Possessing a ‘strong depth of excellent barristers’, Keating Chambers continue to cover high-value and complex construction disputes across the UK and the world, handling fire safety claims at all levels of the English and Welsh courts and significant international arbitrations concerning infrastructure projects. Alexander Nissen KC and Tom Owen KC appeared in the Supreme Court in Augusta 2008 LLP v Abbey Healthcare, while Simon Hargreaves KC and David Sheard also appeared in the Supreme Court representing the contractors in BDW Trading Limited v URS Corporation Ltd. The set remain active on cases arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire with Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acting for the contractor and Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson representing the housebuilder in Martlet Homes v Mulalley & Co which examines liability over fire safety defects in the external walls of high-rise towers. Richard Coplin KC took silk in March 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Position
David Sheard has developed a busy and wide-ranging practice, encompassing all key areas of Chambers’ expertise including construction, adjudication, energy and professional negligence work. He has been recommended as an “astronomically clever” and “gifted” barrister by The Legal 500 (Professional Negligence) and as a leading junior who is “absolutely brilliant” by Who’s Who Legal (Construction).
David has worked with numerous standard-form and bespoke contracts, including FIDIC, NEC3, PFI, SFA/99, ACE, RICS and many of the JCT forms (past and present), providing advice to various clients ranging from private home-owners to large property-development companies. He also has substantial court experience as sole counsel, representing clients in the County and High Courts both for interim applications and at trial, as well as being instructed on numerous occasions as junior counsel in larger construction disputes, both in international and domestic arbitrations and in the TCC.
In addition to Chambers’ core areas of expertise, David also has significant experience in the context of rail disputes, including claims made in arbitration in accordance with the ADRR concerning Restrictions of Use and Sustained Poor Performance.
Career
TECBAR-Accredited Adjudicator, 2013
Tenant, Keating Chambers, 2011- Present
Pupil, Keating Chambers, 2010-2011
Called 2010, Lincoln’s Inn
Languages
Basic German.
Education
Warwick School (2005); St John’s College, Cambridge University (2008 BA Law Hons; 2009 LLM 1st).
Content supplied by Keating Chambers
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks room at Keating us headed by Will Shrubsall and James Luxmoore. They are both very professional and oversee a quality clerking service.'
- 'James Luxmoore is the joint Director of Clerking. He is always user-friendly, responsive and great at troubleshooting when needed. Jade Clark is Practice Manager and brilliant at client service.'
- 'The service provided by the clerks’ room is consistently excellent. William Shrubsall was responsive, approachable, and proactive in ensuring that counsel are available and appropriately matched to the matter at hand.'
- 'The clerks are amazing, genuinely enthusiastic about their work and willingness to go above and beyond to help. James Luxmoore and Oliver Goldsmith are really excellent - approachable and responsive (always finding the right people to help promptly even whilst travelling). Jade Clerk and Rob Garvan are also very efficient and proactive.'
- 'I consider Keating Chambers to be a leading Construction set and my 'go to' chambers for building safety disputes which form a large part of my practice.'
- 'Keating Chambers have a very strong depth of excellent barristers and are my go-to set of choice. There is a good availability of counsel and I have found counsel are better than other sets at managing multiple commitments.'
- 'Keating Chambers has always stood out to me as a truly exceptional set in the construction field. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with several of their barristers, and I’ve consistently been impressed by the depth of talent and expertise available. Whether it’s a senior silk or a junior, the quality is high.'
- 'Keating have unparalleled knowledge and expertise across construction - from the most senior silk to the newest tenant, you know you are getting high-quality barristers who really know their stuff.'