Published Saturday 25 July 2026 · By the JustEng team
Welcome to Saturday’s global forensic and disputes briefing. From a dramatic structural investigation in Manhattan to landmark cladding rulings in the English courts, here is what is shaping forensic engineering work worldwide — and what it means for forensic engineer recruitment and hiring in the sector.
Forensic evaluation ordered after Manhattan high-rise columns buckle
Investigations continue into the structural failure at 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, the former Pfizer headquarters, where construction crews discovered buckling columns on the 21st floor during a residential conversion that was adding around 18,000 sq ft to upper floors. The Department of Buildings has ordered the owner to retain a third-party engineer for a forensic evaluation, and New York’s Department of Investigation has launched its own inquiry while shoring and stabilisation work continues (CNN).
Hiring angle: High-profile failures like this one drive sustained candidate demand for structural investigation specialists on both sides of the Atlantic, and firms adding forensic capability are increasingly turning to specialist forensic engineer recruitment to secure them.
First building liability order against an overseas parent in cladding case
In Mulalley & Co Ltd v Sto Ltd, Sto SE & Co. KGaA, the English High Court granted its first building liability order against a German parent company by default judgment, holding it liable for its UK subsidiary’s defective cladding. It is also the first assessment of a cladding product supplier’s “just and equitable” contribution, set at 87.5% (Osborne Clarke).
Hiring angle: Extending liability to international manufacturers will widen the pool of defendants — and the pool of instructions — in cladding litigation, lifting demand for façade specialists and expert witnesses and creating new engineering vacancies in disputes-focused consultancies.
TCC enforces adjudicator’s decision in Wolverhampton hospital dispute
In BDP Construction v Cygnet Behavioural Health, handed down on 16 July, Mr Justice Constable enforced an adjudicator’s decision for £136,769 plus fees and interest. The dispute arose from a hospital project in Wolverhampton under an amended JCT Design and Build Contract 2016, with both parties’ liquidated damages cases having been rejected by the adjudicator (Solicitors Journal).
Hiring angle: A steady flow of adjudication enforcement work keeps delay analysts, quantum experts and forensic engineers busy — consultancies building disputes teams face a genuine talent shortage in these niches, with salary data available in our forensic engineering salary guide.
Grenfell: Met to deliver final file to prosecutors by 30 September
The Metropolitan Police aims to submit its final evidence file to the Crown Prosecution Service by 30 September 2026, with charging decisions expected before the fire’s tenth anniversary in June 2027. Some 57 individuals and 20 companies could face charges, and the Met has amassed more than 27,000 exhibits, including cladding and insulation, as part of its case preparation (Building).
Hiring angle: The scale of the prosecution effort — and the civil claims running alongside it — means years of instructions ahead for fire investigation and materials experts, sustaining hiring across forensic fire engineering practices well beyond 2027.
JustEng is a specialist engineering recruitment agency headhunting hard-to-find forensic, fire and façade engineers for consultancies and expert witness practices. Looking for your next role? Submit your CV. Building a disputes team? Register your vacancy.