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Richard Coplin

Call: 1997

"Richard's service levels are exceptional and he always gives pragmatic, commercial advice. His ability to read a situation and deliver exactly what is needed is second to none."

Legal 500 2024

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Richard Coplin
Clerk Details

Will Shrubsall

Robert Garvan

Jacob Watson

Maria Ahmed

Practice Summary

Richard Coplin is a qualified engineer and spent several years in the energy industry before becoming a barrister. He specialises in dispute resolution in the construction, engineering, energy and technology sectors. Richard acts for clients on claims in the English courts, particularly the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), but he also has extensive experience of adjudication having acted on numerous adjudication claims over the years along with matters of enforcement. He is particularly well regarded for his work on professional negligence claims relating to architects, engineers, surveyors and valuers.

Arbitration in the UK and abroad is another important element of Richard’s practice, having worked on several multi million pound arbitration claims in recent years relating to large infrastructure and stadium projects in the UK and ICC arbitrations in the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East, including DIAC arbitrations under UAE law.

Richard has particular strengths in understanding and advising in respect of legal issues arising out of complex engineering matters, particularly in the fields of mechanical and structural engineering and in areas such as offshore construction, energy and power, acoustics, manufacturing, materials science, corrosion and transportation.

Richard’s extensive experience of complex construction contracts has seen his career develop into related commercial fields, successfully arguing cases as diverse as the proper construction of election rules for an unincorporated association, the effects of promises not to sue, and the application of the Football League and Football Association Rules to a transfer dispute before an FA tribunal.

Practice Areas

Construction & Engineering

  • Acted in the UAE on behalf of a main contractor in relation to an AED 50,000,000 dispute under the DIAC arbitration rules and UAE law regarding termination of a sub-contract following the cancellation of a large government infrastructure project.

  • Acted on behalf of the geotechnical engineers in relation to a surcharging scheme in defeating a substantial multi million pound claims for delay, disruption and other losses based on settlements between the main contractor and sub-contractor.

  • Acted on behalf of a sub-contractor in recovering interim payments through Part 8 proceedings.

  • Acted on behalf of a funder in striking out a substantial claim for loss of profit arising out of the alleged negligence of contractors.

  • Acted on behalf of an insurer and successfully resisting the appeal in the Court of Appeal in relation to the proper construction of a compromise agreement.

  • Acted on behalf of a residential occupier in obtaining a significant payout for a crane over sailing the resident’s property.

  • Acting on behalf of contractors in an arbitration where significant losses were claimed by a developer/employer relating to the alleged substantial devaluation of its property.

  • Acted for the main contractor joint venture in multi million pound ad hoc arbitration proceedings relating to the construction of a new runway at an international airport in Western Europe.

  • Acted for the employer in ICC arbitration proceedings relating to the construction of a shopping complex in Poland.

  • Instructed and advised in relation to the development of luxury properties in Barbados.

  • Represented a residential developer in a two-week trial relating to alleged defects in the construction of a large residential property.

  • Represented the main contractor in the TCC courts on a claim relating to a profit sharing
    agreement.

  • Acting for the employer on several High Court actions relating to the construction of two floating production storage and off loading (FPSO) Vessels.

  • Advised on claims arising from power station boiler corrosion.

Sports Stadiums

  • Instructed by a major international architectural practice in an arbitration of a £2.5 million dispute relating to alleged professional negligence in the provision of a grandstand at a world famous racecourse.

  • Acted on behalf of structural engineers and advised extensively in relation to a dispute regarding a national football stadium. This case involved highly complex and technical structural engineering matters and the interfaces between various engineers’ scopes of responsibility leading to the successful mediation of a multi-party dispute.

  • Instructed in relation to a dispute relating to the design of a training facility for a well known football club.

Professional Negligence

  • Instructed by Architects in relation to waterproofing issues at Britain’s only natural thermal spa facility.

  • Acted for a major supermarket chain in TCC proceedings relating to claims against arising from subsidence of the main floor slab at a new supermarket development.

  • Defending Surveyors against claim of negligence relating to commercial property valuations.

  • Defending engineers against claims of alleged negligence relating to the failure of a commercial property’s foundations.

  • Defending various consulting (mechanical, structural, geotechnical, civil and electrical) engineers against in proceedings relating to alleged negligence.

  • Representing various claimant main contractors on claims of negligence against consulting engineers.

  • Defending various surveyors, quantity surveyors, architects, valuers in various types of proceedings (court, arbitration, adjudication).

Reported Cases

CIP Properties v Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd

West v Ian Finlay & Associates

Liberty Mercian Ltd v Cuddy Civil Engineering Ltd

Leander Construction Ltd v Mulalley& Company Limited

Tinseltime Limited v Eryl Roberts and others

Priory Caring Services v Capita Property Services

Priory Caring Services Limited v Capita Property Services Limited

Pierce Design International Ltd v Johnson

Resources

The Lawyer Top 20 Cases 2024
The Lawyer Top 20 Cases 2022
Keating Construction Dispute Resolution Handbook

Other Information

Education & Career

  • Keating Chambers, 1998

  • Pupillage, Keating Chambers, 1997-98

  • Called to the Bar (Middle Temple), 1997

  • Diploma in Law, City University, 1996

  • MA in Engineering Science, Exeter College, Oxford 1989

Privacy Policies

Barrister Privacy Notice

Additional information

Richard plays football regularly and follows West Ham United. He enjoys climbing and walking in the countryside.

Memberships

  • Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)

  • Society of Construction Law

Seminars & Publications

  • Contributor, Keating on Offshore Construction & Marine Engineering Contracts – First Edition (2015)

  • Contributor, Keating on Construction Contracts – Ninth Edition (2012)

  • Contributor, Keating on Construction Contracts – Eighth Edition (2006)

  • The Engineer’s Dispute Resolution Handbook

Recommendations

"He is committed and engaged."

"Richard cares about getting the right results for the client."

"Richard Coplin's advice and approach are always first class, as is his strategic input."

"Richard is a great barrister. He is bright and incisive. He also has the calm demeanour and good humour required to work on complex demanding cases."

"Richard is one of the best in the business. He totally gets it and is an absolute pleasure to work with. He is client friendly and always provides sound advice."

"Richard is a barrister I would want on my team."

"He is friendly, creative and sensible - a go-to on construction."

"Richard's service levels are exceptional and always gives pragmatic, commercial advice. His ability to read a situation and deliver exactly what is needed is second to none."

"Richard Coplin is user-friendly, creative and sensible." "He is very good to work with on difficult professional negligence claims."

"He's excellent - experienced, really strong on his feet and really pleasant to work with."

"He turns work around very quickly and is very good at drafting and strategy."

‘He is one of the best. He engages with issues and clients to provide clear robust advice on complex issues.’

'Richard is a particularly creative and collaborative problem solver - very user friendly and practical.'

"He assists to narrow the issues in dispute exceedingly well and works to achieve the best commercial outcome for the client, identifying the strengths and weaknesses in a case with a strategy for it all."

"He is excellent on his feet as an advocate, with a good sense of the room."

"He is technically brilliant, commercial and user friendly. Provides strong advice on legal issues and also excellent guidance on commercial and strategic considerations."

"Richard is a very talented advocate. His ability to quickly get to grips with complicated and highly technical issues leads to well-constructed and thought-out arguments."

"A logical and creative problem solver." "Has excellent technical knowledge."

"He is very bright and a fantastic team player who always brings enthusiasm and good humour to the instructions."

"Excellent at providing strong advice on legal issues and commercial and strategic considerations, and fantastic on his feet."

"The strategic advice he offers is second to none, he can grasp the big picture within moments and he is the ultimate team player."

"Excellent in cross-examination, he has a lot of experience and it shows."

"He has an engineering background, so he's excellent at complicated technical points. His paperwork is very clear and really engages the judge to steer them around with the right approach."

“His legal knowledge and analysis is first-class and he has an excellent manner with clients in conference. He grasps the essentials of complex construction disputes quickly and is very user-friendly."

Richard Coplin is an excellent junior who is regarded as “extremely bright and brilliant with clients”, impressing peers and clients alike with his work in high-stakes construction disputes as counsel and arbitrator.

"A very hard worker, and extremely bright and able - he also gets into the detail."

"With a mastery of detail and a pleasure to work with, he constantly thinks through problems laterally to try to come up with solutions."

"Has a useful engineering background and he's a personable barrister."

"Impresses with his drafting skills, construction knowledge, the speed of his response and his overall approachability."

"He has a highly impressive ability to master complex background facts. His drafting is excellent and he is one of the most client-friendly barristers I have come across."

"He is terrific. Very clever and has a real knack for connecting with clients and understanding how best to deal with cases. He's very hands-on and down to earth."

"A great thinker, he has a fantastic ability to identify a killer point."