About C&IDS
Fractional General Counsel For Construction
C&IDS places senior construction lawyers directly inside your business — giving contractors, developers and construction businesses across the Middle East and Africa in-house-calibre legal support, without the cost of a full-time General Counsel or a law firm retainer.
Backed by more than 25 years in construction law, our lawyers work as part of your team — embedded, responsive, and focused on your projects — at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house or instructing external counsel.
A Message From Our Founder,
Steven Hunt
"One thing I've noticed across close to 30 years supporting construction claims and disputes — the disputes that end up costing the most, and landing worst, aren't necessarily the hardest ones on the facts. They're the ones where lawyers and experts only get brought in once positions have already hardened, so you're paying to catch up rather than to get ahead, and there's no real time left to prepare a considered position before it matters."
The Challenge
Construction businesses carry significant legal risk - without the legal support to match.
The majority of contractors, subcontractors and developers across the UK, Africa and GCC are managing complex contractual risk without a senior construction lawyer in the room. The consequences are predictable and expensive.
Law firm fees are prohibitive
Specialist construction law firms charge US$550–800+ per hour for a senior specialist engagement. For an SME contractor, instructing a law firm on a claim assessment or contract review can cost more than the issue is worth to resolve. An experienced in-house placement can also support much of the heavy lifting when it comes to preparing for and conducting formal disputes using external counsel - including through the early engagement of experts.
Full-time in-house counsel is out of reach
A senior construction lawyer costs US$280,000–420,000+ per annum in total employment cost. For most contractors and developers in the region, that is simply not commercially viable.
Generalist legal advice is not enough
Construction and infrastructure law is highly specialised - FIDIC contracts, NEC, delay and disruption claims, BOT concessions, international arbitration. A general commercial lawyer is not equipped to handle this complexity.
Legal risk is managed too late
Most businesses engage a lawyer only when a dispute has already escalated. By that point, the cost of resolution is exponentially higher than early legal risk management would have been.
The Gap That C&IDS Fills
C&IDS places a construction lawyer directly into your business on a monthly retainer, working within your existing structure rather than as a detached external adviser. Depending on the tier of engagement, your placed lawyer is available for a set number of hours each month, covering contract drafting and negotiation, live project legal advice, claims prevention and management, and dispute strategy — with the flexibility to scale the placement up or down as your project pipeline changes.
Because C&IDS runs the placement with low overheads and no bench of expensive juniors to fund, you pay for senior judgement rather than law firm infrastructure — typically 60–70% less than an equivalent specialist law firm engagement, and a fraction of the total employment cost of hiring a full-time in-house lawyer directly.
Who We Help
C&IDS specialises in placing in-house lawyers across the construction sectors in the Middle East and Africa, into main contractors, sub-contractors, developers, investors, FM and O&M operators, delivering a cost-effective alternative model to engaging a traditional external legal advisor. Our lawyers become an integrated part of your team, without the high overheads of employing a full-time internal legal specialist. C&IDS works with any construction or infrastructure business that carries legal risk on its projects - from a single live contract to a portfolio of programmes across the UK, Africa and GCC. We offer a range of legal services, from Contract Drafting & Negotiation, and live Project Legal Advice to Claims Prevention & Management and Dispute Strategy & Resolution.
Main Contractors
Civil, MEP, EPC and building contractors with live FIDIC or bespoke contracts. Contract administration support, claims management and dispute strategy for complex multi-contract programmes.
Specialist Subcontractors
MEP, piling, facades, fit-out, roads and utilities subcontractors facing onerous subcontract terms, payment disputes and delay claims from main contractors. We level the playing field.
Developers & Investors
Residential, commercial and infrastructure developers structuring contracts, managing contractor performance and resolving disputes on development programmes across the UK, Africa and GCC.
Energy & Infrastructure
EPC contractors, PMCs and engineering firms delivering power, water, transport and industrial infrastructure. FIDIC Silver Book, BOT concessions and O&M contract expertise.
New Market Entry
Chinese, Korean, European and US contractors entering the UAE, KSA, UK or African markets who need embedded local-market legal expertise for their first project cycles — without the law firm overhead.
FM & O&M Operators
Facilities management and operations & maintenance businesses navigating performance regimes, KPI disputes, step-in rights and scope variation claims under long-term FM contracts.
The Fractional Advantage
The fractional advantage comes down to three things: affordability that puts senior specialist counsel within reach, seniority that means specialist experience rather than associate-level cover, and flexibility that scales with your business rather than locking you into fixed overhead. Here's what that looks like in practice.
Title | Estimated Annual Cost | Seniority | Flexibility | C&IDS Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C&IDS Placed Counsel (Standard Retainer) | US$72,000/year | Highest — senior specialist construction lawyers | Maximum — scale up or down monthly | The benchmark |
Full-Time In-House Counsel | US$280,000–420,000+/year | High — if hired well | None — permanent headcount | 75–80% cost saving vs. full-time hire |
Specialist Law Firm | US$180,000–350,000+/year | Variable — often associate-led | Low — unpredictable hourly billing | 60–70% cost saving vs. law firm rates |
How C&IDS Can Help Your Business
Key Advantages Of Our Fractional In-House Legal Placement Model:
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Affordable fixed monthly retainer cost model, saving up to 70% over an equivalent specialist law firm engagement
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Highly efficient with a skilled legal expert directly embedded within your organisation, not external
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Convenience where your placed lawyer becomes part of your team, familiar with your own contracts and procedures
