William Lacey

William has acted in disputes concerning agency, bailment, bankruptcy, civil fraud, commercial leases, company law, conversion, directors’ duties, financial regulation, injunctions, insolvency, partnership, and sale of goods, as well as general contractual matters. He is able to accept appropriate commercial instructions on a direct access basis.

Experience includes:

Sale of Goods

• Acting for a major distributor of laser cutting machines facing a High Court claim for over half a million pounds, arising from the supply of machinery alleged to have been of unsatisfactory quality.
• Representing the purchaser of a high-performance sports car at an Intermediate Track trial in London. The purchaser brought a claim for breach of contract and misrepresentation, relying especially on the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Judgment was entered in full against the dealer which supplied the car.
• Acting for the purchaser of a high-performance range cooker in a dispute as to who owned the cooker, and whether it had been wrongfully converted by an agent and/or a dealer.

Agency

• Acting for an energy broker facing a substantial claim from a former client. The claim involved losses alleged to have arisen from volatile natural gas prices, and an alleged failure by the broker to follow its client’s instructions as to when, and on what terms, certain contracts should have been placed.
• Acting for a financial professionals recruitment agency in its claim for breach of contract and unpaid fees against a former client.
• Acting for the executors of deceased’s person’s estate in a claim by a well-known estate agency for fees alleged to have become due following the sale of a valuable house in London.
• Acting for a firm of independent financial planners seeking to recover damages for breach of contract from a former agent, arising from the firm’s outlay pursuant to an FCA redress scheme.

Contractual Disputes

• Acting for a former partner in a law firm, who was suing the firm for a six-figure sum representing unpaid fees, commissions and/or partnership proceeds.
• Acting for clients attempting to extricate themselves from a commercial licencing agreement, in circumstances where they no longer wished to receive the benefit of the subject matter of the licence, but their counterparty asserted that they were obliged to pay the licence fees in any event.
• Acting for a firm of auditors in its claim against a former client for unpaid fees. The former client counterclaimed, but the matter settled before trial on terms favourable to the firm of auditors.
• Acting for a transport company in a contractual dispute with a public authority which was seeking to rectify a licence it granted to the company. The licence was alleged to have been agreed on the basis of a mutual mistake.

William is a member of the Commercial Bar Association.

William is developing a broad construction practice, spanning both “pure” construction and insurance-related litigation. His practice includes advising clients, drafting pleadings and adjudication documents, and representing litigants at interim and final hearings. He is able to advise on adjudication procedure and enforcement, standard form contracts, the Building Safety Act 2022, latent defects insurance, new home warranties, developer/builder insolvency, party wall disputes, subrogated recovery, and limitation periods. He accepts appropriate instructions on a direct access basis, which can be an efficient way for developers, builders, self-builders and construction professionals to obtain focussed legal advice and representation.

Experience includes:

Adjudication and Enforcement

• Representing a construction company resisting enforcement of a pair of adjudication decisions in the TCC: see Construction Muzzy Limited v Davis Construction (South East) Limited [2025] EWHC 2118 (TCC).
• Acting in an adjudication said to have arisen pursuant to an oral contract between a company and a building contractor, which raised difficult issues of jurisdiction.
• Acting for a homeowner in an adjudication with a building contractor conducted under the RIBA Consumer Contracts Adjudication Scheme.
• Acting for a property developer seeking to enforce an adjudicator’s award against a construction company, by way of summary TCC proceedings.
• Acting for a construction company opposing an attempted “smash and grab” adjudication by one of its sub-contractors, pursuant to a JCT contract.
• Acting for a building contractor seeking to enforce an adjudicator’s award against a residential property developer, by way of summary TCC proceedings.

Building Safety Act 2022

• Representing the respondents to an ongoing First-Tier Property Tribunal claim for a s. 123 Remediation Order alleged to be worth several million pounds.
• Acting for an insurer which is bringing a High Court claim seeking damages pursuant to the Defective Premises Act 1972 and a s. 130 Building Liability Order.
• Advising a major insurer on the prospects of bringing a claim for a s. 130 Building Liability Order against companies said to be “associated” with a building developer which is responsible for defective construction works.
• Advising a construction company facing a potential s. 130 Building Liability Order arising from alleged breaches of the Defective Premises Act 1972.

Construction Disputes

• William is currently led by Anna Laney KC in a seven-figure claim in the TCC arising from a long-running dispute between a farming company and a building contractor.
• Acting for a building contractor facing a substantial claim arising from alleged breaches of a JCT construction contract.
• Acting for a homeowner seeking to recover a six-figure sum arising from a building contractor’s multiple breaches of a bespoke contract which was subsequently novated.

Insolvency

• Representing a property developer in its successful High Court application for an injunction to restrain the presentation of a winding-up petition

Party Wall Act 1996

• Acting for a social housing provider in a six-figure claim brought against it pursuant to the Party Wall Act, in negligence, and in nuisance. The claim was brought by the immediate neighbour of a block which the housing provider had been renovating. It raised some unusual issues around standing, limitation and latent damage. The claim settled before trial for a nominal sum.
• Successfully defending a homeowner at trial, in circumstances where the homeowner was accused of breaching a Party Wall Award in the course of a construction project. The case raised difficult issues of jurisdiction, limitation and declaratory relief.

Contracts for Services

• Acting for a construction company in its contractual dispute with an architect. The dispute involved the issue of whether or not certain RIBA stages had been completed, with the result that certain fees had become due.
• Representing a provider of plumbing and heating services in its successful application to set aside default judgment entered against it by a self-builder.
• Advising a building developer on the status and effect of a series of written and oral agreements made with a firm of architects.
• Acting for a provider of Building Information Modelling who was alleged to have derailed the progress of a major construction project by providing insufficient architectural and technical detail.

Subrogated Recoveries

• Representing a major insurance company in a series of subrogated recoveries against construction companies arising from new home warranties, including advising on options for recovery where the target companies were insolvent.
• Advising a major insurer on subsidence damage alleged to have been caused by the negligent construction of a building’s foundations.
• Advising a major insurer on its options in attempting to recover from an insolvent building developer.
• Advising an insurer seeking to pursue a subrogated claim for a contribution from a sub-contractor who caused an escape of water at a new housing project.

William is a member of the Technology & Construction Bar Association and the Society of Construction Law.

William regularly advises insurer clients on coverage, defence and recovery, and settles pleadings on their behalf. Shortly after completing pupillage, he spent six months on part-time secondment at a leading insurance/re-insurance law firm in the City of London, where he gained in-depth experience of a wide range of commercial, property damage and construction disputes worth up to £20 million. He can also advise on coverage and defence in EL/PL, RTA and product liability claims.

William has been instructed in numerous cases involving insurance fraud or motor fraud. He regularly advises clients at all stages of proceedings: from pleadings and pre-action disclosure applications, through interim applications and hearings, to trials on the fast and intermediate tracks.

Experience includes:

Coverage

• Advising an insurer on an eight-figure coverage dispute arising from the supply of allegedly defective components to a major infrastructure project.
• Advising an insurer on coverage following notification by its insured of a substantial property damage claim arising from a construction project. The property in question belonged to a third party, with the result that the policy’s operative clause was not triggered.
• Successfully representing the defendant insurer at the trial of a coverage dispute concerning damage to a luxury car alleged to have been caused by vandalism.
• Advising an insurer on a six-figure coverage dispute concerning a product liability policy.
• Advising an insurer on both coverage and recovery in a series of claims arising from structural defects warranties for new dwellings.

Subrogated Recovery

• Advising various major insurers on subrogated recoveries. Details of his experience can be found in the “Construction & Engineering” and “Property Damage” sections of this profile.

Insurance Fraud

• Acting for several major insurers in a series of remarkably similar claims for fraudulent and/or exaggerated losses by motorcycle delivery riders in London, all of whom are represented by the same firm of solicitors.
• Advising an insurer on a claim for water damage to a luxury car, which appeared to have been dishonestly staged by the car’s owner.
• Successfully representing various different insurers at the Fast Track trials of fraudulent and/or exaggerated personal injury claims.

William is a member of the British Insurance Law Association.

William is developing a busy and varied professional liability practice. He regularly advises litigants, drafts pre-action correspondence and pleadings on their behalf, and represents them in court. His clients include solicitors, law firms, accountants, financial advisers, recruitment professionals, architects, property surveyors, property management professionals, and engineers; as well as their customers. During pupillage he gained experience of D&O claims and claims against auditors.

Experience includes:

Solicitors and Law Firms

• Representing the Claimant in a High Court claim for nearly a million pounds arising from the alleged unsettlement of a previous claim relating to a major industrial accident. The claim has been brought against a well-known firm of claimant personal injury solicitors.
• Representing a firm of solicitors facing a six-figure claim arising from the firm’s alleged failure to protect its client’s statutory entitlement to obtain a new lease on commercial premises. The matter is listed for a 4-day trial in 2026.
• Acting for a firm of conveyancing solicitors accused of negligent delays which caused a client’s mortgage offer to lapse, causing financial loss.
• Acting for a family law solicitor accused by a third party of negligently drafting a court order, which was then approved by a judge. The third party alleged that, as a direct consequence, he was arrested and became homeless.
• Acting for a solicitors’ firm accused by a deceased person’s estate of having negligently failed to renew the insurance on the deceased person’s house, in circumstances where it knew (or ought to have known) that the house had a long history of subsidence.
• Acting for a solicitor accused of having made errors during the negotiation of a commercial lease which caused six-figure consequential losses to their client.
• Acting for a solicitor alleged to have given incorrect advice on the law of Stamp Duty Land Tax and its effect on a substantial commercial property transaction.
• Acting for a solicitor accused of having negligently helped a client to alter their will, in circumstances where the solicitor allegedly ought to have suspected that the client lacked testamentary capacity.
• Acting for an employment solicitor accused of having negligently missed a filing deadline, with the alleged result that the solicitor’s client lost the chance of bringing an employment tribunal claim.

Accountants

• Acting for an accountant accused of having negligently failed to verify figures underlying a financial presentation to potential investors, with the alleged result that the potential deal collapsed.
• Acting for a firm of accountants alleged to have given incorrect advice to a company director in relation to a Director’s Loan Account.

Other Professionals

• Acting for a firm of property surveyors accused of having negligently failed to identify the presence of asbestos in the loft of a property which it surveyed.
• Acting for a recruitment agency accused of negligently placing an unqualified candidate in a new role, thereby causing financial loss to its client.
• Representing a property management company accused of having negligently failed to comply with the law concerning tenancy deposit protection. The claim settled after a number of interim hearings but before trial.
• Acting for a company that produces 3D Building Information Modelling of architectural designs, and which was accused of negligence and breach of contract by a former client.

William is a member of the Professional Negligence Bar Association.

William is developing considerable experience in dealing with property damage claims, many of which arise from fire or escape of water. He is able to advise on coverage, defence and recovery. He is currently acting for several firms which provide storage, removal and logistics services.

Experience includes:

Fire

• Acting for a builder facing a six-figure claim for property damage. The builder was accused of having negligently caused a fire to break out on site, with the result that a building was severely damaged. William also settled the Defence, and represented the defendant at a CCMC in the High Court (TCC).
• Acting for the occupier of large storage warehouse which was almost completely destroyed by fire. The occupier and its insurer are facing a considerable number of claims and potential claims for property damage.
• Acting for an insurer seeking a subrogated recovery from the manufacturer of a vacuum cleaner which combusted whilst charging, causing significant fire damage to a domestic property.
• Acting for a storage and removals firm facing claims from customers following an arson attack which destroyed one of its warehouses.

Escape of Water

• Representing a well-known water and sewerage undertaker at the trial of a claim for property damage by one of its customers. The court was satisfied that the Water Industry Act 1991, as interpreted by the senior courts, provided a complete defence to the claim.
• Acting for the claimant in a six-figure subrogated claim for property damage arising from an escape of water in a large domestic property.
• Acting for a sub-contractor accused of having negligently caused an escape of water in a new-build block of flats, leading to a six-figure claim for damages.
• Acting for a major water utility accused of causing damage to property as a consequence of negligent repair work.
• Acting for a well-known horticultural charity on the recovery of its losses arising from an escape of water caused by a sub-contractor, which led to the temporary closure of its public facilities and consequential financial losses.
• Advising an insurer seeking to pursue a subrogated claim for a contribution from a sub-contractor who caused an escape of water at a new housing project.
• Representing a homeowner at the trial of her downstair neighbour’s claim for property damage caused by a leaking toilet cistern. The claim was dismissed on the basis of an old common law rule: as the upstairs homeowner was unaware of the leak and had taken reasonable steps to maintain the cistern, she was not liable in either negligence or private nuisance.

Storage, Removals and Logistics

• Acting for a storage company which disposed of goods as a bailee in accordance with the mechanism permitted by the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, and now faces the prospect of legal action by the disgruntled bailor.
• Acting for a laboratory removals firm accused of having negligently damaged a shipment of medical lasers whilst transporting them to the USA.
• Advising a storage company on its potential exposure in circumstances where one of its consumer storage warehouses had burnt down.
• Acting for a storage and removals firm accused of having severely damaged a customer’s goods whilst they were in storage and/or transit.
• Acting for a storage and removals firm facing claims from customers following an arson attack which destroyed one of its warehouses.

William represents families and other interested persons at inquests and PIRHs, including highly sensitive inquests arising from fatal accidents, suicide, suspected suicide, and/or allegations of misconduct by state entities. He is well-versed in the legal tests around scope of inquest, evidence, causation, neglect and Article 2. His life experience and maturity enable him to interact with the various participants with respect and sensitivity, and to be robust where appropriate.

Experience includes:

• Representing the family at the inquest of a person who died in hospital having suffered an adverse reaction to an illegal substance. A key issue at the hearing was the excessive length of time it took for an ambulance to arrive.
• Representing the family at the four-day inquest of a person who died shortly after being released from police custody, having had a life-sustaining medical device seized by the police.
• Representing the family at a four-day inquest concerning the death at a private clinic of a person with serious mental health problems.
• Representing the family at a three-day jury inquest concerning the accidental death of an elderly person in a care home, including extensive submissions on neglect.
• Representing the family of a young person who took their own life after a series of alleged failures by state entities to care properly for them.
• Representing a local authority at the inquest of a vulnerable older person who had been in the care of multiple state agencies.
• Representing a private health care provider at an inquest concerning a person whose death is alleged to have been partially caused by failures at a private care home.