Overview Expertise Related Insights, Events & Cases
Catherine Piercy KC is a successful commercial and insurance, specialist with a particular focus on construction and engineering disputes, property damage and professional liability.
Catherine is called to the bar in England and Wales and also in Northern Ireland. She took silk at an early stage in her career (2023) and continues to have a busy court and adjudication practice.
Catherine appears in all levels of tribunal in procedural applications, substantive hearings and trials. Catherine has appeared in all of the TCCs and acted in adjudications and mediations. Catherine is not only instructed when a dispute has arisen but, as a result of the rapport she builds with her clients, she is often asked to advise clients when they believe a dispute may be about to arise to assist in an understanding of the merits and adopting a strategic approach to resolution.
In consistent high demand from insurers, contractors, employers, construction professionals and insolvency practitioners, Catherine has an incredible rate of retention of clients, which shows that not only is she committed to fighting her client’s case to ensure a positive outcome, but that she is personable and works well as part of the team. Her written and oral advocacy is excellent and regularly commended by clients, achieving outcomes either better than or in line with her early-stage advice.
Catherine’s core practice is in construction and engineering disputes, and she is recognised as leading counsel in this field by Chambers UK, Chambers Global and Legal 500. She regularly acts in cases concerning defective works, payment disputes, final account disputes and prolongation claims as well as professional negligence claims made by and against construction professionals.
Catherine excels at understanding and analysing the technical aspects of such claims, in order to provide an appropriate strategy for the case designed to achieve the best outcome for her clients. Catherine acts for contractors, employers, subcontractors, construction professionals and their insurers and has also acted for insolvency professionals in relation to construction disputes.
Recent Work:
As a result of her busy construction practice, Catherine is regularly involved in arbitrations involving construction and insurance disputes.
Recent Work:
As Catherine’s core practice area is construction and engineering, she is regularly instructed in adjudications for both referring and responding parties. Catherine has experience in substantial, as well as small but significant, final account disputes, technical payment disputes, substantial professional negligence claims, defect claims and delay and disruption claims.
Catherine is particularly skilled at leading the client, expert and legal team to produce the required material in the short time available, without compromising on the depth of analysis or technical detail required to achieve a successful outcome.
Recent Work:
As a result of her reputation and excellent understanding of technical issues in construction claims, Catherine is regularly instructed at an early stage to advise on and act in claims concerning damage caused by fire, floods, leaks and explosions. She is then able to lead on the strategy to ensure a successful outcome.
Catherine’s clients include insurers, property owners and contractors. As a result, she is well placed to understand all possible sides of the litigation, ensuring she is able to provide the best advice to her clients from initial instruction and all the way through to trial.
Recent Work:
As a result of her construction, professional negligence and property damage work, Catherine acts for insurers and insureds in complex insurance disputes, primarily in relation to PI and CAR policies. She is sought after by clients for her clear and practical advice.
Catherine’s Construction, Professional Negligence and Property Damage profiles outline her extensive experience of construction and engineering claims, many of which involve insurers. The focus of this profile is on coverage disputes.
Recent Work:
Catherine regularly acts in professional negligence disputes concerning architects, contract administrators, quantity surveyors, project managers and structural engineers in all aspects of professional negligence claims against construction professionals, including cases concerning negligent design, overvaluation of works, inadequate contract administration and failure to inspect/supervise.
Catherine accepts instructions directly from clients and insurers regarding subrogated claims. She provides advice, drafts protocol letters and pleadings as well as representing clients in court.
Her recent work includes:
Catherine advises on coverage issues in relation to various consumer, commercial and reinsurance policies.
Recent Work:
Catherine is a contributor to Construction All Risks Insurance, published by Sweet & Maxwell.
Catherine is recommended by Chambers UK, Chambers Global, Who’s Who Legal and Legal 500 as a leading junior in construction and professional negligence. She is also recommended by Chambers UK for property damage. She won Junior Construction Barrister of the Year at the Chambers UK 2019 Awards.
“Catherine immediately understands the issues, comes up with a plan and ensures it is implemented accurately. She gives clients great comfort. Her advocacy is robust.”
“Her pleadings are beautifully crafted and persuasive.”
“Catherine Piercy is excellent and very easy to deal with. She is very into the detail and focused.”
Construction, Chambers UK Bar 2026
“Catherine is able to grasp complex issues quickly and get to the nub of the dispute.”
“She’s fantastic, legally strong and also great with clients.”
“Catherine Piercy is excellent and very easy to deal with.”
Construction: Professional Negligence, Chambers UK Bar 2026
“Catherine Piercy’s advocacy is very strong and she is excellent in all respects.”
Property Damage, Chambers UK Bar 2026
“Catherine is a real pleasure to work with, very user-friendly and passionately fights for her clients. She is technically strong and a very capable advocate.”
Insurance, The Legal 500 2026
“Able to quickly get to grips with the key issues of the case and distil the key points in dispute for clients and solicitors alike. Excellent drafting skills and tactically very sharp.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2026
“Her advocacy is outstanding and she’s always a pleasure to work with.”
“A real star. Her written work is excellent and she doesn’t miss a beat. She’s clear, concise and robust in her analysis. She’s an incredibly strong advocate and she works incredibly hard.”
“She is clear, concise and robust in her analysis and she works incredibly hard.”
Construction, Chambers UK Bar 2024
“A talented and able advocate.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2024
“She provides creative solutions to legal problems.” “An incredibly able junior and forceful advocate whose written work is fantastic.”
“Catherine works well under pressure.”
“She understands commercial issues, not just legal issues.”
“Catherine has a good feel for construction work; she’s at the forefront of limitation issues and does well there.”
“She is incredibly able and very good on technical things.”
“An excellent senior junior. She’s very easy to work with and understands commercial issues, not just the legal issues.
“She’s excellent to work with, is always engaged with the issues; her pleading work is excellent as is her advocacy.”
“A fantastic, committed, brilliant and clever all-rounder.”
“Catherine is a real superstar in the making. She is incredibly good on her feet. She is a really robust advocate with fantastic client-handling skills and produces excellent written work.”
Professional Negligence: Technology & Construction, Chambers UK Bar 2023
“Catherine is well liked by clients, for good reason. She is able to explain complex legal arguments clearly to lay clients and help them understand the relative merits of the same, which is invaluable for them to make informed commercial decisions.”
“Catherine is an excellent junior. Her written work is first class, her analysis is always spot on and she is an excellent advocate.”
“She has a quick grasp of technical claims, a great client manner and is strong on her feet in court.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2023
“She rolls her sleeves up and clients really like her. She’s down to earth and user-friendly, with good attention to detail and the ability to make points
clearly.”
“Her written work is very good and she is known as a strong advocate.”
Professional Negligence, Chambers UK Bar
“Very robust and technically excellent.”
“Impressive.”
“‘She has very strong communication skills that inspire confidence and bring a positive energy to the room.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500
“Catherine Piercy is very passionate about the cases she takes and she really gets stuck in and gives it her all. She’s also very good technically and over the detail – you are in it together with her. She’s a pleasure to work with.”
“She is brilliant – super smart and super on top of it. She is an excellent barrister all round”
Property Damage, Chambers UK Bar 2024
“She’s exceptionally hard-working and great with clients.”
“A first-class advocate.”
“She always provides good, clear analysis.”
“Bright, hard-working and responsive.”
“Her written work is brilliant and she’s incredibly good with clients.”
“Very clever and down-to-earth.”
“Clever, incredibly industrious, very easy to work with and utterly reliable.”
“She’s very bright, very accommodating, and very good with clients. Both her writing and advocacy skills are impressive.”
Property Damage, Chambers UK Bar
Atkin Chambers is delighted to announce that Catherine Piercy KC has joined the set, with…
For more information please contact our clerks on
+44 (0)20 7404 0102 or clerks@atkinchambers.com
