Kate Lister

Full Profile

Kate specialises in construction and engineering dispute resolution. Her experience includes complex and high-value construction disputes working with employers, developers, contractors and specialist sub-contractors across the industry, in the public and private sectors. She has experience of dispute resolution under a broad range of contracts, including IChemE, NEC, JCT, GC Works, MF/1 and bespoke EPC, together with a variety of dispute resolution forums.

Kate's practice involves regularly conducting upstream and downstream adjudications on behalf of contractor clients; conducting litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal; and advising clients in the background on direct negotiations. Kate advises across a full range of contentious construction matters, including those relating to professional negligence, payment, delay, disruption, prolongation, defective works, defective design and termination.  Her sector experience includes development, retail, sports, nuclear and energy, with a particular interest and focus on the waste to energy sector.

Kate is experienced in running complex, high value, multi-party, litigation in the Technology and Construction Court, with a track record of achieving results for clients. Her client case is predominantly contractor-focussed and she is praised for her “tenacity” in getting a positive result for clients.

Experience

• Day-to-day conduct of a GBP 22 million, four-party litigation in the High Court.  Acting on behalf of an international EPC Contractor in a litigation relating to termination of an EPC Contract
• Advising a main contractor client on a GBP 150 million gasification process plant
• Conducting a series of adjudications, upstream and downstream, on behalf an international EPC Contractor relating to a GBP 110 million MBT energy-from-waste plant
• Specific nuclear experience under NEC Subcontract Option A - representing a contractor in adjudication relating to 11 alleged compensation events.  Leading the adjudication and advising on separate settlement discussions, resulting in a much reduced payment by my client to the subcontractor
• Advising a main EPC contractor client in relation to delay claims at a GBP 90 million gasification facility
• Representing a M&E specialist contractor in litigation relating to contractual termination.  Making tactical applications in order to pressurise the other side and put my client in the best possible strategic position in which to conduct without prejudice discussions and settle the matter with the best result possible
• Representing a main contractor in Part 8 adjudication enforcement proceedings in the High Court
• Acting on behalf of a commercial client, in High Court litigation against its main contractor relating to claims for defective works at a high profile, historic sporting and events venue
• Undertook a 3-month secondment in the legal department of an international EPC contractor. Advising on new project bids; contractual risk-allocation and day-to-day handling of project disputes