Harry Smith > The Chambers of Alexander Nissen KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Keating Chambers Offices

The Chambers of Alexander Nissen KC
Keating Chambers
15 ESSEX STREET
LONDON
WC2R 3AA
England
Visit website 020 7544 2600 020 7544 2700

Harry Smith

Harry Smith photo
020 7544 2600 hsmith@keatingchambers.com

Position

Harry is ranked by the Legal 500 as ‘Rising Star’: “His written advice is stellar, matched by his skills in court. Would not hesitate to put Harry’s intellect against any other more senior member of the Bar.” He specialises in construction, engineering, infrastructure, energy and professional negligence disputes.The reported cases to Harry’s name include Aqua Leisure International Ltd v Benchmark Leisure Ltd [2021] BLR 150; Croudace Homes Ltd v PRB Wiring Solutions Ltd [2020] EWHC 2139 (TCC); Synergy Gas Services v Northern Gas Heating Ltd [2019] 1 BLR 132; and JonJohnstone Construction Ltd v Eagle Building Services Ltd [2017] EWHC 2225 (TCC).

Other highlights of Harry’s practice include his instruction by Lendlease in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v Lendlease Construction (Europe) Ltd & Others – one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2022 – and his appearance as junior counsel for the successful respondent in the Court of Appeal in Herons Court v NHBC Building Control Services Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1423.

In addition to his work as a trial advocate, Harry has extensive experience of contested adjudication enforcement hearings including cases with an insolvency angle.

Harry has experience of all major standard forms including the JCT, NEC and FIDIC, and is a contributor to the current editions of Keating on Construction Contracts and the loose-leaf Keating on JCT Contracts.

Career

Called to the Bar (2014); Pupil, Keating Chambers (2014 – 2015); Tenant, Keating Chambers (2015).

Memberships

SCL; TECBAR; Procurement Lawyers’ Association

Education

University of Warwick, Law LLB (First Class); City University, Bar Professional Training Course.

Leisure

In his spare time Harry enjoys playing the piano and skiing.

Lawyer Rankings

London Bar > Construction

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 4

Harry Smith – Keating Chambers ‘Extremely knowledgeable and very responsive from a solicitors perspective. Excellent on paper and on his feet. His calm and methodical advocacy is a great strength.’

As an ‘excellent specialist set’ in construction law, Keating Chambers continues to impress with its representation in an array of high-profile cases, both in the UK and abroad. In addition to the set’s global presence in arbitrations, domestic instructions include Martlet Homes v Mulalley, the first post-Grenfell cladding fire safety case to go to trial, where Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson represented the claimants, while Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acted for the defendants. Other key cases include Cambridgeshire County Council v BAM Nuttall Limited, a long-running case concerning a guided busway in Cambridgeshire, involving Piers Stansfield KC, Sarah Williams, and Harry Smith acting for the claimant. Paul Bury, acting for Resource Recovery Solutions (Derbyshire) Limited, and Lucy Garrett KC, who is representing Derbyshire CC & Derby CC, are instructed to appear on opposite sides of a dispute revolving around the termination of a PFI contract for the Derby waste-to-energy plant. The set has seen the addition of Alexandra Bodnar from 39 Essex Chambers. Paul Buckingham KC and William Webb KC both took silk in March 2023, while Adam Constable KC (as was) is now on the High Court bench.

Top Tier Firm Rankings

Firm Rankings