Harriet Atkin

Harriet is a Partner specialising in contentious construction law.

Harriet has a wide range of litigious experience, including handling litigation, adjudications and adjudication enforcement, as well as mediation, expert determination and other forms of dispute resolution procedure. Harriet acts for all types of clients within the construction industry and has experience of representing lenders, developers, social housing providers, architects, main contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants and so on. Harriet also acts for a number of European clients in relation to their UK projects.

Harriet has developed a particular specialism in assisting clients with technical engineering projects and has recently acted for a number of different clients in relation to various automotive, power generation and marine projects and has conducted multi-million pound litigation and adjudications on behalf of those clients.

Harriet manages disputes proactively and is tenacious in her advice on strategy, making the process easy for her clients.

Experience

Recent Contentious Experience

Harriet’s recent cases include:

• Acting for a steelwork contractor in connection with a payment dispute on a major London port development to negotiate a favourable settlement of court proceedings.
• Acting for a sub-contractor in a multi million pound claim relating to the design, manufacture and installation of press tooling for a car manufacturing facility.
• Successfully defending a c.£1million technical knockout / ‘notified sum’ adjudication on behalf of a developer and handling ongoing Part 8 Proceedings arising out of the adjudication.
• Advising a large scaffolding/access work sub-contractor in connection with a dispute arising out of the construction of an aircraft carrier.
• Working on numerous adjudications and court proceedings on behalf of the main contractor responsible for the construction of a power station.
• Acting for a specialist marine contractor on the development of a flagship harbour expansion project in Scotland in numerous multi-million pound adjudications and associated enforcement proceedings, including successfully securing an adjudicator’s award for a c. £13.7million ‘notified sum’ claim.
• Acting for a social housing client to successfully defend a multi-million pound defects claim on a large development in London, including advising the client on cladding and fire safety aspects and instructing multiple technical experts to guide the client through an expert determination.
• Acting for the main contractor on a multi-million pound residential development in multiple adjudications to successfully defend allegations of significant defects and to procure the payment of substantial outstanding sums due to the main contractor.
• Acting for the sub-contractor in relation to a dispute with the main contractor concerning delays to the completion of the design and construction of a cryogenic storage plant.
• Acting for the employer in a valuation dispute arising out of the re-development of a shopping centre in Greater Manchester.
• Assisting on the reported case of Severfield (UK) Ltd v Duro Felguera UK Ltd [2015] EWHC 2975 (TCC) to successfully defend the enforcement of a c. £3million Adjudicator’s award. This case developed the existing case law in relation to excluded operations under the Construction Act.
• Claremont Group Interiors Ltd v Boultbee Ldn (Marylebone) Ltd [2018] 11 WLUK 380

Recent Transactional Experience

Recent projects include:

• Acting for a supplier of bathroom units in connection with numerous high profile hotel and commercial developments;
• Acting for a lender to procure and advise on the appropriate construction documentation in connection with a commercial redevelopment project;
• Acting for a developer in order to negotiate a full suite of professional appointments and the building contracts in connection with three supermarket development projects in Greater Manchester;
• Acting for a developer in order to negotiate and finalise the building contract and numerous consultant appointments on a major conversion project to produce modern residential accommodation;
• Preparing a set of bespoke terms & conditions and a set of bespoke sub-contract terms & conditions for a main contractor and providing associated training to key personnel.