Max Twivy

Construction, Engineering & Infrastructure

Max has acted in a wide range of domestic and international construction, engineering, and infrastructure disputes, in the TCC and in arbitrations. Recent work includes:

Cladding and Fire Safety

• Acted as junior counsel (led by Rupert Choat KC) for the successful claimant in enforcing a £14.4m adjudication decision in a cladding dispute. The significant judgment was the first to consider whether an adjudicator has jurisdiction to determine a claim under the Defective Premises Act 1972: BDW Trading v Ardmore Construction [2024] EWHC 3235 (TCC).
• Acting as junior counsel (led by Dominique Rawley KC) for a developer in multiple ongoing TCC and arbitration cladding and fire-safety claims, under the Defective Premises Act 1972 and the Building Safety Act 2022.
• Acting (providing advice and drafting pleadings and applications) in multiple matters involving applications for Building Liability Orders under the Building Safety Act.
• Acted as junior counsel (led by Dominique Rawley KC) for a contractor in a TCC claim relating to cladding on a block of student accommodation.
• Acted as junior counsel (led by Katie Powell) for an architect in Shepherd Construction v Kingspan & Others, one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024, relating to the cladding of a mixed-used development.
• Acted as junior counsel (led by Dominique Rawley KC) in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v Lendlease Construction (Europe) Ltd & Others, one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2022. The issues involved include alleged fire-safety defects in a hospital.
• Acting as junior counsel for a fire engineer in a TCC claim relating to cladding.

General construction & engineering

• Acted as sole counsel for the successful claimant in a Part 8 claim in the TCC, regarding the contractual interpretation of a clause in a JCT construction contract: MY Contracts Ltd v 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 2896 (TCC).
• Acted as junior counsel (led by Chantal-Aimée Doerries KC), including at trial, in an ICC arbitration relating to structural steel and foundation defects in a cement plant in East Asia.
• Acting as junior counsel (led by Rupert Choat KC) in a TCC claim relating to hospital multi-storey car parks.
• Appeared as sole counsel for the successful claimant (against a leading silk) in enforcing an adjudication decision and resisting a Pt 8 claim challenging the correctness of the decision: Breakshore Ltd v Red Key Concepts Ltd [2022] 5 WLUK 677.
• Appeared as sole counsel for the successful claimant in a trial concerning the scope of a contractual variation provision in relation to a commercial development: Star Real Estate Ltd v South Q 100 Ltd[2022] 4 WLUK 449.

Energy, Utilities, Infrastructure, and PFI

• Acted as junior counsel (led by Steven Walker KC) in a PFI dispute relating to street lighting in domestic arbitration proceedings.
• Acted as junior counsel (led by Steven Walker KC), including at trial, in an international ICC arbitration relating to a methanol plant in the Caribbean.
• Acted as junior counsel (led by David Streatfeild-James KC and Fiona Parkin KC), including at trial, in a high-value international arbitration relating to a major Middle East rail project.
• Acted as junior counsel in a multi-billion-dollar arbitration regarding an airport.

Procedural and other matters

• Appeared as sole counsel for the successful applicant in a TCC application for a final charging order: Blacknest Gate Ltd v Seymour Realty Ltd [2020] EWHC 3878 (TCC).
• Appeared as junior counsel (led by Camille Slow) in the TCC for the successful applicant seeking security for costs: Dimension Data Advanced Infrastructure v Berkeley Homes[2020] EWHC 1328 (TCC).
• Drafted Defence on behalf of a bank in a claim relating to a call on a performance bond. Max has also advised on a number of matters relating to guarantees and bonds.
• Regularly appears in court as sole counsel in procedural and interim hearings (as well as at trial).