Welcome to our 2025/26 Annual Review, now in its 29th edition. And what an edition this year: with articles spanning subjects from AI to PFI and data centres to space law.
2025 has been a busy year across all sectors of construction law and for the firm. As I write, we have just received the last of the 2026 directory listings and I am delighted to say that we maintain our top tier rankings in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as well as our listing as a Times Best Law Firm. We could not achieve this without the support and references from our clients – thank you.
As expected, we have seen a continued focus on building safety cases, with a rise in disputes through all sections of the supply chain. There have been some very important court decisions that affect our work in this area, ranging from URS v BDW Trading in the Supreme Court to the decision that claims under the Defective Premises Act could be adjudicated in BDW Trading v Ardmore.
In adjudication, the courts continue to enforce robustly. The third annual adjudication report was published by King’s College London in collaboration with the Adjudication Society and the issue of diversity in Adjudicator Nominating Bodies remains a hot topic. It is clear that the ANBs are moving to open their panels and attract a broader range of adjudicators, whilst maintaining high quality, but this process has still some way to run.
Our international practice continues to flourish, out of both our Dubai and London offices, with complex international arbitration cases spanning multiple jurisdictions, and different arbitral institutions including ICC, LCIA, SIAC and ICSID.
We were pleased to welcome in London new Senior Associates, Philip Hancock and Richard Burton, and new Associates, Layla Blair and Jonathan Clarke, and in Dubai new Associate, Nicole Leahy. Additionally, it was great to see Caitlin Binns qualify and join our non-contentious team, and Gilbert Hakim in Dubai and Ben Smith in London both well-deservedly promoted to Partner in April.
This past year has brought a better understanding and harnessing of AI, for the benefit of both the firm and our clients. We now utilise a number of AI tools that assist with the efficient management of cases, and we continue to work on our client-facing tools and internal platforms in order to intelligently use AI and mould the training of our lawyers and development of our services accordingly. I would urge you to read the article by Stacy Sinclair in this edition and to check out her work with the UN on use of AI in major infrastructure projects.
Partners and Associates from Fenwick Elliott continue to be involved in leadership roles in numerous industry and legal bodies including Jeremy Glover with the DRBF and FIDIC Net Zero Task Force TG23; Claire King with the Adjudication Society; Katherine Butler with SCL; Simon Tolson with the Society of Construction Arbitrators; Stacy Sinclair with the FIDIC Digital Transformation Committee; Mark Pantry with the JCT Young Professional Group; and myself, Simon Tolson and Stacy Sinclair with TECSA.
2025 also saw the foundation of the Jon Miller Scholarship. The Scholarship was established in memory of partner Jon Miller, who passed away in September 2024. Each year the Scholarship will be awarded to a new student beginning their legal studies at Queen Mary University London’s (QMUL) School of Law, where Jon studied. Scholarship students will receive a bursary for each year of their studies, alongside mentoring and work experience with the firm. The Scholarship aims to support wider access for those wishing to study law, in tribute to Jon, who left school at 16 to start an apprenticeship in the construction industry before switching to a law degree at QMUL. I am delighted that we have made our award of the inaugural Scholarship to Gizem Demir and all of us a Fenwick Elliott wish Gizem the very best with her studies at QMUL.
The Annual Review would not be what it is without the hard work and dedication of Jeremy Glover and all the contributors. My heartfelt thanks to them for another fascinating edition which I hope you enjoy reading.
Next year will mark the 30th edition of the Annual Review and Fenwick Elliott’s 40th year. These are significant milestones to look forward to in 2026 and we are planning to mark the occasion well: so watch this space!