Architect’s Legal Handbook: The Law for Architects

Celebrating 50 years since it was first published, the Architect’s Legal Handbook has been the most widely used reference on the law for practicing architects, and the established textbook on law for architectural students.

Since the last edition of this book in 2021, unprecedented change has occurred in the construction sector. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union has ushered in changes to legislation in a wide range of areas. The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017 and the deficiencies in design, construction, and regulation within the sector that were revealed as a result have given rise to major changes in the way projects are now carried out. An overhaul of the Building Regulations and the creation of a new Building Safety Regulator are only some of the ways in which the landscape has changed.

This eleventh edition features all the latest developments in the law which affect an architect’s work, as well as providing comprehensive coverage of relevant UK law topics. Key highlights of this edition include:

• A new chapter has been added to cover the statutory framework for building safety (Chapter 9), which is complemented by a wholly updated chapter on construction regulation in England and Wales (Chapter 10)
• The chapter on public procurement law (Chapter 14) has also been entirely rewritten to focus on the Public Procurement Act 2023 and related regulations, following Brexit
• New suites of standard contract forms have, since the last edition, been issued. These have seen substantial changes with chapters on JCT 2024 (Chapter 18) and the latest NEC4 forms (Chapter 19), together with wider updates to the chapters on FIDIC (Chapter 20) and other forms of contract (Chapter 21)
• A revised chapter on architects’ contracts with clients covering the RIBA Professional Services Contract 2024 (Chapter 37)
• A new section on novations in the chapter on the English Law of Contract (Chapter 2)

The Architect’s Legal Handbook is the essential legal reference work for all architects and students of architecture.

Anthony Speaight KC - Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Surrey. Barrister. Bencher of Middle Temple. His publications include The Law of Defective Premises (co-author) and the Butterworths Professional Negligence Service (contributor). He is a past member of the Council of the Society of Construction Law, past chairman of the Editorial Board of Counsel, Journal of the Bar of England & Wales, and past Chairman of the Bar Council’s Access to the Bar Committee. He acts as a supervisor of dissertations at the King’s College London Centre of Construction Law. He is a trained Mediator.

Matthew Thorne, FCIArb - Barrister, in practice at 4 Pump Court, Temple, London, and member of Inner Temple. He is recommended as ’leading junior’ in the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and Who’s Who Legal. Formerly chairman of Junior TECBAR, he is a member of the Society of Construction Law, Professional Negligence Bar Association, the Commercial Bar Association and the Technology and Construction Bar Association (of which he has been a committee member). He has been a co-author of LexisPSL Adjudication and is the author of Becoming a Barrister. He is an Adjudicator accredited with CIArb, TECBAR, CIC and UK Adjudicators.