William Haslam

Call: 2022

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Overview
Expertise
Related Insights, Events & Cases
Contact Clerks

Matthew Ashman

Practice Manager

Details

Overview Expertise Related Insights, Events & Cases

William Haslam specialises in construction, engineering and general commercial disputes. He acts both as sole counsel and as part of a team on complex domestic and international disputes.

William has worked across all of Chambers’ core areas of practice. William draws on his breadth of legal experience from all sides of the legal process: as a barrister, as a secondee to the construction team in a leading London solicitor’s firm and as a judicial assistant to Lord Justice Coulson in the Court of Appeal. William applies this experience to provide clear, client-focused and commercial advice.

William’s recent instructions include representing a main contractor in a £15 million final account dispute, advising leaseholders on their obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022, drafting pleadings in multiple residential homeowner disputes and acting as sole counsel in a £600k delay and disruption adjudication claim. William also maintains a busy court practice dealing with a range of County Court matters including trials and applications.

William graduated from the University of Cambridge with a First-Class degree in Geography, twice finishing top of his year. William received a full scholarships to study at Harvard University as a Herchel Smith Scholar where he studied at Harvard Law School. In 2023, William received the Society of Construction Law’s Hudson Essay Prize and is published in the International Construction Law Review.

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Expertise

Construction, Engineering & Infrastructure

William has worked on a wide range of construction and engineering disputes and drafted numerous advices, pleadings and skeleton arguments. He has represented employers, main contractors, individuals and consultants. Recent experience includes:

Drafting submissions on behalf of a main contractor for a £15 million final account adjudication concerning a flagship mixed-use development in East London.
Representing as sole counsel a main contractor in a £600k delay and disruption claim against a sub-contractor for a high-end residential property in West London.
Drafting a letter of claim in a dispute about the supply and installation of heritage roof tiles for a country house renovation.
Drafting submissions on behalf of an Employer in a £500k commercial premises roof defect claim.
Drafting pleadings and letters of claim in multiple residential homeowner disputes.
Advising an Employer on termination rights under a bespoke design and build contract.
Drafting advice for a developer on a claim under the Defective Premises Act 1972 (during pupillage).
Drafting advice on the operation of liquidated damages provisions in a contract for the provision of a new cancer treatment centre (during pupillage).
Drafting Particulars of Claim on behalf of an employer in a fire safety defect claim arising out of defectively designed and constructed cladding works by a sub-contractor (during pupillage).
Drafting Particulars of Claim on behalf of a developer in a claim against geotechnical engineers (during pupillage).
Drafting advice for an employer on compensation event issues in an amended NEC contract (during pupillage).

Energy & Natural Resources

William’s energy and natural resources experience includes:

Assisting with an advice on claims under a bespoke EPC contract for the construction and commissioning of a gas-fired power plant.
Assisting with an advice on the availability of calling bonds in the context of a long running energy plant dispute.
Assisting with research for an ICC arbitration concerning a Middle Eastern LNG facility (during pupillage).
Drafting a Defence in a claim for breach of confidentiality in a North Sea gas license dispute (during pupillage).
Drafting advice on a commercial dispute for the supply of electricity to a data centre (during pupillage).
Assisting with research for a profit-sharing dispute arising from a PFI energy-from-waste facility (during pupillage).

Adjudication

William has experience in all stages of domestic adjudications and in practice including:

Representing a main contractor to successfully defend a ‘smash and grab’ payment notice adjudication.
Drafting submissions on behalf of an Employer in a £500k warehouse roof defect claim.
Advising on the merits of natural justice arguments to challenge an adjudicator’s jurisdiction in enforcement proceedings.
Advising on the merits of a Part 8 challenge to an adjudicator’s decision.

Arbitration

William has experience in a number of international arbitrations and adjudications during pupillage and in practice including:

Drafting submissions to challenge jurisdiction in a SIAC arbitration arising from the sale of a South-East Asian bank.
Assisting with research for an ICC arbitration concerning a Middle Eastern LNG facility (during pupillage).
Assisting with questions of causation and indemnities for a Hong Kong seated arbitration arising from serious bridge defects (during pupillage).

General Commercial Litgation

William has experience in a range of commercial disputes both during pupillage and in practice, including:

Drafting submissions for a civil fraud claim under UAE and DIFC law (during pupillage).
Drafting Particulars of Claim in a restitution claim arising from a commercial agreement for the supply of rented accommodation (during pupillage).
Drafting a skeleton argument for a strike out application in a civil fraud case under DIFC law (during pupillage).
Drafting a Defence in a claim for breach of confidentiality in a North Sea gas licence dispute (during pupillage).
Drafting advice on a commercial dispute for the supply of electricity to a data centre (during pupillage).

Professional Negligence

William has a particular interest in professional negligence cases, with recent work including:

Drafting a letter of claim and particulars for a claim against architects who failed to properly design a high-value residential property that was rebuilt following a fire.
Drafting advice for engineers on their exposure to claims under the Defective Premises Act and Contribution Act (during pupillage).

Insurance

During pupillage, William gained experience in a variety of insurance disputes including:

Drafting advice for an employer on issues of insurance coverage under an amended JCT Contract.
Drafting advice on issues of professional indemnity insurance coverage and notification in respect of defectively built modular student accommodation.

Building Safety Act 2022

William has worked on a number of matters involving fire safety issues and the Building Safety Act 2022, including:

Drafting advice to freeholders, leaseholders and RMCs on the applicable obligations under the BSA and associated leaseholder regulations.
Advising head leaseholder on its service charge rights and notification obligations under Schedule 8 BSA and Leaseholder Protection regulations.

Additional Information

Languages

William speaks conversational French.

Publications

‘The Lesser of Two Evils? Comparative Analysis of How Common Law Jurisdictions Approach Accrual of Causes of Action in Negligence post-Pirelli” [2024] International Construction Law Review (winner of SCL Hudson Essay Prize, 2024)

Qualifications & Awards

Qualifications

BPTC, City Law School (2021 – 2022)
Graduate Diploma in Law, City University (2020 – 2021)
Herchel Smith Scholar, Harvard University (2019 – 2020)
BA Geography at Emmanuel College (University of Cambridge) (First Class with distinction, ranked 1st in the year) (2016 – 2019)

Awards

Gray’s Inn Residential Scholar, Roger Cox Scholarship, Graeme Hamilton Scholarship
Society of Construction Law, Hudson Essay Prize, First Prize
Vis East International Arbitration Moot, international 3rd best oralist
National Undergraduate Dissertation Prize, Transport Geography Research Group

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