Published Tuesday 28 July 2026 · By the JustEng team
Today’s briefing spans a high-profile forensic investigation in Manhattan, a run of significant cladding judgments from the Technology and Construction Court, and an ongoing collapse inquiry in the Philippines — and what each story means for forensic engineer recruitment and hiring across the disputes sector.
Forensic review under way after Manhattan tower columns buckle
Investigations continue into the former Pfizer headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, where two load-bearing columns buckled on the 21st floor on 7 July during one of the largest office-to-residential conversions in the US. New York’s Department of Buildings has required the owner to retain Thornton Tomasetti to oversee stabilisation and conduct a forensic evaluation, while the project’s structural engineer has claimed required reinforcing steel was never installed (ENR). The city’s Department of Investigation has also opened an inquiry.
Hiring angle: Headline failures like this drive sustained candidate demand in forensic structural engineering on both sides of the Atlantic, as investigation firms staff up — specialist forensic engineering recruitment is increasingly how they secure that expertise.
TCC puts a number on cladding contribution claims in Mulalley v Sto
In Mulalley & Co Ltd v Sto Ltd [2026] EWHC 1552 (TCC), the High Court assessed for the first time how a contractor’s contribution claim against the supplier of a defective external cladding system should be quantified (Kennedys). Applying a causation analysis to remedial works that went beyond the defective render, the court reduced the recoverable sum to just over £2m.
Hiring angle: Apportionment arguments of this kind turn on detailed technical evidence, keeping expert witness work — and the façade engineer jobs that feed it — in strong demand at consultancies advising on remediation disputes.
Hotel landlord ordered to strip combustible ACM cladding
In Essendi UK Hotels 2 Ltd v London Property Company Ltd, the operator of a multi-storey Wembley hotel sued its freehold landlord after discovering the external walls were clad in combustible ACM (Kennedys). The High Court found the landlord in breach of covenant and ordered specific performance: the cladding must be removed and replaced with a non-combustible alternative.
Hiring angle: Court-ordered remediation adds to an already stretched pipeline of assessment and recladding work, sustaining fire engineer vacancies and hiring for façade remediation specialists across the UK.
German cladding suppliers fail to block £90m London claims
The Technology and Construction Court has refused applications by German defendants to overturn permission for service out of the jurisdiction in three cladding remediation claims worth around £90m in total (Mayer Brown). The claims can therefore proceed in London against the overseas suppliers.
Hiring angle: Cross-border cladding litigation on this scale means years of technical investigation ahead, and disputes consultancies are actively headhunting engineers who can combine façade expertise with credible expert reporting.
Angeles City collapse: fact-finding task force at work
In the Philippines, investigations continue into the nine-storey building that collapsed in Angeles City in May while under construction, killing workers who were sleeping on site. The mayor has created a fact-finding committee to gather technical evidence, while national agencies examine whether design modifications or additional load contributed to the failure (Inquirer).
Hiring angle: Major international collapse investigations typically draw on globally sourced forensic expertise, widening opportunities — and salaries — for UK-based specialists; see our forensic engineering salary guide for current benchmarks.
JustEng is a specialist engineering recruitment agency headhunting hard-to-find forensic, fire and façade engineers for investigation and disputes teams. Looking for your next role? Submit your CV. Building a team? Register your vacancy.