“A superb advocate and a great team player.”
Legal 500
Nicholas is a leading specialist in construction, civil engineering, international arbitration, professional negligence and information technology together with related areas such as insurance, sale of goods, insolvency, transport and energy.
He acts as advocate and advisor domestically and overseas in court and arbitration proceedings concerning major construction, engineering, IT, road and rail transport, infrastructure, and oil and gas projects. Overseas disputes commonly involve international corporations and joint ventures, and governmental or quasi-governmental bodies. He has appeared in arbitrations conducted in various parts of the world under LCIA, ICC, HKIAC, SIAC and UNCITRAL rules.
He also acts as arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator. He has acted as party-nominated arbitrator, chairman and sole arbitrator on numerous occasions in domestic and international disputes and conducts adjudications early neutral valuations and other forms of dispute resolution.
He has been involved in disputes involving foreign law including in India, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, USA (including New York, Texas, California), Europe (including Spain and Poland), South Africa and Gibraltar.
Nicholas has been recognised for many years by the legal directories, Chambers and Partners (UK, Global and Asia) as well as The Legal 500, as a leading silk in the fields of construction, professional negligence, international arbitration, professional negligence and information technology.
Nicholas has extensive and wide-ranging experience of construction and civil engineering disputes, involving major projects of all types. Case examples include:
Nicholas has considerable experience of both domestic and international disputes regarding utilities and oil and gas particularly in relation to the design and construction of on and off-shore installations. Cases include:
Nicholas has acted in a number of disputes of alleged professional negligence between construction professionals and their advisors. A number of his leading cases include:
Nicholas has considerable experience in the IT and telecommunications’ field acting on disputes in relation to telecommunication systems and computer software and hardware systems for many big household names, including Accenture, LCH Clearnet, T-Mobile, Unisys, Liberata, BBC and UBS. Cases include:
2003: Bencher of Middle Temple
2000: Recorder
1997: Assistant Recorder
1970-1973: Brasenose College, Oxford (PPE)
“He sees things differently, bringing a useful fresh angle to some tricky problems.”
Construction, Energy and Infrastructure, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021
“Very clever and well respected.”
Information Technology, Chambers UK Bar 2021
“A go-to person for super technical legal disputes.” “One of the best black-letter lawyers and easy to work with.”
Construction, Chambers UK Bar 2021
“A creative thinker and a big thinker who is not afraid to approach things from left field.”
Professional Negligence, Chambers UK Bar 2021
“My go-to QC when facing awkwardly drafted contracts or a factually complex dispute. I would always be concerned if he is acting for my opponent. Nick has a superb ability to grasp the technical and legal complexities of a case. His advocacy is second to none; it comes with great ease and out of many years of experience.”
IT and Telecoms, The Legal 500 2021
“Exceptional lawyer, easy to work with and an advocate who is prepared to fight a client’s corner. He will stand by his pre-trial advice and doesn’t, unlike many, shy away from difficult arguments.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2021
“Very approachable and is an excellent team player who communicates well at all levels.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2021
“He can master extremely complex issues easily and is a capable advocate.”
Energy, The Legal 500 2021
“He is outstanding in preparation.” “He is impressive and definitive in advice, strong on his feet, strong on legal arguments and very clear in his responses to clients.”
Construction, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2021
“Got that super QC status! I would always use him.” “He likes to win the unwinnable battles.”
Energy, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2021
“He’s a top-rate arbitrator and is particularly impressive on high-value, multiparty arbitrations. He is super intelligent, responsive and turns things around very quickly.” “A very experienced, easygoing, super smooth arbitrator.”
International Arbitration: Arbitrators: Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2021
“Really on top of his game.”
Information Technology, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2021
“He is in high demand for his work as an advocate in construction-related cases.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2021
“Brings a useful fresh angle to some tricky problems.”
International Arbitration, The Legal 500 2021
“He is a very bright lawyer who sees the pattern of things with the benefit of many years of intense experience and does not follow the herd.”
Energy, The Legal 500 2021
“He is authoritative and extremely hard-working.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2021
“A fair minded arbitrator who has the ability to keep order as chairman.” “A very well-experienced arbitrator.”
International Arbitration, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2020
“His advocacy is very strong and he is a capable speaker. He distils the information well and presents the case very strongly.” “He is insightful about contracts and how to interpret them.”
Energy & Natural Resources, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2020
“Very intelligent.”
Construction, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2020
“Extremely knowledgeable, fair and straightforward.”
Information Technology, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2020
“A stand-out silk for APAC-related instructions.”
Construction, Energy & Infrastructure, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2020
“He is held in very high regard for professional negligence work.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2020
“A standout barrister.”
International Arbitration, The Legal 500 2020
“An independent and strategic thinker.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2020
“An independent and strategic thinker with an ability to see things differently to the crowd.”
Energy, The Legal 500 2020
“Very practical, user-friendly and easy to deal with.” “Always gives you a straight answer.”
Construction, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2019
“A senior QC with a great ability to look far into the future of a dispute and plot strategy. His appreciation of the things best avoided in a case is very helpful.” “A great tactician who adapts to the case extremely quickly and shapes his approach to be effective for the particular judge.”
Energy and Natural Resources, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2019
“Very practical, user-friendly and easy to deal with.”
“Always gives you a straight answer.”
International Arbitration, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2019
