Professional Liability
Andrew’s wide range of professional indemnity work includes claims against engineers, architects, surveyors, solicitors, quantity surveyors, brokers and accountants, with a particular emphasis on claims arising out of major construction and engineering projects.
Listed as a Leading Silk in Chambers UK (2023) and Legal 500 (2023)
Selected Cases
- Advising in relation to a £multi-million claim against the architect and the structural engineer in connection with a collapse of a roof at a hotel
- Advising on a £multi-million claim against the architect and structural engineer in relation to defects in the design and construction of an extension to a factory which resulted in a dust explosion
- Acting in a c £25 million claim against the designers of a major new, state of the art research and development centre
- Acting in relation to a £multi-million claim against the main contractor, architect and structural engineer in relation to (amongst other things) the defective design of a leisure centre in the North of England
- Acting in relation to c £120 million claim against engineers and architect in connection with the design of works to a major public building
- Acting in relation to a £tens of millions claim against architects and structural engineers concerning the design and construction of a flagship hotel in London
- Acting in relation to £multi million claim against architects and engineers in relation to major residential development in the North of England
- Acting in £multi-million claim against services engineers
- Acting on behalf of engineers in relation to c$100m dispute in relation to the design of a port
- Advising as to liability of geotechnical engineers in relation to the collapse of a railway cutting in the Midlands
- Acting in multimillion LCIA arbitration arising out of allegations of defective design in respect of a recycling plant in the Middle East. London seat and English law
- Acting on behalf of the insurers of an employer in a £multi-million claim against architects and engineers in relation to the design of a London hospital arising out of a major fire
- Acting in $multi-million LMAA shipbuilding arbitration relating to (amongst other things) the design of one of the largest vessels of its kind in the world
- Acting in £multi-million LCIA arbitration in relation to a claim against designers of a water treatment plant in Eastern Europe
- Acting in relation to a £multi-million dispute in relation to the design of a flood alleviation scheme in South East England
- Acting in a £multi-million oil and gas dispute in the TCC in relation to (amongst other things) the design a FPSO as part of a $5billion project
- Acting in relation to a claim arising out of the design/specification of bathroom tiles for a luxury hotel
- Advising in relation to £multi-million final dispute in relation to (amongst other things) the design of a sewerage treatment plant in the UK involving (amongst other things) the applicability of limitation of liability clauses
- Advising architects in relation to a £multi-million claim by the employer against architects and engineers in relation to a residential development
- Advising on £multi-million claims against architects and engineers arising out of a major fires at factories and schools
- Acting in a £multi-million claim against engineers in relation to a hospital development (including the design of the CHP system)
- Advising in relation to £multi-million claim against structural engineers in relation to a railway upgrade
- Acting on behalf of engineers in a £multi-million TCC claim in relation to the design of a tram network in south east England
- Acting on behalf of engineers in £multi-million claim arising out of flooding to major new road
- Advising on behalf of engineers in relation to a £100 million dispute arising out of the collapse of the Gerrards Cross tunnel
- Acting in a $several hundred million ICC arbitration in relation to the design of a major renewable energy plant in Europe giving rise to issues in relation to design
- Acting in a £multi-million claim against architects and structural engineers arising out of a building conversion
- Advising in relation to £50 million lender’s negligence action against surveyors in relation to a substantial book of mortgage loans
- Acting in £50 million claim against leading firm of solicitors in relation to its conduct of the defence of various sets of proceedings regarding foreign currency exchange outlets on behalf of the same clients by the same claimant
- Acting on behalf of risk assessors in £multi-million litigation arising out of the insurance of the US version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
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