• installation of rainscreen cladding at two mixed-use buildings developed for a local authority;
• Advising a Sub-Contractor in respect of its entitlement to payment under a contract for the design and construction of a new Docklands Light Railway station and an associated Crossrail Emergency Intervention Point;
• Acting for a Contractor in a dispute over the terms on which a contract had been formed and its entitlement to an extension of time in a claim against an international consortium over the design and construction of a major UK bridge;
• Advising the owner of a UK rare metals mine in a dispute with its operator in respect of the latter’s alleged entitlement to additional payment for equipment and the dispute resolution process which applied;
• Acting for a Main Contractor defending a private prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court brought for alleged breaches of the Building Regulations, contrary to section 35 of the Building Act 1984;
• Acting for a Main Contractor challenging the validity of a Control of Noise Notice served by a local authority under section 60(7) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974;
• Advising a Sub-Contractor on the merits of potential claims against a third party Quantity Surveyor for the negligent preparation of a Bill of Quantities and the negligent measurement, valuation, or negotiation of measured work, causing loss in the Sub-Contractor against the Main Contractor;
• Advising a Sub-Contractor on the extent of its design responsibility for ensuring adequate ventilation of toxic fumes in respect of certain components to be installed in a research and teaching laboratory at a major UK university;
• Acting for a residential owner defending a claim brought by a firm of builders for sums said to be due in which there were allegations that the contract – or variations thereto – had been procured by physical duress;
• Drafting a Defence to a claim in which a Sub-Contractor sought to open up the final account under a modified JCT Standard Building Sub-Contract Conditions (2011 ed) some years after a document amounting to a Final Payment Notice had been issued;
• Advising a Contractor on its entitlement to an extension of time and to payment for loss and expense further to the discovery of asbestos additional to that which had been identified at the tender stage in respect of works at two local authority schools;
• Drafting Amended Particulars of Claim seeking damages for wrongful termination by the Employer on the alleged ground of a failure regularly and diligently to progress the works, alternatively damages for failure to make payment of various sums accrued as due upon termination;
• Advising on the merits and subsequently drafting correspondence under the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes in a claim by residential owners against a firm of builders seeking restitution in unjust enrichment or damages in respect of sums paid for work which was not subsequently performed;
• Drafting a Defence and Counterclaim in respect of the late delivery and defective manufacture of a large quantity of composite beams to be installed in a hybrid precast concrete frame for a mixed-use development;
• Advising a contractor on merits and overall strategy in a claim for wrongful termination for alleged delay under a bespoke contract;
• Advising on the construction of a Settlement Agreement and the extent to which the Employer had knowledge of alleged defects in a large public infrastructure project at the date of compromise;
• Advising on the division of supply, design, and installation responsibilities between a Contractor and its subcontractor in respect of defective glass panels on a London skyscraper;
• Advising a Contractor on a variety of Compensation Events under NEC3 Option A and the recovery of acceleration costs;
• Advising on a claimed extension of time under a modified JCT 2005 Design and Build Contract;
• Advising on the extent of an Employer’s entitlement to receive background information as to its Contractor’s costs on an Open Book basis in order to calculate the rates to which the latter was entitled;
• Advising on the construction of a management contract and the scope of responsibility of a Project Manager to instruct a change in the rates for plant hire under a bespoke contract;
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for an injunction restraining the Employer from terminating a Project Agreement further to a PFI initiative;
• Advising on the extent to which a tenant of commercial property, having the benefit of an assignable Collateral Warranty against the Contractor, could claim for losses suffered by its sub-tenant in actual occupation;
• Advising on available causes of action and overall strategy in a claim for fire damage on an industrial estate where there was an evidential gap as to causation.

In addition, Christopher has significant experience of issues arising under the NEC3 Professional Services Contract, having advised on the construction and drafting of a number of such contracts for a large London airport.

• Acting in an arbitration under the LCIA Rules (2014) in a dispute concerning the negligent process design of four water filtration plants, including drafting the Request for Arbitration and subsequent Statement of Case;
• Acting in an arbitration for a Main Contractor in a dispute over the design, construction, and commissioning of an oil commercial production facility in the Middle East, involving extensive work with expert delay analysis;
• Acting in a DIAC arbitration for a Contractor under a dispute over wrongful termination of a contract to construct a residential skyscraper in Dubai;
• Drafting a Statement of Reply to Defence to Counterclaim under the LCIA rules in a dispute as to liquidated damages for alleged breach of an exclusive distribution agreement.

• Advising insurers on cover and whether a ‘claim’ had been made by a Danish local authority Employer under a policy of professional indemnity taken out by a UK designer in respect of expert determination proceedings further to an arbitration concerning negligent design in Denmark;
• Advising on the application of an aggregation clause in a policy of professional indemnity insurance in respect of the division of liability between primary and secondary layer insurers;
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for the negligent fitting, storage, and transportation of a light aircraft;
• Advising on a claim against a project manager and structural engineer for negligent certification and delay;
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for a dispute arising out of the negligent design of a grain storage facility;
• Drafting a Defence to a claim for alleged negligence in design and project management services in the construction of a boarding house at a public school;
• Drafting Particulars of Claim in a dispute over the negligent design of a swing bridge;

Advising on a claim for the negligent design and installation of a lift shaft at a commercial warehouse.

• Advising and drafting Particulars of Claim in a dispute over the correct construction of earn-out provisions in an Asset Purchase Agreement;
• Advising on the merits and drafting a Defence in a dispute over the validity of demands made under guarantee and indemnity documents provided in favour of the lender under a complex series of loan agreements;
• Advising on jurisdiction in a claim brought by a Monégasque bank in respect of a variety of agreements governing an FX trading facility;
• Advising on the validity of the purported termination of an importer/distributor agreement;
• Advising on the application of principles of acquiescence or waiver to the purchase by a mortgagee of charged property sold by way of public auction;
• Advising on the construction of an ABI Model Form of Guarantee Bond;
• Drafting a Defence to a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation;
• Drafting a Skeleton Argument in Part 8 proceedings on the construction of a contractual indemnity.

Christopher is a TECBAR accredited adjudicator. Recent cases include:

• Acting (with Jennifer Jones) for a local authority defending an adjudication referred by a Contractor seeking an extension of time and payment of loss and expense in respect of works at a school;
• Acting for an Employer referring a dispute in respect of the negligent stripping of an asbestos roof and the design and installation of insulated composite profile roof sheets;
• Advising on jurisdiction and natural justice challenges to the enforceability of an adjudication award;
• Advising on the extent to which loss sustained by the Employer further to an adjudication award obtained by the Contractor on a Payment Notice under an amended JCT Design and Build Contract 2011 were capable of being claimed form the Employer’s Agent prior to the determination of the Final Statement between the Employer and the Contractor.

• Judicial Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Arden DBE (2012)
• College Lecturer, Keble College, Oxford (2011 – 2012)
• Teaching Fellow, University College, London and King’s College, London (2011 – 2012)
• Qualified Volunteer (Employment) with the Free Representation Unit
• Called to the Bar of England and Wales (Inner Temple) (2013)
• Distinction, Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), St Hugh’s College, Oxford (2011)
• First Class Honours, Bachelor of Law (LL.B), University College, London (2010)
• Peter Taylor Scholarship (Inner Temple) (2012 – 2013)
• AHRC Research Preparation Masters Studentship for the BCL (2010 – 2011)
• Andrews Medal (Top First Overall), University College, London (2010) and Andrews Prizes (Top First in Year, 2008 and 2009)
• Jolowicz Prize for Roman Law (2010)
• Dean’s List (2010)
• Sweet and Maxwell Law Prize (2010)
• Hurst Prize for English Law (2009)
• Bentham Prize for Jurisprudence (2009)
• Webber Prize (2008)
• Simon Wallace Memorial Prize for Contract Law (2008)
• Various Prizes in Classics (2005) and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology (2006)