Toronto Partners Brian Kelsall and Gerry Ranking comment on trending procurement models in a special edition of Lexpert.
In an article titled “‘No blame, no claim’: trending procurement models aim to stem disputes before they start,” Brian Kelsall comments on the increasing use of dispute-avoidance procurement models, explaining it hinges on every party in a project agreeing to share, rather than divide, the risks, rewards, and responsibilities involved in executing a project, likening it to a boat.
“If there’s a leak, you all better fix it or row pretty fast, [or] we’re all going to go down with the ship. There’s no philosophy of litigation there,” said Brian Kelsall.
In a second article, titled “As uncertainty looms, infrastructure industry continues to embrace ADR and tools to stave off claims,”Gerry Ranking explains how the trending approach to disputes in the infrastructure industry is aimed at avoiding litigation in favour of arbitration and trying to identify and resolve disputes as early as possible.
“In certain situations, a client may have no option but to get the lawyers involved. But while clients will still seek legal advice, early dispute resolution – and ideally resolving potential disputes before they arise – is more important and becoming the norm,” said Gerry Ranking.
