United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is the biggest market for Keating Chambers. As a market-leading construction set, barristers at Keating are instructed in disputes of all sizes providing a range of services from pre-action advice through to representing clients in court, adjudication and arbitration. They are appointed to represent a variety of clients including multi-national corporations, public bodies and government entities, investors and lenders, insurers, as well as contractors, developers and construction professionals. 

Our members regularly appear in a range of court cases in England & Wales from small claims hearings in regional county courts all the way through to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Cases to reach the Supreme Court in recent years have included: 

• Ab Augusta 2008 LLP v Abbey Healthcare Ltd [2024] UKSC 23, concerning the question of whether a collateral warranty is a construction contract for the purposes of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 
• URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 772, concerning various fire-safety defects and set to be one of the most significant cases concerning the Building Safety Act and Defective Premises Act (to be heard December 2024). 
• Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30 – A seminal planning case concerning the ‘Pilkington principle’ regarding the relationship between multiple planning permissions for development on the same site.  
• MT Hojgaard v E.On Climate and Renewables UK [2017] UKSC 59 , concerning the construction of the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm. 

Members are skilled advocates who produce effective written submissions, deliver clear, concise and powerful oral advocacy and are highly skilled in their cross-examination of witnesses. King’s Counsel provide high level strategic advice on the largest most complex cases, often advising senior board members at pre-dispute stages, through to leading large teams in case preparation and in court. As well as supporting silks in large disputes, junior barristers regularly act for clients as sole counsel in court or arbitration.   

In the construction sector, recent years have seen an increase in disputes arising out of cladding defects, and our members have appeared in most of the leading cases on fire safety and the Building Safety Act to reach the UK courts. There has also been a significant increase in PFI related cases as many assets created under the first generation of PFI projects are due to be handed back.   

Barristers at Keating Chambers have a deep understanding of the demanding technical, legal and commercial issues that arise in disputes within the energy sector. Their energy experience in the UK is expansive and includes waste-to-energy plants, battery storage systems (BESS), nuclear power plants and offshore windfarms.   

The regularity in which cases involving members of Keating Chambers appear in The Lawyer’s annual “Top 20 Cases” list is a testament to the significance of the work our members do in the UK. In the last five years, six cases have been included in these lists, including disputes related to construction, PFI, procurement and professional negligence.  

The breadth of  expertise means we are uniquely well placed to offer our clients assistance during the entire lifetime of their projects, from planning consent and public procurement to commercial disputes arising during or after the construction of the project. Members are regularly instructed in cases of huge public interest and significance, including instructions relating to HS2, the Gambling Commission, the Met Office, the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the COVID-19 Inquiry.