Published Monday 6 July 2026 · By the JustEng team
Forensic and disputes practitioners have a busy summer. The Technology and Construction Court has handed down a headline ACM cladding ruling, Ardmore is appealing a landmark Building Safety Act award, Grenfell files are approaching the CPS, ICC arbitration modernises, and Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court fire inquiry closes. Here is what mattered over the last week and what it means for expert engineering hiring.
TCC orders ACM removal at Wembley hotel
In Essendi UK Hotels 2 Ltd v London Property Company Ltd [2026] EWHC 1354 (TCC), handed down on 5 June, the Technology and Construction Court ordered a landlord to strip and replace ACM cladding on a Wembley high-rise hotel within eighteen months. 4 Pump Court’s note on the judgment highlights two key findings: that a “put and keep” repair covenant now extends to inherent defects that compromise occupant safety, and that a polyethylene ACM core is a “dangerous substance” under Article 12 of the Fire Safety Order.
Hiring angle: expect further instructions for facade and fire engineering experts on similar commercial-lease disputes; our forensic engineering recruitment desk is already seeing rising demand for ACM-experienced witnesses.
Ardmore to appeal landmark £15m BSA ruling
Ardmore is preparing to appeal the £15 million Building Safety Act ruling reported by Construction Enquirer earlier this year — the largest BSA remediation contribution order to date. The appeal is expected to test the scope of the Section 130 remediation contribution regime and how far tier-one contractors can be pursued for legacy defects.
Hiring angle: more BSA contribution proceedings are being filed against contractors and consultants, driving structured demand for structural and facade experts, delay analysts and quantum experts with cladding exposure.
Grenfell prosecutions close in on CPS deadline
Files of evidence are due at the Crown Prosecution Service by 30 September, with prosecution decisions targeted before 14 June 2027. Up to 20 organisations and 57 individuals are within scope, with potential charges including corporate gross-negligence manslaughter, fraud, and health-and-safety breaches. Forbes Solicitors summarises the timeline.
Hiring angle: criminal and regulatory instructions typically pull on a wider bench of experts than civil work — fire engineers, facade specialists and materials scientists with disclosure-heavy experience will be first-choice hires.
Wang Fuk Court inquiry closes 15-17 July
Public inquiry hearings into the Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong are due to close between 15 and 17 July, with the panel expected to consolidate findings on scaffolding netting substituted for cheaper non-compliant material and on the “chimney effect” that drove vertical flame spread. The International Fire & Safety Journal has tracked the arrests of engineering consultants, construction directors, scaffolding sub-contractors and fire-services contractors on suspicion of manslaughter, corruption and fraud.
Hiring angle: global reinsurers and international law firms are staffing up on external-envelope fire-safety experts; UK-based candidates on our forensic engineering salary guide are increasingly being tapped for cross-border instructions.
ICC’s 2026 Arbitration Rules and HEAP take effect
The 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules entered into force on 1 June, introducing the opt-in Highly Expedited Arbitration Provisions (HEAP) — a three-month, sealed-envelope route to a final ICC award. ICC’s own rules page confirms the reforms, which also update arbitrator disclosure, expedited proceedings and electronic communications.
Hiring angle: shorter awards timetables reward experts who can produce forensic reports fast — delay, quantum and structural experts with prior HEAP-scale experience are being retained earlier in disputes.
Baltimore Key Bridge liability hearings
The US District Court for the District of Maryland began hearings on 1 June into whether the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 limits the Dali owners’ economic exposure for the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse; the first trial in the wider matter is now scheduled for June 2026, per WMAR News. The NTSB’s December 2025 final report attributed the collapse to a cascading electrical failure aboard the vessel.
Hiring angle: transatlantic instructions for structural collision, vessel-impact and bridge-forensics experts are widening; UK experts with dual-jurisdiction experience remain in short supply.
Building or moving an expert engineering practice? Firms can register a vacancy with our forensic desk, and expert candidates are welcome to submit a CV in confidence.