Construction & Engineering
Andrew has a very substantial construction and engineering practice across a wide range of sectors, including large infrastructure projects, ports, shipbuilding, airports, hotels, roads, rail, tram systems, process plants, oil & gas, FPSOs, water treatment plants, sewerage plants, waste energy plants, CHP and renewables.
He is familiar with a wide range of standard forms (including JCT, ICE, GC Works, NEC, FIDIC, IChemE, PPC, TPC, ACE, RIBA etc) and has appeared in all Divisions of the High Court, Court of Appeal and all forms of ADR.
Listed as a Leading Silk in Chambers UK (2023) and Legal 500 (2023)
Selected Cases
- Leading counsel for the successful Respondent in Mears v Costplan Services et al [2019] EWCA Civ 502, in which the Court of Appeal considered the meaning of “practical completion” for the first time in 50 years, and held that trifling patent defects (even if irremediable) do not prevent practical completion from being certified
- Retained in relation to civil claims arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire
- Acting in relation to £tens of millions and £hundreds of millions disputes concerning allegedly defective cladding and fires stopping in the wake of the Grenfell disaster
- Acting on behalf of the contractor in a £100 million arbitration relating to the construction of headquarters for the MoD on a modified GC Works form of contract
- Acting on behalf of luxury hotel group in relation its £90 million dispute in the TCC arising out of the termination of the contractor’s employment under a JCT contract and claims for consequent losses and liquidated damages in relation to the construction of a landmark hotel in London
- Acting in relation to claims for £tens of millions relating to a number of hospital PFI contracts
- Acting in relation to a c £50 million ICC arbitration arising out of renewable energy biomass project in Europe
- Acting in relation to a £tens of millions dispute concerning the design and construction of a flagship hotel in London
- Acting in relation to c £150 million dispute concerning a waste energy plant in Europe
- Acting in connection with $ multi-million claims relating to omissions and variations before a DAB relating to construction of a power station in the Americas
- Acting in a £multi-million oil and gas dispute in the TCC arising out of a project for the design and construction of a FPSO as part of a $5billion project involving issues as to the scope of design, extensions of time, variations, loss and expense, termination and the operability of a liquidated damages clause
- Acting in relation to a dispute involving £several hundred million arising out of defects in a major landmark development in the UK
- Acting in relation to a c £50 million dispute arising out of claims for delay, loss and expense and loss and damage arising out of a major UK residential and leisure development
- Acting in a three month c£100 million ICC arbitration in relation to the upgrading of the communications system of the London Underground
- Acting in relation to a $multi-million claim concerning the design, delivery and installation of very large shipping plant, giving rise to questions relating to the achievement of delivery, variations, prolongation, loss and expense, waiver and estoppel
- Acting on behalf of the contractor in a £40 million TCC dispute in relation to defects in the design and construction of a CCGT power station in the UK
- Advising in relation to a £multi-million TCC claim relating to the design and operation of a CHP system at a hospital constructed under a PFI contract in the UK
- Advising in relation to £multi-million final account dispute in relation to the design and construction of a sewerage treatment plant in the UK involving (amongst other things) the applicability of limitation of liability clauses
- Acting in relation to a £multi-million adjudication arising out of an allegedly late design of a business park development and involving (amongst other things) questions as to the proper construction of a novation and analysis of its consequences
- Advising in relation to a £multi-million final account dispute arising out of a termination in connection with the construction of a waste management plant in the UK on the IChemE terms and conditions, including in relation to notices for payment applications, the application of liquidated damages and in relation to various guarantees
- Acting in £multi-million TCC dispute arising out of a PFI contract for the construction of a number of new schools and the refurbishment of existing schools in the North of England, involving (amongst other things) issues relating to name-borrowing
- Advising in connection with the proper construction of the ACA Standard Forms of Contract for Project Partnering and Term Partnering
- Acting in an LCIA arbitration relating to defects in and damage to a school constructed under a PFI project as a result of the use of IBAA, involving coverage questions relating to the operation of DE exclusion clauses, and questions of waiver and estoppel
- Acting in a £multi-million TCC dispute arising out of the design and construction of a major tram network in the south of England
- Acting in £multi-million TCC dispute concerning defects in a major UK hotel development, involving (amongst other things) complex issues as to the valuation of loss of profits
- Acting in a number of adjudications relating to contracts relating to the operation of trains on various lines of the London Underground
- Wide experience of cases relating to adjudication, both during the adjudication process and in relation to the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions, including Parsons v Purac [2002] 7 BLR 334 (CA) and Bovis Lend Lease v Triangle Development [2003] 1 BLR 31, 86 Con LR 26
Awards
News
- Sky & Mace v Riverstone Managing Agency & Ors [2023] EWHC 1207 (Comm)
- Members of Chambers recognised by the Legal 500 EMEA 2023 for their construction expertise in the Middle East
Events
Qualifications
- 1986-1989 Christ’s College, Cambridge, MA, English Tripos
- 1989-1990 Japan Exchange and Teach (“JET”) Programme: British Government/Japanese Government programme teaching English near Tokyo
- 1990-1991 The City University, Diploma in Law (Distinction)
- 1991-1992 Gray’s Inn: Uthwatt Scholar, Mooting Award, United States Moots Tour (1993)
Memberships
- Commercial Bar Association
- Technology and Construction Bar Association (former Committee member)
- Society of Construction Law
- Society of Construction Law (Gulf)
- London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association
- Professional Negligence Bar Association
- LCIA
Recommendations
“Andrew is extremely bright, exceptionally hardworking, incredibly charming and an absolute pleasure to work with. He has a rare quality of being very charming in his dealings with the tribunal so as to command respect at all times, yet at the same time conducting cross-examination robustly and aggressively as required… His work is meticulous, considered and precise, and solicitors and lay clients really value what he has to say… Andrew is detail oriented and an excellent communicator. He is also charming; the sort of silk who you want to introduce to clients as you know they will warm to him…Happy to roll his sleeves up, he is extremely bright and grasps the technical detail of energy disputes incredibly quickly, and his advocacy is impressive…Great to work with and meticulous in his analysis. Andrew becomes a real team member and there are no airs and graces.”
Legal 500, 2023
“.. eminent silk…sought after by clients around the globe…a brilliant mind with a great eye for detail. A delight to work with…fiercely intelligent, can recite case law in his sleep…an exceptional and superb advocate…very impressive when cross-examining expert witnesses … absolutely at the top of his field… incredibly responsive and very on top of the detail… a true gentlemen – very hard-working and charming while also being a very effective cross-examiner…”
Chambers & Partners, 2023
“Exceptionally intelligent, extremely hard-working, impeccably mannered, a brilliant advocate, a wise strategist, and a thoroughly decent human being…”… “Extremely personable, focused and brilliant, supportive and thoughtful of instructing counsel, a pleasure to work with.”… “Attentive, thoughtful, commercially-minded, intelligent and very easy to work with, he commands great respect from his peers.”
Legal 500, 2022
“an eminent” and “go-to” silk with an “unbelievable interest in the detail of a case”. “He is phenomenal…exceptional team player..” “ Andrew is fantastic….very experienced advocate….pleasure to work with” “… an exemplary QC with.. incredible legal skills and commercial acumen” “…an incredibly effective advocate” and “fantastically user-friendly”
Chambers & Partners, 2022
“Tremendous: enthusiastic, hardworking, smooth with clients and imbued with a calm authority.”
Legal 500 EMEA, 2021
“…extremely thorough and clever…a ruthless cross-examiner… phenomenally good with clients… gives them comfort and confidence…an absolute pleasure to work with, extremely accommodating and willing to go the extra mile…very impressive, calm and intellectual… respected lawyer who is well liked by judges…his standout strength is his technical ability and his breadth of knowledge across insurance, construction and arbitration issues… a superb command of the subject matter of any case…”
Chambers & Partners, 2021
“Extremely bright and meticulous – a first-class silk!”; “He is ferociously hardworking, utterly charming, forensic, responsive and eloquent.”; “A fantastic QC with a great eye for detail”
Legal 500, 2021
“…extremely clever, invariably charming, incredibly hardworking and a persuasive advocate”; “a fantastic QC with a great eye for detail; his client care is second to none”; “unfailingly diligent, charm personified, willing to roll his sleeves up and get in the trench with you…”
Legal 500, 2020
“Eminent silk…incredibly intellectual, phenomenally hard-working and accessible…phenomenal in his client handling and willingness to roll his sleeves up; a superb advocate…very thorough, very rigorous, very clear and a delight to work with…he is sought after by clients around the globe…very bright, easy to work with and a team player…unflappable and an excellent advocate…”
Chambers & Partners, 2020
“Eminent silk who regularly acts in high-value litigation and arbitration in the UK and internationally. His work on construction cases in the energy sector elicits particular praise…exceptional service…real team player… a considerable intellect, great attention to detail and very incisive cross-examination…A truly impressive advocate”
Chambers & Partners, 2019
