Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, is a fan. "I use it regularly because it gives excellent case summaries that help me keep on top of what's going on without having to read whole judgments every time. Many adjudications over the past two years have raised key issues, so you need to know what's happening," he says.
The site, set up by a group of adjudicators in different disciplines, including Building legal columnist and barrister Tony Bingham, provides a mix of news, assistance and background information with sections devoted to cases, claims, contracts and enforcement.
For those still finding their feet in the web world, there is a handy section on common queries. If the portal doesn't provide what you are looking for, there are links to a variety of professional bodies, including the Adjudication Society and the Centre for Dispute Resolution, while others take you to the House of Lords and the Technology and Construction Court.
A quick run-through pinpoints strengths and weaknesses. The chronology of cases is fairly up to date, with the most recent one only four weeks old. But the news section seems sparse and the published articles on display a little out of date – the most recent is from June.
Christopher Hough, a partner at Fenwick Elliott and one of the committee of six that founded the site, admits that the news section isn't up to much, but says the main focus is the case summaries. The site had 2503 hits last month and is becoming more popular. Hough adds that the response is truly international, with 45% hits from Europe, 18% from the US and 36% from the UK.
