Speaker Sarah Wilson, Partner Watson Burton

Sarah joined Watson Burtons Construction & Engineering Department in 1999.  Sarah specialises in heavyweight, large value engineering and construction projects. Sarah has been involved in disputes involving, in particular, defective piling, waste to energy plant, commercial to residential flat conversions, oil and gas platforms, highway construction, sea defences, house building and concrete works.

Sarah has acted on behalf of a variety of developers, main contractors, sub contractors and professionals in numerous different forums including the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), arbitration, adjudication and mediation including arbitration "appeals" and adjudication enforcement proceedings. She is familiar with most of the standard forms of construction contract and particularly NEC, ICE and JCT as well as having dealt with numerous matters based upon bespoke contracts.

She has dealt with a number of matters involving different methods of dispute resolution, for example:-

• a multi million pound FPSO dispute which involved arbitration (and subsequent 'arbitration appeal') on a discrete issue and then on the main dispute a settlement several weeks into a TCC trial
• defending a multi million pound claim made by a major construction company involving three adjudications which subsequently proceeded to arbitration and then an "arbitration appeal" (in the TCC).
• a multi million pound claim against a sub contractor for defective piling works. The matter proceeded to the Technology and Construction Court and involved complex civil engineering issues
• a substantial claim made on behalf of a client involving two adjudications, one for a substantial loss and expense claim in respect of fireproofing works to a multi storey building
• injunction proceedings regarding a dispute relating to proposed boreholes and possible contamination of an aquifer

Sarah also spent 4 months doing primarily non contentious work in-house for Clugston Ltd who specialise in civil engineering, construction and facilities management.