Side Bar exists because not every engineering or construction firm has an in‑house legal team—but every project still carries legal risk. In court, a “sidebar” is where lawyers step aside from the noise to deal with issues quietly, honestly, and before they become problems. That’s how we work.
We provide practical construction law support alongside your business: clear advice, thoughtful judgment, and real conversations when decisions matter. No legal theatre, no unnecessary complexity—just experienced legal guidance, available when you need it, and delivered in a way that fits how you actually work.
“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.”
– Albert Einstein –
Sidebar’s bLAWg
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On 23 March 2026, the Gauteng Division of the High Court handed down a judgment in Elasah Risk Consultants (Pty) Ltd and Another v National Credit Regulator and Others, confirming that construction guarantees* issued by Fusion Guarantees (Pty) Ltd constitute non-life insurance policies under the Insurance Act 18 of 2017. *The guarantees submitted to the…
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In public tenders for engineering consultancy services, many (if not most) organs of state use the CIDB Standard Professional Services Contract 2009 as the proposed consultancy services agreement, which will form the contract between the parties after tender award (the “Contract”). While working in-house, we found that most engineers and project managers believed that, under…
