Opinion 鈥� Page 353
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CommentFee rates: What's a lawyer worth?
Lawyers are discounting fees and moving away from hourly rates, but limits on them taking a share of sums recovered in a dispute may disappear
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Appointing consultants: Bully-boy tactics
The suspicion is growing that public authorities are using their dominant position to impose onerous conditions on consultants鈥� appointments. It鈥檚 the last thing the industry needs
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CommentHey, big spender: getting cash from the European Investment Bank
When Crossrail landed a cool 拢1bn loan from the European Investment Bank last month, it provoked a surge of interest from other businesses. Joey Gardiner looks at what chance they have of getting eurofinance
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Comment
Move with the times
The appointment of a chief construction adviser is welcome, but in the 10 years since the Egan Report the game has moved on a long way
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CommentA word to the Wise
I followed Chris Wise鈥檚 logic in questioning, for environmental reasons, whether RIBA should have recognised the 100,000-tonne Bird鈥檚 Nest stadium in Beijing (9 October, page 28), but I struggled to follow why he then used what was clearly a unique structure to criticise the efficiency of steel overall
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Expose the OFT
It is not surprising, what with the draconian powers of the Office of Fair Trading and the possibility of future appeals, that few bosses are prepared to put their heads above the parapet and comment on the spate of fines imposed upon our industry
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Jobs: Wanted
I can鈥檛 quite believe the lack of support that the unemployed graduates are receiving (11 September, page 34)
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CommentHansom: Lese majeste
Just as Hyde Park鈥檚 Rue du Roi was renamed Rotten Row, and Sir David Maxwell Fyfe became Dai Bananas, so the mocking laughter of the public continues to haunt the great and the good 鈥�
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CommentThe hard way: Gus Alexander on novating an architect
Transferring control of the architect from client to contractor can work fine. It can also make everyone鈥檚 life a lot more difficult 鈥� particularly the architect鈥檚
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CommentWonders & blunders with Tony Travers
Academic and pundit Tony Travers heaps praise on a pier that lends grace to the Naples of the north, and pours scorn on a pathologically misanthropic medical college
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CommentAir-con's last gasp: David Strong on a new era for cooling
New guidance on sustainability in offices could mark the beginning of the end for the high-maintenance technology that is air-conditioning 鈥� and about time, too
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CommentA good day for gloom-mongers
We live in confusing times. On one hand, we鈥檝e had a week of posturing by the Tories and Labour as each tries to outdo the other on the prickliness of the hair shirts they鈥檒l be forcing Whitehall in particular, and the public sector in general, to wear
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A good day for gloom-mongers
We live in confusing times. On one hand, we鈥檝e had a week of posturing by the Tories and Labour as each tries to outdo the other on the prickliness of the hair shirts they鈥檒l be forcing Whitehall in particular, and the public sector in general, to wearOn the other, there ...
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How bad must things be at Jarvis?
When former Jarvis finance director John O鈥橩ane left the rail specialist last month to join engineering service firm Redhall, it reunited him with the firm鈥檚 chairman David Jackson. They had both previously worked together at rail engineer Peterhouse in the same roles.Back in the summer of 2004 Peterhouse received a ...
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CommentThe right kind of bribe: BAA's Steven Morgan on project roles
Roles and expectations should be set in stone before a project starts. And if you really want a good job done, says Steven Morgan, add some sweeteners into the mix
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CommentHansom going too far
Nothing stands still for long in this industry, and threatening to cross a line this week are Abu Dhabi鈥檚 borders, a surveyor鈥檚 kilt, Italian visitors and construction rockers鈥� waistlines
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An obligation to train
I was pleased to hear the announcement from John Healey, the housing minister, that housing associations will be required to employ apprentices (25 September, www.building.co.uk)