Hamish Lal, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & FeldAll of a sudden the cheerful merry-go-round of holidays and Christmas is almost upon us again. Carols have been sung, mince pies munched and the Office Christmas tree greatly admired. I hope that you have a wonderful festive break. The Committee has worked hard in 2022. The Quarterly Case Law Updates and the Practical Workshops are just two examples of tangible learning and making sure that Members remain appraised of current legal developments. The major developments this Year have been the Society’s collaboration with King’s College London leading to the publication of 2022 Construction Adjudication in the United Kingdom: Tracing Trends and Guiding Reform and the Annual Conference hosted in Edinburgh where Lord Glennie PC gave the Keynote Paper. The Report is an irresistible read for everyone involved with statutory adjudication and I hope that Members will happily let us have feedback and views on what ought to be addressed in the next iteration of this important work. I should stress that the Society has already taken the lead on one of the Report’s recommendations: Morwenna Crichton and Claire King head the Taskforce on diversity in construction adjudication and Members will see in Q1 2023 how we now plan to fix the gender problem in adjudication. The Conference was a great success (on many levels): it was ‘sell-out’; there were sessions looking at substantive and procedural issues; we focused on international adjudication; and gave younger Members the opportunity to learn the basics of how to be an adjudicator. Please note that the 2023 Conference will take place in London on 30 November 2023 – Arran Dowling-Hussey will elaborate in the New Year. I am pleased to announce that Doug James and Benedict Morillo of Crown Office Chambers will share the Editorial Role for this Newsletter. We are all very grateful to Daniel Churcher of 4 Pump Court whose term as Editor came to an end in Q4. Daniel was excellent and the Society is indebted. Finally, if you would like to share any professional news or publish an article, we would be thrilled to hear from you. Please get in touch by emailing hamish.lal@akingump.com and / or tim@willisconsultancy.co.uk With all best wishes. Hamish Lal |
