Construction & Engineering
William is developing a broad construction practice, which includes advising, drafting pleadings and adjudication documents, and representing litigants at interim and final hearings. He is able to advise clients on adjudication law and procedure, standard form contracts, the Building Safety Act 2022, latent defects insurance, new home warranties, developer/builder insolvency, party wall disputes, 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.
Current and recent work includes:
- Representing a construction company resisting an attempted “smash and grab” adjudication by one of its sub-contractors.
- Advising a construction company on 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 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.
- Successfully representing a provider of plumbing and heating services in its application to set aside default judgment entered against it by a self-builder.
- 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 some unusual issues concerning jurisdiction, limitation and declaratory relief.
- Advising a construction company facing a potential Building Liability Order arising from alleged breaches of the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- Advising a building developer on the status and effect of a series of written and oral agreements made with a firm of architects.
- Advising a major insurer on subsidence damage alleged to have been caused by the negligent construction of a building’s foundations.
- Drafting a Defence for a provider of Building Information Modelling who is alleged to have derailed the progress of a major construction project by providing insufficient architectural and technical detail.
- Advising a major insurer on its options in attempting to recover from an insolvent building developer.
- Advising a homeowning couple on their defence and counterclaim to a claim brought by a builder who had abandoned a job but was nonetheless seeking to recover his fees in full.
William is a member of the Technology & Construction Bar Association.
Selected Cases
View full profile »Awards
• Lord Denning Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2021)
• Senior Advocacy Scholarship (The University of Law, 2021)
• Lord Brougham Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2020)
Articles
News
Qualifications
• Bar Practice Course (Outstanding); The University of Law
• GDL (Distinction); The University of Law
• MA Music (First Class); King’s College, Cambridge
Memberships
- BILA
- COMBAR
- PIBA
- PNBA
- TECBAR
