Do I need a lawyer to run an adjudication as a subcontractor?

Do you need a lawyer to adjudicate? Answer is no, the real answer is it can help. The third most real answer that nobody will give you that it is completely dependent on your circumstance. Now, here's the thing. To give you a long-winded answer, but it helps giving you more detail. Adjudication system, particularly in construction, was built subbies to run themselves. So the director, the cM, the cA, the pM just upload it themselves, a document, apply for adjudication needing a lawyer.

But from my experience and what I've seen and the reason it exists, core value of it is be a fast and effective method to achieve cash flow when disputes, for example. Reality is that lawyers are going to cost three five k to be able to assess everything slow and it's not fast it's not practical that's the sad reality great for the big boy disputes when you're looking six figures 12 months and you're ready to fight that court battle it's a serious dispute if it's just a matter of cash flow and the builder is simply delaying payment for no particular reason that you both know, both parties know that it's not very reasonable.

Builder's just leveraging it because they can, because they have all that leverage and they can just string you along all their sort of tactics. Example, they might just say under assessment or it's waiting approval and the thing you know it's two weeks overdue or month overdue and you're all of a sudden on 90 payment terms rather than the 30-day terms in your contract. The thing, the adjudication system was built for subbies to get fast, cheap and effective results, outcomes and get paid when they're meant to be.

Reality is no, you don't need a lawyer. Yes, legal advice can help, the reason I stepped up and started doing what I was doing is because doesn't take a I'm no lawyer myself. I know when to not cross that line and I refer a lot of matters to lawyers when they get to that point. There is this huge grey area in construction right before it gets to a lawyer you can solve 90% of the problems to escalate and boom, problem is gone, project keeps moving, sub-year is paid and everybody gets on with life.

The core answer is no. You don't need a lawyer to run an adjudication. You can definitely do it yourself, it is important to note the act can be a bit strict. The adjudicators will look at very, guess, the sequences of your claim to make sure that you satisfy these very particular, guess, events to adjudicating. So, for example, you submitted a valid payment claim. Builder or didn't submit a payment schedule.

And then the third, making sure for the right reason under legislation, which basically means is and actually followed the sequence with respect to it being, sorry I'm using a lot of jargon but I'm trying to explain it easily for you. Typically three ways you can adjudicate. The builder didn't provide a payment schedule. That's the easiest one. And if they didn't in that, like 10 to 15 business days, depending on your state, if they provide it your payment claim, they didn't provide a payment schedule to it, are often liable for the full amount that you claim.

That's your strongest one. If there's silence and they didn't provide a payment schedule, second being that they did provide a payment schedule it for less than the amount that you claimed you want to dispute that then you can run an adjudication under that route the third being they did provide a payment schedule but the due date passed and you didn't get paid so you can run it that way as well.

So there are protections for you to utilize and I highly recommend and is why I'm dedicating so much of my life and my business to out the awareness that you these protections and these entitlements available to you. And I'm trying to make it easier for you and explaining like I am in this video exactly how you can pursue that process having to spend a lot on a lawyer, having to spend a lot on me, c, ideally just doing it yourself, getting the result, getting paid, and moving on with the project like nothing ever happened.

That is the ideal outcome at the end of the day, getting you paid getting on with the project particularly getting paid for the work that you've completed the builder is unreasonably withholding. That's all it is. There's nothing, no ulterior motives regarding adjudications. It's just like paid, get moving, keep the project moving and everyone lives happily ever after. I hope that helps. I hope that answers your question and if you need help running an adjudication, sadly not taking on live matters at the moment but I've got a similar professional who does work just like that of me or did do like me so I can refer them to you if it takes it if it's a smaller you can use my free tools link in the description we have pro version for now the subcontract risk scanner that you can use before signing a subcontract flesh

out all the risk for you for watching please drop a subscribe if you enjoyed this video I appreciate all the support you give me and support helps me keep on delivering what I deliver. So thank you. A great week and I will see you in the next video.