Keating Chambers is ‘a go-to set for construction resource and support’. Among them is Veronique Buehrlen KC acts for the defendant in Tullow Ghana Ltd v Vallourec Oil & Gas France, a $400m claim for allegedly defective piping installed in water injection wells in the Jubilee field off the coast of Ghana. David Thomas KC is another senior silk with a longstanding reputation in energy disputes, including a recent UK case concerning biomass plants, and international disputes over solar power components. Paul Buckingham KC continues to make a name for himself as a new silk, his work for Valero in bringing claims arising from damage to a petroleum pipeline supplying two major UK terminals illustrating his presence in domestic matters. Promising junior Jennie Wild has a broad practice that includes international disputes concerning power station construction, as well as domestic matters, and Paul Bury’s work in a £132m TCC claim concerning a waste-to-energy power plant gives a glimpse into his broad energy practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Position
Paul Bury is a highly experienced specialist in oral and written advocacy in:
- domestic and international commercial construction,
- professional negligence,
- energy,
- insurance,
- offshore,
- infrastructure projects, and
- regulatory disputes.
He has been described as “razor-sharp…first class [and] a future star of the Construction Bar”.
Paul is regularly instructed as sole Counsel or as Junior Counsel in a broad range of disputes including highly complex and high-value High Court proceedings, international and domestic arbitration (in particular ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL), adjudication and mediation.
He has extensive advocacy experience in High Court trials, applications, procedural hearings, and adjudication work as well as in arbitrations and adjudications. Paul has been praised as “a skilled advocate, delivering effective oral arguments and cross-examination at hearings”.
Paul has gained particular expertise in cases involving issues of delay and disruption, defects, and contractual termination, and cases involving professional negligence and insurance issues, particularly those involving structural engineers, architects, cladding issues, and energy technology. Paul has extensive knowledge of the JCT, NEC, IChemE Red Book and FIDIC standard form contracts and of the offshore LOGIC and SAJ forms.
Some of the larger TCC matters he has been involved in include Energy Works (Hull) Ltd v MW High Tech Projects, Bluewater Energy Services BV v Mercon Steel Structures BV and Vivergo Fuels Ltd v Redhall Engineering Solutions Ltd and, in adjudication, Eurocom v Siemens. Paul’s international arbitration practice has seen him act for clients on projects based in jurisdictions such as South Africa, Dubai, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Qatar and Nigeria.
Having previously worked for a leading international law firm in Brussels on complex regulatory issues involving blue-chip international companies, Paul is adept at taking a commercial approach to legal issues and dispute resolution and receives praise from clients for his ability “to penetrate difficult details” with “an impressive grasp of the technical detail of a case”. He is recommended as a leading junior in the legal directories for construction, energy and professional negligence and is described as “undoubtedly a star of the future”.
Career
Keating Chambers, 2011
Pupillage, Keating Chambers, 2010-2011
Parliamentary Assistant, European Parliament, Brussels, 2009-2010
Research Assistant, Keating Chambers, 2008-2009
Called to the Bar, (Inner Temple) 2008
Languages
English, basic French and German.
Memberships
TECBAR, SCL
Education
College of Law, London – BVC 2007-2008
Exhibitioner, Inner Temple 2007
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Brussels 2005-2007
Pembroke College, Oxford University – BCL 2004-2005
Pembroke College, Oxford University – BA (Law) 2001-2004
Lenzie Academy, Glasgow 1995-2001
Content supplied by Keating Chambers
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Top for construction, generally good around with some absolute stars of the construction bar. Good proactive clerking.'
'Keating has a deep bench of barristers at all levels with strong arbitration and wider disputes experience in construction across multiple sectors. The clerks have recommended excellent barristers in this space over the years and work hard to accommodate demands on availability.'
'Keating has the strongest bench when it comes to pure construction and engineering disputes, there are so many Silks and juniors who are at the top of their game.'
'Keating is our go-to chambers for construction and engineering disputes. I have worked with counsel from Keating for many years and have never been disappointed. They have an exceptional level of strength in depth.'
'Keating are a very strong set and highly respected. They are top-quality and have an incredible international reputation; they have a lot of counsel and all the ones in know are amazing. I don’t think you are at Keating unless you are highly talented and razor-sharp.'