About C&IDS
Building Legal Agility
Established in 2019, C&IDS places construction lawyers directly into businesses on a monthly retainer, working within the existing structure of the business rather than as a detached external adviser. Depending on the tier of engagement, the placed lawyer is available for a set number of hours each month, covering contract drafting and negotiation, live project legal advice, claims prevention and management, and dispute strategy - with the flexibility to scale the placement up or down as your project pipeline changes.
Because C&IDS runs the placement with low overheads and no bench of expensive juniors to fund, you pay for senior judgement rather than law firm infrastructure - typically 60–70% less than an equivalent specialist law firm engagement, and a fraction of the total employment cost of hiring a full-time in-house lawyer directly.
29+
Years of Construction Legal Experience in the Middle East & Africa
20
Countries Worked In
65% Cost Saving
Over Traditional Specialist Law Firms (typical)
Who We Help
C&IDS specialises in placing in-house lawyers across the construction sectors in the Middle East and Africa, into main contractors, sub-contractors, developers, investors, FM and O&M operators, delivering a cost-effective alternative model to engaging a traditional external legal advisor. Our lawyers become an integrated part of your team, without the high overheads of employing a full-time internal legal specialist. C&IDS works with any construction or infrastructure business that carries legal risk on its projects - from a single live contract to a portfolio of programmes across the UK, Africa and GCC. We offer a range of legal services, from Contract Drafting & Negotiation, and live Project Legal Advice to Claims Prevention & Management and Dispute Strategy & Resolution.
Main Contractors
Civil, MEP, EPC and building contractors with live FIDIC or bespoke contracts. Contract administration support, claims management and dispute strategy for complex multi-contract programmes.
Specialist Subcontractors
MEP, piling, facades, fit-out, roads and utilities subcontractors facing onerous subcontract terms, payment disputes and delay claims from main contractors. We level the playing field.
Developers & Investors
Residential, commercial and infrastructure developers structuring contracts, managing contractor performance and resolving disputes on development programmes across the UK, Africa and GCC.
Energy & Infrastructure
EPC contractors, PMCs and engineering firms delivering power, water, transport and industrial infrastructure. FIDIC Silver Book, BOT concessions and O&M contract expertise.
New Market Entry
Chinese, Korean, European and US contractors entering the UAE, KSA, UK or African markets who need embedded local-market legal expertise for their first project cycles — without the law firm overhead.
FM & O&M Operators
Facilities management and operations & maintenance businesses navigating performance regimes, KPI disputes, step-in rights and scope variation claims under long-term FM contracts.
Meet Our Founder
Steven is a UK-qualified solicitor of England and Wales with almost three decades' experience in construction law, having held a number of senior and partner-level positions at international law firms, including Head of Construction Law at Al Tamimi & Company.
While owner and founder of C&IDS, Steven is and remains a construction and projects lawyer with extensive international experience, working across infrastructure, ports, transportation, energy, building and utilities. His workload spans non-contentious projects work and claims management through to formal dispute resolution — experience built across the UK, Middle East and Africa.
Steven's in-house role as senior construction and projects counsel at Nakheel — where he led the legal function supporting the delivery of infrastructure including roads, bridges, water, wastewater and energy — gives C&IDS a distinctive commercial perspective that pure private practice cannot match.
Steven Hunt
Founder & Managing Director
