Profiles

Construction

• Various adjudication enforcement proceedings involving jurisdictional/ natural justice challenges, stays of execution and adjudicators' awards of costs.
  
  
• Drafting pleadings and witness statements and having sole conduct of substantive adjudications up to a value of £30m.
  
  
• Disputes over temporary works design and associated HSE failures.
  
  
• Defects and business disruption claims arising out of the failures of foundations and a floor slab in a glass factory.
  
  
• Preparation of applications at first instance, notice of appeal and skeleton argument in support of permission to appeal concerning a dispute regarding the construction of a housing development in Wales.
  
  
• Extensive advisory work on the applicability and effect of the HGCRA.
  
  
• Represented both claimants and defendants suing/being sued in nuisance, negligence, trespass and withdrawal of support.
  
  
• Instructed and appeared in various interlocutory applications, including freezing injunctions, preliminary issues on questions of law, security for costs, specific disclosure and other aspects of case management. 

Shipbuilding

• Instructed on behalf of a shipyard in a $35m claim relating to the delayed completion of two semi-submersible oil rigs in South Korea. Issues in dispute include the enforceability and scope of contractual liquidated damages provisions.
  
  
• Instructed in relation to disputes regarding the handover of an FPSO vessel in New Zealand. 
  
  
• Instructed in relation to disputes arising out of maintenance and upgrade works undertaken to a semi-submersible rig in Norway.
  
  
• Disputes relating to the completion and handover of ships constructed in Chinese shipyards.

Procurement

• Advising contracting authorities in relation to best commercial course of action when faced with the risk of challenges to procurement process resulting from failures to disclose sub-criteria and failing to advise tenderers of weighting.
  
  
• Advising local authorities in relation to the administration of a long-term waste contract, including issues relating to the permissibility of variations thereunder.
  
  
• Advising regarding challenging tenders for the award of contracts for medical supplies to the NHS.
  
  
• Advising tenderers regarding breaches in procurement processes relating to failures to provide sufficient information and lack of transparency.
  
  

Engineering

• Currently instructed on three separate disputes concerning defective processing plants for aggregates (£2m), dry mortar (£60m) and glass (£2.5m).
  
  
• Acted as counsel from pleadings to PTR (involving successful applications for summary judgment, unless orders, strike out and payments into Court) in regard to a production dispute concerning a pressure injection moulding manufacturing plant.
  
  
• Preparation of preliminary claim documents for a prestigious large-scale railway infrastructure project.
  
  
• Advising on the potential and actual ramifications of numerous (700+) variations to a PFI contract concerning a major underground railway system.          

Insurance

• Currently instructed on behalf of insurers resisting a claim brought under a contractor’s PI cover in relation to the Wembley stadium project.
  
  
• Currently instructed on behalf of a contractor in proceedings against insurers relating to the scope of a policy indemnifying losses arising out of unpaid invoices due to employer insolvency.
  
  
• Currently instructed in proceedings concerning brokers' negligence in relation to scope of policy coverage under a construction credit insurance policy. 
  
  
• Advising on the applicability of exclusion clauses under insurance policies vis a vis defective construction work.

Professional Negligence

• Advisory work and preparation of claim against architects in £2m professional negligence claim arising out of deficient specifications and project management issues relating to the construction of an aparthotel in Central London.
  
  
• Acted for and against structural engineers in relation to defective foundation design.
  
  
• Currently instructed in building surveyor’s negligence claim in relation to the purchase of a £6m property in Central London.
  
  
• Currently instructed for and against professional valuers with regard to the alleged undervalue of residential and commercial properties in pre-purchase surveys.
  
  
• Currently instructed in TCC proceedings for and against construction claims consultants with regard to the preparation of extension of time claims and adjudication services.
  
  
• Advisory work and preparation of pleadings on behalf of a large project management company defending a substantial professional negligence claim.

Bonds

• Experience of proceedings before and against bondsmen in relation to both on demand and performance bonds.

Energy and Utilities

• Preparation of claims documents for a delay and disruption claim concerning a multi-billion dollar pipelay operation in the Mediterranean.
  
  
• Significant ICC arbitration arising out of the construction of a coating plant in Qatar.
  
  
• Advisory work on charging schemes for major utilities provider (water).
  
  
• Advising and drafting witness statements in respect of a multi-million pound water treatment plant in PRC/Hong Kong.

Standard Forms

• Drafting of employer-driven amendments to the JCT 2005 suite of standard form contracts.
  
  
• Advising on, and drafting amendments to, the insurance provisions of the JCT 1998 and 2005 standard forms.
  
  
• Advising on the BPF Consultancy Agreement.
  
  
• Good familiarity with RIBA and RICS standard form conditions of appointment.

Highways

• Acted for and against local and regional authorities in PFI contract disputes.
  
  
• Acted for and against undertakers concerning diversionary works and cost sharing provisions.
  
  
• Acted for and against highway authorities regarding contracting out of highways functions, cost sharing provisions, and all relevant legislation (including New Roads and Street Works Act).

Party Walls and Boundary Disputes

• Acted in mediations concerning residential boundary disputes.
  
  
• Experience (including expert cross examination) of party wall disputes and claims in trespass, nuisance and for breach of statutory duty arising out of the same.

Expert Determination

• Experience of applications to enforce awards from expert determination.
  
  
• Participated in Part 8 proceedings resisting jurisdictional objections to the appointment of an expert under an expert determination clause and prosecuted a cross-application to stay concurrent legal proceedings.