Irish Construction Law Conference 2017

He was actively involved in the piloting of the ‘Construction Act’ through Parliament and originated Section 112 of the Act dealing with the right of suspension of construction contracts for non-payment. He campaigned for amendments to the Act to overcome weaknesses in the legislation. When Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill was introduced he drafted amendments which were debated in Parliament. An amendment on security for payment was lost by 69 votes in the House of Commons.

He is an adjudicator on the Adjudication Panel of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). He has lectured extensively on legal and contractual matters.

He is an honorary member of the Society of Construction Law.

Rudi has given advice to both the New Zealand and Singaporean Governments in the development of their respective construction contracts legislation. He worked with Senator Quinn on the drafting of the Construction Contracts Act. He was a member of a European Commission working party drafting a harmonised code of contract law for the European Union. He is a visiting lecturer at the University of Stuttgart.

He is a member of:
Panel of Adjudicators appointed by the Minister under section 8 of the Construction Contracts Act 2013.
Engineer’s Ireland Arbitrators Panels of Arbitrators and Conciliators
Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland Panels of Adjudicators; Arbitrators/Experts; and Conciliators/Mediators
Construction Industry Federation National Contractual Dispute Services Panel.

This was before moving to the private sector and working for a multi-disciplinary consultancy specialising in transport and planning for three years.  Mary then established HRA | PLANNING a town planning & environmental consultancy in 2005 with offices in Dublin and Limerick city. She has been involved and continues to be involved in many national and regional projects including the preparation of development plans on behalf of local government; provision of advice on planning and environmental matters to national government departments and semi state bodies; and provision of planning advice to large development companies, regeneration companies and community groups. Mary was elected to the national Council of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) in 2010 and served as President of the Institute from 2014 to January 2016. She was appointed by the Minister for the Environment to the Independent Review Group of An Bord Pleanála in 2015.  She was also nominated by the Irish Planning Institute as a candidate to the 25th Seanad Eireann election.

He is a recognised expert on procurement and construction law. He regularly advises public sector clients on procurement procedures including the compliant drafting of tender documentation and the appropriate evaluation of tenders in accordance with stated criteria.  Edward also assists clients in dealing with complaints and legal challenges.  He regularly acts for suppliers seeking to challenge public procurements and has acted as expert witness to procurement disputes. Edward is regularly invited to speak at procurement conferences throughout the UK and Ireland.

Jamie joined LK Shields from a top tier international firm and has advised clients across multiple jurisdictions in a diverse range of contentious and non-contentious matters. Jamie’s speciality is in construction related matters and government procurement. Jamie has particular experience in construction adjudication and dispute resolution with himself having acted as an advocate in ADR context.  Additionally, he has expertise in bespoke contractual arrangements and has previously delivered lectures across the UK and Ireland. His previous industry experience has provided Jamie with a unique skill set, flair and understanding of the larger commercial picture whilst working with clients and instructing counsel alike.

Philip is a leading authority on international trade and WTO law and has written widely in the area including publications in the Journal of International trade Law. Philip’s published articles on international trade law have been cited by the European Court. Philip represented the 77 ACP countries in the case concerning the EC regime for importation of bananas and in doing so became the first private lawyer in the world to act as an advocate before the new panel and appellate body of the WTO. For 5 years Philip lectured in international trade and WTO law in UCD. Philip is the author of “Public Procurement”, the first legal book on this topic, published by Butterworths in 1992. Philip was the founding  chairman of the Irish Green Building Council, Connect Ethiopia and is currently chairman of the Irish Fencing Federation, the national governing body for the sport of fencing in Ireland.

Following various legal internships and before joining the AECOM legal team, Hazel acted as the Contracts Manager for an international tax company based in Dublin. Following this, she joined the AECOM legal team approximately five years ago. Working in the legal team of a Fortune 500 multinational engineering / construction company, Hazel has been involved in negotiating many large, complex contract negotiations with various stakeholders, advising on disputes and the management of claims, providing training to business leaders and assisting with a wide variety of day-to-day queries. She is a member of the International Bar Association and the National Association of Women in Construction.

He was ahead of Engineering in the NRA for the major motorway programme and was responsible for the development of the NRA’s procurement and contract strategies. The NRA Contracts introduced innovations such as Design & Build, Conciliation, Standing Conciliators and Project Boards that were subsequently incorporated into the PWC forms.

Tim was  member of the GCCC, Engineers Ireland Disputes Committee and Ireland’s representative on PIARC and a number of EU Committees.

Currently Tim is Director of Tim Ahern Consultancy Ltd, specialising in Public Procurement and Construction Disputes.
Tim has acted as Expert Witness, Mediator, Conciliator, Standing Conciliator & Project Board Member on a large number of public works building and civil engineering contracts.

He advises employers, contractors, and consultants on a wide range of building and civil engineering matters, both domestically and internationally. He also advises the firm’s private clients on high value residential construction projects. David has a wide experience of working on the various forms of standard conditions such as JCT, ICE, NEC, MF/1, IChemE and FIDIC, as well as numerous bespoke forms of construction contract. He advises on the full scope of construction issues ranging from procurement/contract strategies through to dispute avoidance/resolution.

In his international work, David is particularly focussed on the Middle East region, working closely with Charles Russell Speechlys’ Manama and Doha offices. He has delivered training on FIDIC and the IChemE international contracts in both the UK and throughout the Middle East region, including in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Syria. David has had articles and commentary published in Building and Construction News, and is an editor of ‘Partnering and Collaborative Working’ (published by Informa Professional). He has a particular interest in digital disruption in the construction sector, and the legal issues flowing such disruption. He co-authored the firmís recent report entitled ìThe New Realî concerning the opportunities and gains to be made from smart buildings for anyone with an interest in commercial real estate.

David is ranked as a Band 1 partner in Chambers 2017 for Construction.

Jarlath Studied at Trinity College, Dublin, obtaining an LL.B (Hons.) degree in 1994 from the University of Dublin. Studied at King’s College, London, obtaining an LL.M. (Environmental Law) from the University of London in 1995. Barrister since 1998, and Senior Counsel since 2014, practicing primarily in the areas of planning, environmental and energy law.