Full Name: Rachel Griffiths
Job Title: Contracts and Legal Manager
Company: Fugro

I started my career in 1988 as a maritime engineer in design offices and on construction sites in the UK and the Middle East but soon found that I enjoyed the commercial and contractual aspects more than the technical ones. Once I became a chartered engineer, I moved into contracts full time. I completed my law degree while working as a contract specialist focusing on construction and consultancy contracts. I joined Fugro in 2013 as legal and contracts adviser for land and marine projects and found that I needed to expand my knowledge to cover ground investigation contracts, so I completed a master’s in oil and gas law and wrote my thesis on offshore wind contracts. As part of Fugro’s European legal team, I now advise Fugro on legal and contractual matters regarding onshore and offshore ground investigations in the UK, Europe and Africa.

What or who inspired you to join the geotechnical industry?
I came to the geotechnical industry from the wider onshore construction world, but what attracted me to Fugro was the range of challenges in the offshore work. Whilst I well understood the risks and challenges of ground investigation and construction onshore, undertaking ground investigations offshore is another level of complexity. The constraints of vessels and resources, and the impact of weather, currents and water depths must be addressed in addition to the usual onshore risks of access and ground conditions. Every day is interesting and challenging.

What does a typical day entail?
At the moment, a lot of sitting at home in my study, attending MS Teams meetings! As a legal adviser, my role is primarily risk mitigation. This involves advising the Fugro business on commercial contracts with clients, partners, subcontractors and suppliers, both before and after they are signed. As well as having to read a lot of documents, my role involves many internal and external meetings, where I advise the business, negotiate contracts and deal with ongoing client matters. Before lockdown, I often travelled within the UK and Europe to other Fugro and client offices for face-to-face meetings, but now I’m purely home-based. The downside of this new way of working is that tasks are very condensed and sometimes now I attend multiple client meetings a day with little time in between, which squeezes preparation time.

Are there any projects which you’re particularly proud to have been a part of?
In recent years, Fugro’s offshore business has diversified away from oil and gas to supporting the offshore wind industry. During my eight years at Fugro, I’ve worked on contracts with many renewable clients through our ground investigations and surveys for wind farms. This new industry has required new contracts and contracting practices and I am proud of the way that the industry has responded to develop contracts to balance and allocate the risks involved. It is satisfying to see that some of the wind farms where I advised on the contracts for Fugro’s early ground investigations are now being constructed. It is nice to see that the process produces tangible results in the form of renewable energy projects.

What are the most challenging aspects of your role?
As Fugro covers such a range of work, including geotechnical and geophysical investigations for offshore and onshore work supporting major infrastructure projects, as well as marine construction, metocean and consultancy services, the main challenge is dealing with the different contracts, risks and issues that arise across such a diverse workload. This often means jumping from one thing to another, but the upside is that it is never boring.

What AGS Working Group(s) are you a Member of and what are your current focuses?
I am a member of the Loss Prevention Working Group (LPWG). This parallels my role in Fugro, as it is focused on risk mitigation. The LPWG’s role is to advise members on matters related to the risk that may affect the work they do, and balance the contractual risk fairly between clients and contractors and consultants. To do this, we keep abreast of current issues that affect our industry, including legislation, case law and the publication of new codes and standards, in addition to sharing our own experiences as industry professionals. We then provide advice and support to the AGS through published guidance and alerts, magazine articles and, more recently, through our seminars and webinars on risk mitigation.

What do you enjoy most about being an AGS Member?
I enjoy the discussions at the LPWG meetings, as the group has a range of members from around the geotechnical industry, representing clients, contractors, and consultants ranging from individual specialists to large companies, and also the lawyers and insurers who provide vital support. This cross section of perspectives means we have lively discussions which we can then consolidate into useful guidance, which we publish to help our colleagues across the AGS.

What do you find beneficial about being an AGS Member?
In my role as Fugro’s legal adviser, I find the publications and papers provided by the LPWG on commercial risk mitigation issues helpful as they provide a good resource for guidance on the risks and concerns which affect professionals working in the industry. Sharing these papers with my colleagues helps provide a firm understanding of commercial risks and how to address them. These resources are mirrored by similar resources which are provided by other groups within the AGS to support members in other professional and technical aspects of their business, and I think the industry as a whole benefits from this pooling of knowledge and sharing of expertise.

Why do you feel the AGS is important to the industry?
I think the AGS helps at all levels because both experienced practitioners and young professionals benefit from the range of resources and support provided by the AGS. Young geotechnical and environmental engineers and other specialists should be encouraged by employers such as Fugro to seek out and use the guidance available as it is certainly helps their careers. In addition, experienced professionals who come across a new issue where they need guidance or reassurance can similarly benefit. The chances are that someone else has encountered and overcome the same issue before and help is available.

What changes would you like to see implemented in the geotechnical industry?
With my focus on contractual matters, particularly for onshore infrastructure work, I would like to see more development on the production of bespoke contracts that recognise that geotechnical ground investigations and reporting are somewhere between “Works” and “Services”. Obviously the ICC Ground Investigation conditions are developed for this purpose but, increasingly often, UK onshore clients or their advisers seek to adapt other forms of contract designed for consultancy or construction to use on ground investigations. The problem with this is that the risks are quite different and therefore not properly addressed in these other standard contracts. This effectively forces the parties to negotiate their positions on the key risks from scratch on every project, which takes time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. I would like to see more consensus across the industry to address this issue.

Name: Sheena Sood
Job title: Senior Partner
Company name: Beale & co

• What does the company do and what areas does it specialise in?
Beale & Co is an International Construction and Insurance Law Specialist. We have been providing specialist legal advice to the construction, engineering and infrastructure sector for over 50 years and are recognised leaders in the legal directories. Our lawyers understand and advise on all aspects of the construction process from beginning to end, drafting standard conditions of contract and bespoke contracts, providing assistance with tenders and contract reviews, giving practical advice on issues that arise during the life of a project, and dispute avoidance and resolution advice should things go wrong. Working with construction professionals and their insurers we offer cost-effective advice focused on finding solutions to difficult problems. Our lawyers have advised construction professionals on some of the most prestigious projects both at home and abroad including the Battersea Power Station, HS2, Crossrail, or the M25 in the UK; wind farm and motorway projects in Ireland; the Metro 2020 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Bangkok Airport and the Sual Power Station in the Philippines.

• Where is Beale & Co located?
We have offices in London, Bristol, Dublin and Dubai.

• How many people does the company employ?
We have over 90 lawyers working across the four offices and employ over 160 staff in total.

• How long have you worked at Beale & Co?
After completing my law degree with Brunel University I started my training contract (called articles in those days!) with Beale & Co in 1990, qualifying in 1992. I have stayed at the firm since qualification and so have been working at Beale & Co for over 30 years now.

• What is your career background, and what enticed you to work for Beale & Co?
My law degree at Brunel University was a thin sandwich LLB course and involved working in industry for 3 summers out of the 4 years of the course. The first industry experience I gained was working within the legal department of the London Borough of Hounslow for 6 months. Working with its dedicated lawyers on child protection issues was eye opening. I then sought to obtain experience in a private practice law firm which I discovered was difficult, especially with no links to the legal industry. I wrote letters to a number of different firms requesting work experience placements. Of the letters I wrote, two law firms responded, one of which was Beale & Co which then offered me a placement. During this placement and subsequent placements with them, I worked closely with Antony Smith on contentious construction work, gaining great experience. This is where I gained an avid interest in the construction industry. I particularly enjoyed helping clients to get disputes solved and the ‘highs and lows’ of litigation. Mainly the highs! The skills required go beyond pure legal knowledge.

• What is your current role within Beale & Co and what does a typical day entail?
I am the Senior Partner of Beale & Co. My role involves advising clients on a diverse range of professional negligence claims and contractual disputes, advising engineers, architects, contractors, health and safety professionals and surveyors. I work across all sectors of the construction industry and really enjoy getting to grips with the different issues of importance.

Another significant part of my role involves working alongside colleagues in the leadership team in leading the strategy and direction of the firm and management of various issues internally. I have an external facing role representing the firm with a significant part of my time spent on business development. I also contribute regularly to trade press including authoring articles and thought leadership pieces for Building magazine and Infrastructure Intelligence.

As a partner led firm I am closely involved with all of my cases and a typical day will involve work on client matters, liaison with team members working on those cases, business development and internal management and administration.

• What are the company’s core values?
At Beale & Co, we are interested in doing a good job, well. For us that involves thinking holistically about people, having the highest standards, and achieving the best possible sustainable outcomes for all. Our values drive every aspect of what we do as a business, from how we treat our clients and colleagues to how we treat the community and the environment around us. Our core values are:

People matter – one team, one firm.
We believe in a ‘one team, one firm’ approach which prioritises respect for people and their contributions. We foster an inclusive environment where we can be authentic with each other and our clients. Above all we value each other’s mental and physical health and well-being. We have a strong ethos and commitment to collaboration and teamwork founded on listening and action.

Straight and honourable dealing
We value and operate with openness in all our dealings. We aim for the highest possible standards of integrity and fairness as an employer and provider of legal services.

Best possible outcomes
We value hard work, innovation and sustainability. We continually seek to be the best we possibly can be for our people, our clients and our community.

• Are there any projects or achievements which Beale & Co are particularly proud to have been a part of?
I’m proud to say that, in recent years, Beale & Co has advised on numerous high-profile projects and disputes in the UK and internationally including signature buildings in the City of London, Baku sports stadium in Azerbaijan, HS2, Crossrail, Dubai 2020 to name a few.

• How important is sustainability within the company?
Sustainability is hugely important to us. Sustainable business has at its heart the understanding that the success of a business relies intrinsically on doing what is best for the environment, clients, employees, communities and all other stakeholders. Writing this during the Covid-19 pandemic I am struck by how true this is.

Companies around the world are facing growing pressure to become more socially and environmentally responsible. As a firm, we believe that we should do more than simply acknowledge the importance of doing the right thing but also strive to deliver value to everyone connected directly or indirectly to our business.

Our strategy for delivering sustainable business is based on ‘Four Pillars’ which form the foundation of our approach to being a responsible business.

Our ‘Four Pillars’ are:

Community: We recognise that the way we deal with our stakeholder clients, employees and suppliers has a huge impact on the communities in which we operate and goes far wider than the simple delivery of legal services.

Employees: Our people are our most valuable asset and we are committed to nurturing a working environment that our people can say they are both proud of, and can relate to.

Environment: Any sustainable future needs to consider environmental impact

Marketplace: We run our business with integrity and we are proud of that. We are committed to sustainable and socially responsible business practise, and we expect the same standards from all those we work with.

While we are a relatively small firm of approximately 160 staff in total, we aim to instil a culture of sustainable business in all of our Partners and employees to be a force for good, focusing on these four key pillars; Community, Employees, Environment, and Marketplace.

We are evolving as a firm, just as our four pillars are evolving, and there is more that we want to do. We are reviewing whether or not we might sign up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and we look forward to sharing our progress in the future.

• How does Beale & Co support graduates and early career professionals who are entering the industry?
We aim to take on up to seven trainee solicitors across our offices each year, providing them with the first-class legal experience and business skills they will need to succeed as a lawyer. Trainees work alongside our partners in the fields of construction (UK and international), insurance and corporate/commercial. From the start of the training programme we give them a hands-on role and they are a real part of the team providing the quality service upon which we have built our reputation. We value our trainees and their contribution and give them opportunities to build relationships with clients and take responsibility for their own matters. We offer our trainees and newly qualified solicitors an extensive programme of internal training and CPD on a number of topics both legal and commercial to assist with their career development.

Not only do we provide training to our own staff but we believe in the importance of providing training to our clients and regularly run CPD events to assist with development of legal knowledge and risk management capabilities within their legal teams.

• How has COVID- 19 affected the day to day running of the company? How have staff adapted?
As a firm we have responded very well to the changes brought on by the pandemic. Fortunately, we trialled remote working across the firm a week before lockdown so the transfer to working from home for us was fairly smooth and we are pleased to say that we have suffered few if any adverse reactions to the new circumstances. Staff have adapted well to the new way of working. We have rolled out software across the firm to enable colleagues to communicate and collaborate via online meetings which has been vital to maintaining our productivity during the pandemic.

What became apparent to everyone at the start of the first lockdown was the potential impact on the mental wellbeing of staff in all forms of business. Not only have people needed to adapt to a new way of working but they have also needed to adapt to a new way of living which in some cases has left people at danger of feeling isolated and anxious. In order to promote the importance of mental health and mental wellbeing internally we have developed a number of initiatives, classes and workshops through our ‘Wellness Teams’ across each of our offices. Our aim is to encourage openness, team bonding, creativity, the development of new skills, physical health and hobbies. Examples of these include social coffee mornings, Spanish classes, yoga sessions, book clubs, cookery and art classes and magic and comedy nights.

• Why do you feel the AGS is important to the industry?
Trade associations such as the AGS are vital for the improvement of quality, health and safety, environmental practices and technical standards. Through networking, training and education and the provision of industry expertise to policy makers the AGS strives to improve the profile and standards of the geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering industry.

• What are Beale & Co’s future ambitions?
To maintain our specialist focus, to maintain our independence, to continue to develop high quality lawyers to undertake high quality works for its clients.

Beale and Co were Diamond sponsors of the AGS’ Loss Prevention webinar series; Commercial Risks and How to Manage Them; Basic Contractual Risk Mitigation and Limited Particular Liabilities.

Recordings of the webinars are available for purchase on HERE and HERE from £25 per series.