ABSTRACT
Client bespoke forms will be drafted to shift the balance of risk in favour of the client in many, often subtle, ways. This chapter sets out areas where bespoke appointments are likely to be more onerous than the industry standard forms. If the bespoke form is proposed by the client, the client’s solicitor will usually get the ball rolling by sending out an initial draft. A professional appointment may contain wording to the effect that the architect ‘warrants’ that a particular statement is true or a particular event has taken or will take place. A bespoke appointment will usually have a clause setting out the meaning of certain terms which appear elsewhere in the appointment, signified by beginning with capital letters. A professional indemnity insurance obligation in a bespoke appointment should usually be subject to cover being available to the architect on commercially reasonable terms and at commercially reasonable rates.
