes including adjudication and wider construction disputes. That continuity is often valuable because the drafting decisions made at procurement stage are usually the same clauses that decide entitlement later.
Do I need a solicitor to draft my JCT contract, or can I use a standard form?
You can use a standard form instead of seeking legal advice, but the commercial risk usually sits in the amendments, the schedules and how the contract interfaces with your procurement route, consultant appointments and security package. A targeted legal review often focuses on the clauses that drive payment, time, design responsibility, termination and dispute resolution. If you want a pragmatic review rather than a full re‑draft, we can scope that from the outset.
What is the difference between adjudication and litigation in construction disputes?
Adjudication is designed to be fast and is often used to resolve discrete issues during a project, with a decision that is generally binding unless and until it is finally determined elsewhere. Litigation is a fuller court process, usually used for final determination of broader disputes, multi‑party issues or where the remedy sought is not suited to adjudication. We advise on both routes and can help you choose the process that best matches the dispute profile and commercial objective.
We have suffered losses due to our architect’s design errors; do we have a claim?
Potentially, but early assessment is important because limitation, causation and evidence of loss can become harder with time. We would typically review the appointment, any novation, collateral warranties or third‑party rights, and the design record and remedial scope. If you would like an initial view on merits and the best route forward, contact the team via our enquiry form.
This page was last reviewed by Qarrar Somji, Director & Solicitor-Advocate, Construction Team, April 2026. Our construction law content is reviewed every six months to ensure it reflects current legislation, case law and market practice.
Witan Solicitors Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA 605789). You can view the firm record on the SRA register, and Witan publishes its complaints procedure online.