Load-Bearing: AI and the Future of Legal in Construction & Engineering

Hosted by: Wordsmith

Thursday 22 October | 18:30 – 22:00
Spring, Somerset House, Lancaster Place, London WC2R 1LA
Hosted by: Wordsmith

About Event

Every contract in construction and engineering rests on a programme, and every programme is out of date the moment it's accepted. A package planned at 100 days takes 200. The argument that follows in whose delay, whose cost, whose extension of time is rarely won on the merits. It's won by whoever kept the better record at the time: the early warning raised, the programme revised, the notice served inside the window. From NEC and JCT suites amended beyond recognition to appointments and warranties running across hundreds of commissions, the demand on in-house legal teams to get this right at volume has never been higher.

Wordsmith invites you to Spring restaurant in the new wing of Somerset House, for an exclusive dinner and roundtable focused on the intersection of AI and the modern construction and engineering legal landscape. We're stripping away the buzzwords to discuss how AI is actually being deployed to review contracts at volume, surface risk before it becomes a claim, and keep pace with commercial, delivery and project teams.

The room is led by in-house legal from across contracting, engineering and development, with a small number of seats for legal leaders from wider related industries in energy and renewables, and data centres and digital infrastructure, where the same pressures play out.

Key Discussion Points

• Contracts at scale: Automating the heavy lifting in standard-form review, amendment analysis, appointments and collateral warranties, and subcontract flow-down across hundreds of packages.
• Losing before you start: Delay and cost are decided in early warnings, accepted programmes and notification windows — months before anyone talks about a claim. How AI keeps the record straight while the programme moves.
• The AI advantage: How legal teams are moving at the speed of the deal and the programme without becoming the bottleneck.
• Risk vs. reward: Navigating the Building Safety Act and the golden thread, PI and scope exposure, and supply chain and ESG obligations in an AI-accelerated delivery pipeline.

The Details

• Date: Thursday 22nd October
• Time: 6:30pm arrival, 7:00pm dinner
• Location: Spring, Somerset House, London WC2R 1LA
• Host & Chair: Wordsmith
• The Rule: Chatham House. This is a closed-door, off-the-record session for in-house legal leaders across construction and engineering to speak freely.

No fluff. No sales pitches. Just a high-level exchange of ideas over exceptional food and drink.

Registration: Approval required. Your registration is subject to host approval.