FIDIC claims management for contractors on live projects
Most entitlement is lost during delivery, not at the hearing: through late notices, thin records and determinations left unchallenged. The retainer puts specialist FIDIC claims support alongside your project team from contract award, for a fixed monthly fee.
Designed for international contractors, joint ventures and subcontractors working under FIDIC, in English, Turkish or Russian.
- Standing monthly advisory on notices, claims and determinations
- Response within 24 hours on matters flagged as urgent
- Delivery in English, Turkish or Russian
- FIDIC 1999, 2017 and MDB editions
- Scope scaled to project complexity and claims activity
- Minimum six months; project-life engagement preferred
Delivery teams manage the works. Entitlement needs managing in parallel.
Most project teams deliver well. Few have the FIDIC claims capacity to protect entitlement at the same time, and the cost of that gap compounds over the life of the project.
Claims problems accumulate quietly.
- Sub-Clause 20.1 / 20.2 notices served late or not at all
- EOT claims submitted without contemporaneous support
- Engineer’s determinations accepted by default or challenged out of time
- Quantum assembled under dispute pressure from incomplete records
- Specialist support engaged once entitlement is already compromised
Entitlement is built and protected from day one.
- Every delay and change event checked for notice obligations as it arises
- EOT entitlement built month by month from programme and cost records
- Determinations accepted, negotiated or challenged deliberately and in time
- A live claims register showing every claim and time-bar exposure
- DAAB or DB strategy prepared before a dispute crystallises
What the retainer covers each month
Scope scales with the project. In high-intensity periods, or where a referral is approaching, the service extends to fortnightly calls, full claim and quantum preparation, DAAB or DB referral support and coordination with your legal advisers.
Monthly Review Call
Progress, delay events, variations, Engineer conduct and correspondence, reviewed in your team’s working language.
Notice and Correspondence Review
Draft notices and contractually significant letters reviewed before issue, with time-bar exposure flagged and framing recommended.
EOT Development
Delay events identified and critical path impact analysed as they occur, with prolongation costs built up alongside.
Determination Assessment
Each Engineer’s determination assessed for acceptance, negotiation or challenge, with the response prepared where needed.
Live Claims Register
A monthly written report of every claim, its status and time-bar position, suitable for senior management and counsel.
Urgent Advisory
Phone and email access between calls, with a response within 24 hours on matters flagged as urgent.
Built for contractors working under FIDIC internationally
International Main Contractors
Road, rail, water, power and port contracts under the Red or Yellow Book, where delay and variation exposure is material.
MDB-Funded Joint Ventures
World Bank, AfDB, EBRD, ADB or IsDB projects under the Pink Book (DB) or the 2017 editions with MDB Particular Conditions (DAAB).
Turkish and CIS Contractors
Teams working in Turkish or Russian on English-language contracts, Engineers and forums. Advice in your team’s language removes that disadvantage.
Subcontractors with Major Exposure
First- and second-tier subcontractors under back-to-back or FIDIC-derived subcontracts, protecting entitlement against the main contractor.
Getting the retainer in place on your project
Initial assessment
Review of the contract form, current claims position and team structure, with a conflict check before engagement.
Engagement letter
Scope, monthly fee, response commitments, confidentiality and term. Minimum six months; project-life engagement preferred.
Onboarding
Contract, programme and correspondence history reviewed, existing time-bar exposure identified and the reporting protocol agreed.
Standing service
From month one: review call, document review, claims register and on-call access, refocused as the project phase changes.
Advisory support continues. Expert independence is assessed, not assumed.
The retainer complements your legal advisers and QS team; it does not replace them. Where a matter proceeds to a DAAB, DB, arbitration or court, we continue in an advisory role alongside your legal team.
Whether we can also act as independent expert is assessed case by case against the applicable requirements, including CPR Part 35 and Article 5(2)(a) of the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence. Where that is not appropriate, we will say so and support the appointed expert.
Retainer — common questions
Can the retainer start part-way through a project?
Yes. Onboarding includes a review of notices already served, open claims and any existing time-bar exposure, so the position is established before the monthly service begins.
What is the minimum term?
Six months. Most clients retain us for the remaining life of the project, because the value of a contemporaneous record builds over time.
How is the fee set?
As a fixed monthly fee, agreed at onboarding according to the contract value, project stage and level of claims activity, and reviewed when the project moves into a different phase.
Does the retainer replace our quantity surveyors or lawyers?
No. Your QS team keeps commercial administration and your lawyers keep legal advice. The retainer adds a specialist FIDIC claims layer between project delivery and formal dispute.
Which contract forms do you cover?
The FIDIC 1999 and 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books, the Pink Book (MDB Harmonised Edition) and FIDIC-derived subcontracts.
Discuss your project with Equitas
Send us the contract form, project stage and current claims position. We will tell you what level of support fits, or whether you need a retainer at all.