Conclusion

It frequently surprises me that clients are not prepared to pay for the cost of employing a Clerk of Works. If the services he supplies under Section 2 are properly carried out, then the cost of his employment will be covered time and time again by the avoidance of the numerous disputes that arise out of the matters covered in this section. I have been fortunate in my comparably short period of being involved in the practical aspects of construction to have met a number of Clerks of Works. These are usually the people with the practical knowledge and skills of carrying out building or a civil engineering project. They are a terrific weapon in the client's armoury. They are not the hospital administrators; they are the paramedics and nurses who actually deal with and know how to assist the patients. In the legal world, they are not the qualified solicitors but they are the managing clerks who actually make the cases run and who know what the judges want and know how to properly run and administer the cases – the 'hands-on' men. I have enormous respect for the Clerks of Works who have proved their ability to carry out building skills and can now check work done by others for the clients.

	Roderick O'Driscoll is a solicitor, a corporate member of the Association of Building Engineers, a Chartered Arbitrator and an Accredited Mediator. He is an adviser to the Institute and a lecturer and assessor for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is a partner in the firm of Messrs. Gulland & Gulland of Maidstone, Kent where he specialises in Construction and arbitration law. He can be contacted at 01622 690444.