Power & Energy
Roads & Highways
Towers & Development
Civil & MEP Works
C&IDS (C&I Dispute Services) is a UK limited company, established 7 years ago, that places specialist senior construction lawyers directly into in-house roles — working inside your business, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire or a law firm engagement.
"You don't need a full-time General Counsel.
You need access to one."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is exactly the gap C&IDS was built to close.
A Fractional General Counsel is an experienced senior lawyer who serves as your embedded in-house legal adviser on a retainer basis — giving your business consistent, senior legal support without a permanent headcount.
C&IDS places a specialist construction lawyer directly into your business — working within your existing structure, alongside your commercial and project teams, on call for every contract decision, claim and dispute.
We bring deep sector understanding — not generalist legal advice adapted to fit.
Beyond placing senior legal expertise into your business, C&IDS helps clients introduce and use intelligent technologies to manage legal risk proactively — significantly reducing legal spend over time, not just on each instruction. We also direct clients on the risks and limitations of using technology to support their internal legal function.
Faster, more consistent first-pass review of contracts and subcontracts using AI-assisted tools — flagging onerous clauses, missing provisions and FIDIC inconsistencies before they become disputes.
Structured claims registers and legal risk dashboards that give your commercial team real-time visibility of exposure across live projects — not just a filing cabinet of notices.
Standardised templates, automated notice tracking and structured workflows for contract administration — reducing the time (and cost) spent on routine legal administration.
The combination of senior placed counsel and intelligent technology means legal risk is identified and managed earlier, more consistently, and at far lower cost than the traditional model of reactive, hourly-billed legal support. Many of the tools and processes we introduce continue to deliver value long after a specific engagement ends — because they become part of how your business operates.
Every engagement model is built around predictability and value. You always know what specialist legal support costs.
Ongoing embedded legal support: contract review, live project advice, claims prevention, commercial team access. Your placed lawyer works within your business structure.
Best for: contractors, subcontractors and developers needing consistent senior legal support.
Lower-touch ongoing support: contract review, periodic advice and on-call access for businesses with lighter or more occasional legal needs.
Best for: smaller contractors and subcontractors, or as a starting engagement before scaling up.
Other arrangements can be agreed depending on your specific requirements — higher-hour retainers, project-based instructions, or hybrid models.
Best for: larger programmes, active dispute pipelines or bespoke scopes of work.
How we keep costs low: C&IDS operates with low overheads — no expensive office space, no teams of juniors or support staff to fund. Your placed lawyer works directly within your business structure, and intelligent technology handles routine legal administration — so you pay for senior judgment, not law firm infrastructure.
Site visits & face-to-face meetings: available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London and key African business hubs, subject to separately agreed pricing.
| Model | Estimated Annual Cost | Seniority | Flexibility | C&IDS Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist Law Firm | US$180,000–350,000+ | Variable — often associate-led | Low — unpredictable hourly billing | 60–70% cost saving vs. law firm rates |
| Full-Time In-House Counsel | US$280,000–420,000+ | High — if hired well | None — permanent headcount | 75–80% cost saving vs. full-time hire |
| C&IDS Placed Counsel (Standard Retainer) | US$72,000/year | Highest — senior specialist construction lawyers | Maximum — scale up or down monthly | The benchmark |
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.
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.
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.
Residential, commercial and infrastructure developers structuring contracts, managing contractor performance and resolving disputes on development programmes across the UK, Africa and GCC.
EPC contractors, PMCs and engineering firms delivering power, water, transport and industrial infrastructure. FIDIC Silver Book, BOT concessions and O&M contract expertise.
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.
Facilities management and operations & maintenance businesses navigating performance regimes, KPI disputes, step-in rights and scope variation claims under long-term FM contracts.
Whilst being the owner and founder of C&IDS, Steven is and remains a construction and projects lawyer with extensive international experience working across infrastructure, ports, transportation, energy, building and utilities. His workload spans non-contentious projects work and claims management through to formal dispute resolution — experience built across the UK, Middle East and Africa.
Steven's in-house role as senior construction and projects counsel at Nakheel — where he led the legal function supporting the delivery of infrastructure including roads, bridges, water, wastewater and energy — gives C&IDS a distinctive commercial perspective that pure private practice cannot match.
View Full Profile & CV →A complimentary 30-minute call to understand your business, contracts and legal risk exposure.
A complimentary 60-minute Legal Risk Review session — in person or video — with no obligation.
An introductory training session for your team, at no cost — covering a topic relevant to your live contracts.
A clear proposal setting out the recommended engagement tier, scope and monthly fee.
An optional one-month pilot at the standard rate — experience the service before committing.
Your placed lawyer works within your business on a monthly retainer, with regular check-ins and quarterly reviews.
The first step is a complimentary 30-minute call to understand your business, your current contracts, and where legal risk is concentrated. No obligation, no sales pitch — just a straight conversation about whether C&IDS can add value.
Free Discovery Call — 30 minutes, no obligation. Book directly below.
Complimentary Legal Risk Review — 60-minute session covering your current contracts and legal risk exposure.
Complimentary training — an introductory session for your team, at no cost.
Site visits and face-to-face meetings available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London and key African business hubs, subject to separately agreed pricing.