Construction, Energy & Infrastructure

"Barristers at Fountain Court Chambers are 'prepared to roll up their sleeves and not stand on ceremony'."


The Legal 500

Our expertise in the energy sector spans all forms of energy including oil, gas, nuclear and renewables, and increasingly extractive resources such as mining, drilling and exploration.

Members are familiar with cases involving energy joint ventures, including disputes arising from the negotiation of and the acquisition/disposal of interests in a joint venture in respect of oil and gas resources, or later disputes over agreements for capital investment in and exploitation of projects for extraction/refinement of resources with associated infrastructure projects.

We have worked on disputes all over the world, including in South Africa, Italy, Yemen, Pakistan, The Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Russia and CIS states such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. We are also experts in dealing with litigation in respect of offshore corporate aspects of such disputes and cases have involved Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Yemen, the UK and offshore corporate jurisdictions.

Members are adept at handling high-value disputes in this field, both in litigation and arbitration, having handled energy claims of up to $50 billion in value.

In a construction context, we have acted on some of the largest and most complex disputes. Our work often crosses into other practices including insurance and professional negligence, and relates to infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, bridges, tunnels, wind farms and power stations. We also have experience relating to sports stadiums, shopping centres, office and residential blocks.

Our members have taken on key roles in the sector including for government entities such as the independent review of the system for testing and certifying construction products.

Our work includes cases relating to:

  • Disputes between energy corporates (extractors, generators, producers, suppliers, etc.) including in the context of joint venture projects
  • Disputes around financing arrangements relating to energy and natural resources generation, production and/or supply
  • Claims arising out of major incidents and spills
  • Insurance and reinsurance issues underlying energy and/or construction disputes
  • Loss and expense claims in a construction context including in relation to delay and disruption, defective work and final account disputes
  • Disputes involving contractual terms including all principal main contracts such as JCT and FIDIC and sub-contracts like DOM/1 and DOM/2
  • Arbitrations, adjudications and mediations

  • Gwynt - Y - Mor Ofto PLC v Gywnt - Y - Mor Offshore Wind Farm Limited: Acting for both sides in this dispute concerning the Gwynt-Y-Mor wind farm (the world’s second largest wind farm), in relation to failures that occurred to two three-phase export cables serving the wind farm, and involving complex issues relating to the correct contractual construction of the Sale and Purchase Agreement.
  • Sky UK Limited v (1) Mace Limited (2) Prater Limited: Acting for Sky UK relating to the defective roof of its flagship premises, in the first major CAR insurance claim to be heard in court.
  • Blackpool Borough Council v Volkerfitzpatrick Limited & Others: Acting for Volkerfitzpatrick in defence of a claim by Blackpool Borough Council regarding alleged defects in the Blackpool Tram depot.
  • Birmingham City Council v Amey Birmingham Highways Limited: Acting for Birmingham City Council in a dispute relating to a £2.3 billion PFI contract regarding highways management and maintenance.
  • Equis Special v George Allen Cowan: Acting for the defendants in a multi-million multi-jurisdictional conspiracy claim brought in the Cayman Islands against a major Asian private equity group which invests in and manages energy and infrastructure private equity funds.
  • Eni v Federal Republic of Nigeria: Representing Eni in a high-profile dispute, arising out of the allocation of an offshore oil prospecting license.
  • Excalibur Ventures LLC v Texas Keystone & Others: Acting for the first defendant in a billion-pound claim concerning the granting of oil concessions in Iraqi Kurdistan.
  • Teesside Gas Transportation Ltd & Power Ltd v CATS North Sea Ltd: Acting in a dispute heard in the Court of Appeal, regarding a difficult point of contractual interpretation arising out of 25-year take-or-pay arrangements for one of the major North Sea gas pipelines.
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Construction, Energy & Infrastructure Barristers

Richard Lissack QC

Richard Lissack KC

Call 1978 | Silk 1994

Michael McLaren QC

Michael McLaren KC

Call 1981 | Silk 2002

Timothy Howe QC

Timothy Howe KC

Call 1987 | Silk 2008

Richard Handyside QC

Richard Handyside KC

Call 1993 | Silk 2009

Derrick Dale QC

Derrick Dale KC

Call 1990 | Silk 2010

Anneliese Day QC

Anneliese Day KC

Call 1996 | Silk 2012

John Taylor QC

John Taylor KC

Call 1993 | Silk 2013

Henry King QC

Henry King KC

Call 1998 | Silk 2017

Bridget Lucas QC

Bridget Lucas KC

Call 1989 | Silk 2018

Edward Levey QC

Edward Levey KC

Call 1999 | Silk 2020

Ben Lynch QC

Ben Lynch KC

Call 2001 | Silk 2020

Simon Atrill

Simon Atrill KC

Call 2005 | Silk 2023

Nik Yeo

Call 2000

Andrew Pullen

Andrew Pullen

Call 2016

James Duffy

James Duffy

Call 2005

Philip Ahlquist

Philip Ahlquist

Call 2012

Giles Robertson

Giles Robertson

Call 2012

Joseph Farmer

Joseph Farmer

Call 2013

Max Evans

Max Evans

Call 2015

Max Kasriel

Max Kasriel

Call 2015

Francesca Ruddy

Call 2020

Daniel Schwennicke

Daniel Schwennicke

Call 2020

Hannah Bernstein

Hannah Bernstein

Call 2020

Kit Holliday

Call 2021

Tiffany Tang

Call 2022

Philip Brook Smith QC

Philip Brook Smith KC

Call 1982 | Silk 2002

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Contact our clerks

For more information on our experience or to discuss a particular case, please contact us.

Call:    +44 (0)207 583 3335
Email: clerks@fountaincourt.co.uk

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