Editorial: Construction

01 March 2007

The research for this chapter identifies 360 outstanding individuals from 34 jurisdictions. Niche firms rub shoulders with international fullservice outfits, and while the latter remain dominant, construction boutiques have once again put in a solid performance, making up a sizeable portion of those selected by clients and peers for inclusion in this edition.

Pinsent Masons Prevail

Pinsent Masons boasts a worldrenowned, international construction practice. Almost a fifth of the firm’s 900 lawyers are dedicated to construction law. Our research has identified 12 lawyers from three jurisdictions, a number unmatched by any other listed firm. Eight of the 12 are based in London. 2006 saw the firm involved in high-profile matters such as leading the team advising Wembley National Stadium Ltd in the Wembley redevelopment project and acting as international legal advisers to Delhi International Airport Limited on the procurement of the infrastructure works for the £614 million airport development. Mark Lane leads the nominations, specialising in risk management related work on infrastructure projects outside the UK – many of which are procured on a publicprivate partnership/concession basis, or on International Federation of Consulting Engineers-based contracts. Lane was praised for his “truly international practice”, which includes work in Saudi Arabia for a member of the preferred bidder consortium on the US$3.5 billion Marafiq desalination project at Jubail, as well as advising the Municipality of Jeddah on a PPP project to redevelop the Jeddah Corniche. Lane has also advised a developer on a large residential and commercial development in Romania and an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Contractor on a US$140 million power project in Nigeria. Mark Roe is a “natural lawyer” and leader of the projects and international construction group. Roe “gets right to the heart of the issue”, working on complex international disputes such as representing a utility company based in the Caribbean in an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration in Boston (regarding a successful claim for damages in excess of US$30 million against a major Canadian engineering firm arising out of the construction of a hydro electric facility). Martin Harman has extensive experience of the export of construction services to East Asia and Middle East and has been particularly involved in major infrastructure expansion projects in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Dubai and India. As well as the aforementioned Delhi International Airport work, he also led the team acting as international legal advisers on the procurement strategy and the undertaking of all documentation drafting for the major new greenfield site airport at Hyderabad, India. According to one interviewee, “his practice has ‘the lot’”. Tony Bunch’s practice places major emphasis on international matters and reported cases include Mirant Asia-Pacific Construction (Hong Kong) Ltd and Sual Construction Corporation v Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd and Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd.

Martin Roberts specialises in advisory work, risk management and dispute resolution in the UK construction and engineering industry. He acts for a wide variety of contractors, sub-contractors, employers, consultants and insurers, such as Amey PLC, Morgan Sindall Group, NHBC and Bluestone. Vincent Rowan also has strong connections with Asia, cemented by 12 years spent in the firm’s Hong Kong and Singapore offices. Rowan has been retained by the China National Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) and advised them on the construction of a major gas pipeline across the Indian subcontinent for the Reliance Group. (CPPB is part of the China National Petroleum Corporation Group or CNPC). Rowan was retained by CNPC to provide legal training in Beijing to their international commercial and legal management team. He also handled matters relating to the oil industry in Sudan, and was the lead partner advising a consortium of oil companies in completing the infrastructure for the production and the export of oil from fields in the south of the country. Richard Laudy specialises in construction dispute resolution and risk management. He acts for a number of contractors, but also undertakes work for consultants and increasingly, insurance underwriters. Laudy advised Haecon and insurance underwriters Gerling in connection with a £11 million claim concerning the design and construction of a dock wall in Southampton in the High Court. Described as a “great mediator” with “superb client skills”, his practice is both national and international – he advised in relation to a major, complex dispute involving the Taiwan High Speed Railway. Catriona Dodsworth focuses on advisory work in ongoing projects and potential disputes in the rail, water, healthcare, entertainment, civil engineering and residential sectors. In Scotland, Alastair Morrison is regarded as “a certainty for any list of the best”. Vincent Connor joins Morrison in the Glasgow office. He was the principal adviser acting for Taylor Woodrow, defending adjudication enforcement proceedings brought by Ardmore Construction in 2006.

The Hong Kong office, which relaunched under the Pinsent Masons name in November 2006, is home to the region’s highest ranking lawyer, John Bishop. Praised as “the legendary elder statesman” of Hong Kong construction, he received more nominations than any other practitioner. Dean Lewis has a practice that includes both contentious and non-contentious work. He is legal adviser to the Hong Kong Construction Association and has extensive experience in the building, civil engineering and transport, power and water sectors.

International Building Blocks

Lovells has substantial representation in three country lists, the UK and Germany particularly. Phillip Capper is the only London partner to be listed in the breakdown of the most highly regarded individuals. Capper is “well known internationally” and “a big name” in the marketplace. As head of the firm’s international arbitration practice, he has a great deal of experience – relating specifically to privately financed rail and infrastructure projects. Nicholas Gould is “very experienced” in construction disputes and is a senior consultant in the firm’s engineering and construction group. Tony Marshall “really knows his stuff ”, having spent 15 years in Hong Kong, serving as head of the firm’s regional practice from 1994 to 2002. During this tenure he was involved in the construction of Hong Kong’s new airport, for which he drafted contract conditions for use in substantial parts of the project. Another Hong Kong partner, Timothy Hill, currently heads the projects (construction and engineering) group in Asia. Hill was praised as “a renowned arbitrator and a great guy”. Germany is home to Roland Bomhard and Wendelin Acker, who has been involved in projects including the Bilfinger Berger AG construction of the Gallileo building in Frankfurt. In contentious matters, his team represents the developer, Zipo Bauconsult, in a dispute with an Italian general contractor, which has gone to the German Federal Supreme Court. Bomhard, the global head of the projects, energy and real estate practice team, who is based in Dusseldorf, is known for his ability “to cut straight to the heart of the issue”. Herbert Smith’s European and Asian talent is also well represented in this edition. The firm has four partners listed in England, Thailand and Hong Kong. Michael Davis – “a name that everybody knows” – has advised the UK government in relation to a construction dispute involving national laboratories and dealt with a number of disputes concerning the development of a naval dockyard. Nicholas Downing is also based in London. He specialises in non-contentious construction issues within the commercial property development, infrastructure and energy sectors. Downing’s impressive client list includes Land Securities, McArthur Glen and Hammerson, who he advised on the redevelopment of 280 Bishopsgate, 1 London Wall and 10 Grosvenor Street. In Hong Kong, former head of the regional construction and arbitration practices, Mark Lloyd-Williams is “very well known” among our sources. Alastair Henderson is regarded by one interviewee as “a heavyweight”, working out of the firm’s Bangkok office. Henderson acts frequently for international construction contractors concerning projects in Thailand and around Southeast Asia. Recent matters on which he has worked include representing a German construction contractor in an arbitration concerning the construction of an elevated toll road in central Bangkok.

Baker & McKenzie is also in possession of an impressive global network, with industry names in England, Australia and Thailand. The firm’s most nominated practitioner is Jeremy Winter from the London office. A “highly respected” individual, Winter was recommended by one fellow nominee as “one of the stars”. He specialises in the resolution of complex international construction disputes through litigation, arbitration and other methods of alternative dispute resolution. Timothy Garrood – based in Melbourne, Australia – is highly active in government PPP workouts. Chirachai Okanurak is based in the Bangkok office and came highly recommended for his strength in construction dispute resolution.

Construction USA

Our research reflects the strength of the US market, where two powerhouses dominate the voting. Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP was formed in 2006 through a merger between Thelen Reid & Priest LLP, renowned for its construction practice, and Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP, known for its work in real estate matters. Robert Macpherson is one of the firm’s three New York based practitioners in this edition. His cases include representing the East Windsor (New Jersey) Regional School District regarding a general contractor’s default on two school construction contracts with a combined value exceeding US$20 million, and advising the district on completion and contract close-out issues, including claim resolution and litigation for the its US$60 million school expansion programme. John Heisse, the chair of the firm’s construction and government contracts department, has represented J A Jones Construction on several southern California projects, the largest of which were the St John’s Health Center Replacement Project ($180 million project) and the Commerce Club Hotel and Casino ($50 million project). Since its bankruptcy in 2003, he has represented Jones’ Surety and Fireman’s Fund, in the close out of both of these projects, both of which were in litigation at the time of the bankruptcy. The St John’s case involved the contractor’s US$40 million claims for delay and the owner’s US$70 million counterclaim. David Buoncristiani is a specialist in construction related disputes, experienced in all phases of discovery and pre-trial/pre-hearing procedures. Andrew Ness negotiated a complex no-cost termination of a privatisation contract with the US Department of Energy (Idaho Falls, ID) to design, license, build and operate a processing and storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, along with the resolution of several substantial claims for additional compensation. Barbara Werther was involved in the AMEC Construction Management Inc v US General Services Administration case, which resulted in US$13 million in delay and acceleration claims mediated to resolution 10 days before a scheduled sixweek trial. Firm co-chair Stephen O’neal is a “topnotch practitioner” for alternative dispute resolution. Michael Evan Jaffe has represented Clark Construction Group before the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in connection with a multimillion dollar judgment rendered in favour of Clark after a trial in the United States District Court of Florida. Allen Ross and Robert Nelson from the New York and San Francisco offices respectively were also singled out for their “exceptional ability”.

In 2003 Thelen Reid LLP (as it was then) joined forces with Masons (before that firm’s 2004 merger with Pinsents) to create the world’s largest construction, engineering and infrastructure practice under the name Masons Thelen Reid LLP. Lawyers from this venture have been involved in projects including the Channel Tunnel, Chernobyl Nuclear Shelter, Jorf Lasfar Power Plant, Lima Airport and the Petronas Towers.

Peckar & Abramson PC is a “construction firm with real authority”. Its founding partners, Robert Peckar and Richard Abramson both feature on the pages that follow. One interviewee summed Peckar up as “the best in the USA, pragmatic and creative”. As well as teaching the advanced management programme at the Associated General Contractors of America, Peckar has served as general counsel of the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey, the New York Building Congress (for whom he was named general counsel emeritus), the Building Trades Employers Association of New York City and the national Construction Financial Management Association. He is also known for his alternative dispute resolution skills, participating frequently in complex construction arbitrations. Abramson is “a whirlwind of activity” , with a reputation among his peers for being “incredibly bright”. He has managed a number of high-profile complex litigations, recently defeating claims totalling US$20 million made by a major pharmaceutical company against an international design firm and obtaining an affirmative recovery in excess of US$4 million on behalf of the design firm. He has also defended a large number of general contractors against subcontractor claims often exceeding US$5 million. In 2006 Abramson represented a major national construction contractor in a dispute involving US$85 million sought from the federal government in connection with the construction of a federal courthouse in New York, a trial that lasted 11 months. In the Washington, DC office Adrian Bastianelli is a leading light. With over 25 years’ experience in arbitrations he is “a font of knowledge”, having represented clients in all areas of the construction industry in litigation as well as government construction contract claims. He has regularly represented a number of local highway contractors in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area (including seven different contractors on claims involving more than fifteen projects). He also recently stood for a stone contractor on litigation arising out of the construction of the US$250 million Capitol Visitors Centre at the Nation’s Capitol.

Six more partners from the firm are listed on the following pages. Steven Charney, the managing partner of the firm’s New York office, has considerable industry experience – working for over a decade as eastern division counsel for Turner Construction Company. Charney was the lead attorney in the efforts from 2001 to 2004 that resulted in the passing of legislation, to grant US$1 billion and authorise the creation of a captive insurance company providing the Ground Zero Contractors and New York City with insurance for the World Trade Center rescue, recovery and debris removal efforts. Howard Rosen is another “outstanding lawyer” from the New York office who represents contractors, construction companies and developers in private project transactions and disputes. Moving away from the Big Apple, the firm also has representatives from its New Jersey and Florida offices. Patrick Greene heads the firm’s government practice group in New York and his home office of New Jersey. His practice centres on advising contractors on performance and compliance issues in the public and private sectors. In a recent highprofile case, Greene presented claims in excess of US$78 million on behalf of the general contractor and its subcontractors, arising out of the construction of a courthouse in Central Islip, New York. He was also involved, with Abramson, in the 11-month court case regarding the construction of a federal courthouse in New York. Bruce Meller represents contractors in a wide variety of projects, acting as lead counsel in an arbitration involving claims of over US$130 million arising out of building and civil construction work for a train system in Puerto Rico. Stephen Reisman – the managing partner of the Florida offices – is also included. He maintains a “broad and impressive practice”. He and his team have represented general contractors throughout the state of Florida in the successful prosecution and defence of multimillion dollar claims, including the defence and resolution of construction defect claims pursuant to Florida’s recently enacted Construction Defects Statute.

Local Leaders

In Florida, Carlton Fields PA can boast the greatest number of nominees and the most highly nominated individual – Michael Nuechterlein. Praised as a “top-notch practitioner” and “the best in the state for dispute resolution”, Nuechterlein has mediated over 400 commercial and construction matters ranging from two to 38 parties, with exposure from $13,000 to over $36 million. Patricia Thompson joins him as a “leader” in the state. With her “exceptional knowledge of sureties”, she has worked on matters including the defence of numerous claims of non-payment by subcontractors against contractors and sureties and the defence of numerous performance bond claims by public and private owners against sureties. Thompson is also past co-chair of the ABA Construction Litigation Committee. George Meyer has been involved in some of the most significant construction matters in Florida in recent years, including the Florida Aquarium project, Orange County Public Schools’ Capital expansion programme and numerous stadiums and arenas.

Faegre & Benson LLPperforms well in its home state of Minnesota. Patrick O’connor is “well versed in contract negotiations”, particularly for power plants, waste water treatment facilities, waste incineration facilities, and other heavy industrial and large commercial projects. He also represents contractors, owners and suppliers in construction defect disputes and in arbitrations and mediations. Timothy O’Brien has a “solid practice” representing contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, sureties, design professionals and owners, with particular emphasis on the negotiation, arbitration and litigation of construction, surety and insurance law matters.

The leading firm in the state of Georgia in terms of the number of featured lawyers is Smith Currie & Hancock LLP – “they’d be my first port of call if I was conflicted out,” said one source. The firm’s six featured lawyers are led in the voting by “top-notch” Thomas Abernathy, “one of the very best in Atlanta” according to interviewees. He was recommended for his work for clients ranging from owners to contractors, subcontractors and sureties on issues such as bid and award protests and construction performance problems. With experience of federal buildings, bridges and highway projects and power plants, Abernathy is “undeniably one of the finest legal minds in town”. The firm’s senior partner Thomas Kelleher “indisputably belongs on a list of the best”. A Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, he was described as a “guru” in the area of federal government contracting. He served as chair of the Federal Acquisition Regulation Committee for the Associated General Contractors of America from 1999-2003. Fellow senior partner Aubrey Coleman is said to be “excellent”– a “heavy hitter” particularly well-known for his work on US embassies – he recently settled a major claim on the new embassy project in Bamako, Mali. He is actively involved in both litigation and arbitration, has been lead counsel in more than 75 arbitrations, bench trials, and jury trials, and has represented the owner in an arbitration involving a petrochemical project in Texas. Hubert Bell has a “fantastic reputation, and rightly so”. A former chairman of the construction division of the Public Contract Law Section of the ABA, he was picked out for his dispute resolution expertise, as a member of the American Arbitration Association’s national construction panel of neutrals. Bell has represented clients in claims arising from the construction of an addition to a solid waste landfill and the reconstruction and enlargement of levees on the Mississippi River in Louisiana. James Butler also features in the following pages, lauded by his peers as a “real asset to the firm”. Like Bell, his mediation and arbitration work was noted by our sources, and he is an “international authority on construction contracts”.

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP also put in an extremely strong performance for our research in the state of Georgia. George Anthony Smith “would stand out on any list” for his international and domestic work. Graded “A+” for his contract negotiation, arbitration and litigation work by interviewees, his experience includes: a US$3.2 million jury verdict against the Florida Department of Transportation, US$29 million jury verdict and judgment against a mechanical subcontractor and its surety on a large hospital project; and a US$30 million arbitration award on behalf of the general contractor on the Liberty Place mixed-use project in Philadelphia. Neal Sweeney is “at the top of the tree”, and is said to be “very fine” for public works projects. His major cases in this area include Tren Urbano - San Juan, Puerto Rico’s commuter rail system, one of the largest earth and rock-filled dams in the United States, and the Miami Performing Arts Center. Brian Corgan was described as a “level-headed and business-like – a skilled litigator who gets the job done”. He was commended to researchers for his dispute work involving power plants, airport runway construction, hospitals and various other commercial and industrial projects. William Dorris completes the trio of featured lawyers from Kilpatrick Stockton. “One of the most experienced litigators in town”, he is well known for his work across the United States.

International firm DLA Piper LLP performed well in the US, with three of its five featured practitioners based in the state of Illinois. The firm drew positive comment from interviewees in the research with one declaring: “I do admire the DLA Piper’s construction law group because I am uniformly impressed with their attorneys in that group.” Ty Laurie leads the group in terms of votes, and is said to be “excellent – of the very highest class”. He was recommended for his work for the Chicago Bears NFL team in the mediation of design claim issues relating to construction of Soldier Field, as well as working for the Philadelphia Eagles in the arbitration of design claim issues relating to construction of Lincoln Financial Field. Praised for his contract work as well as his “top-notch” dispute avoidance and resolution skills, Laurie’s “impressive profile” is further raised through his activities as chair of the ABA Forum on the construction industry for 2006/07. Alongside him in these pages is the co-chair of the transactional arm of the firm’s construction group, Ross Altman. Described as “one of the best in town” he stands out particularly for the international dimension to his practice, with experience of projects throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In addition to his “undoubted transactional expertise”, his insolvency and restructuring work also received recommendation, as did his arbitration work. Daniel Brennan is also a member of the ABA’s forum on the construction industry. He impressed interviewees with his “phenomenal skill set”. Known for his advice to owners, designers and contractors on both contentious and non-contentious matters, “he is one of the leaders of the new generation.” Gordon Smith appears in Sinapore. The firm established a presence in Dubai in 2007 with the lateral hire of Jim Delkousis from Mallesons Stephen Jacques. Delkousis is head of the litigation and arbitration group for the Middle East and comes “highly recommended” by clients and peers.

Stein Ray & Harris LLP was recommended as “one of the best construction firms in the whole country, not just the state”. All three name partners received sufficient nominations to be included. Steven Stein is “a great lawyer with an unbelievable client following”. Stein is a former board member of the American College of Construction Lawyers. He has been involved in the successful resolution for his client in the arbitration of a claim arising from the construction of a diesel power plant in Guatemala, a case that involved approximately US$100 million, and of a San Antoniobased arbitration proceeding regarding a power plant in Arizona. On the non-contentious side, he also advised on the negotiation of a contract for an LNG Facility in Peru with a contract value of US$1.7 billion. Stein’s colleague Stephen Ray is “the lawyer I would want on my side for any type of construction dispute” according to one corporate counsel we spoke to. He has counselled and represented contractors and design professionals across the US in construction defect, construction delay and mechanics lien claims. Robert Harris was involved in the firm’s successful representation of a commercial financing broker in a dispute with a local real estate developer in connection with the development of the Bank One Center in downtown Chicago. An overview of the leaders within the Illinois construction market is not complete without mention of Stanley Sklar from Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLP. Sklar was recommended as “a real luminary”. With experience in every aspect of construction law, clients and peers also praised him for his skill in alternative dispute resolution.

Other individuals of high standing in the US include a former named partner of Postner & Rubin, which ceased operations in 2006. Robert Rubin enjoys a “formidable reputation” at McCarter & English LLP's New York office. He appears on the list of our most highly regarded individuals. In Texas, Canterbury Stuber Elder Gooch & Surratt PC is represented in these pages by its founding shareholder, Joseph Canterbury. “One of the deans of the Texas construction bar”, Canterbury is he author of the Texas Construction Law Manual.

Canadian Construction

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP stands out in the Canadian market, with three nominees from three provinces. Bruce Reynolds is the national leader of the construction, engineering, surety and fidelity group and has “a flair for construction matters across the board”. Christopher O’Connor is the national leader of the firm’s litigation department. O’Connor advised Bilfinger Berger Canada on its contract to construct two 11 kilometre tunnels for the Greater Vancouver Water District. He also acted for Amec with respect to the upgrade of the San Rafael Bridge in San Francisco. Daniel Ayotte heads the construction, engineering, surety and fidelity group in Montreal. His international practice saw him represent, for a number of years, the Iranian government in a construction dispute before the Iran/US Arbitration Tribunal sitting at The Hague. He has been particularly active in the energy and building sectors with recent matters including major claims for general contractors of the Eastmain and Toulnustouc hydro-electrical power plants and representing the owner in negotiating and drafting contracts for the GreenField ethanol plant in Varennes. He has also worked on lien claims regarding the Concordia University faculty buildings and a variety of projects and issues at McGill University.

European Success

London-based specialist construction law firm Fenwick Elliott LLP performs well in this edition, with six partners listed in the following pages. Garnering praise from all corners of the City, as well as internationally, the group is well known for its “good judgement”. Senior partner Simon Tolson is the firm’s most highly nominated practitioner. As well as international project dispute work Tolson also provides advice regarding strategic risk management. Julian Critchlow works on both dispute resolution and non-contentious matters and is an arbitrator, a TeCSA-registered adjudicator, and a CEDR-accredited mediator who “should be on everybody’s list”. Tony Francis also comes highly recommended, having been involved in the multimillion pound disputes regarding a major international airport and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Nicholas Gould is revered for his “excellent mind” and he is, among other academic posts, a senior research fellow at King’s College. His practice combines contentious and non-contentious matters for a variety of industry clients. Victoria Russell is “highly regarded and very experienced” in bespoke contracts and complex disputes for clients that include developers, universities, schools, main contractors, local authorities and trade associations. Most recently her principal focus has been the education sector, with University clients including University College London, the London School of Economics and Jesus College, Oxford. Richard Smellie is experienced in all methods of alternative dispute resolution. “Diligent and hardworking” Smellie has gained a reputation in the field of heavy construction, working on the claims and disputes produced by pipeline projects incliding Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline development.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also has considerable presence in the London section, with three partners nominated from its construction and engineering practice. Sally Roe is “extremely bright” and head of the aformentioned group. She is “well respected for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects and in the rail, road and power industries. Jane Jenkins is a “solid performer” who works on contentious matters as well as advising on public procurement and the drafting of construction documentation and dispute resolution provisions for clients that include major utilities, governments and credit providers. Representative clients include Powergen, for whom Jenkins acted in relation to various disputes arising out of its power station portfolio and Eurotunnel in their defence against claims brought by TML in relation to the Channel Tunnel project. Simon Stebbings is “a name on the projects side” of the construction bar who specialises in international construction contracts. Across the Channel, the firm possesses “real talent” in France and Spain. Joseph Huse brings specific knowledge of infrastructure projects within the energy industry to the firm’s Paris and Dubai offices. Juan Gómez-Acebo – based in Madrid – specialises in construction matters surrounding commercial property. His clients include national and international investors, property developers and major corporations; and he has represented WestInvest Gesellschaft Für Investment funds on a forward funding agreement for the acquisition and development of a prime shopping centre in Cartagena (Murcia).

White & Case LLP has a total of four partners listed in London, Paris and Stockholm. John Bellhouse has a reputation as “one of the good guys – top notch” combining a leading international arbitration practice with a focus on construction. Over his career Bellhouse has advised the government of Hong Kong on multiple construction matters including counselling on the region’s Port and Airport Development Scheme. Ellis Baker is the head of the construction and engineering practice group in the London office. Baker has a “truly international practice” – with a focus on project development and dispute resolution – which has seen him represent Saudi Aramco in relation to the US$3.5 billion integrated refining and chemicals complex located in Quanzhou City, in the Fujian Province of China. He also advised on the construction aspects of a US$2.409 billion aluminium smelter complex in Sohar in Oman for Sohar Aluminium Company LLC. In France, Christopher Seppälä, the legal adviser to the FIDIC contracts committee, came highly recommended as “one of the best in the country” for contentious international construction matters. He advised a consortium of European civil works contractors who had claims of US$250 million in relation to a hydroelectric project in Indonesia. Claes Zettermarck from the Stockholm office, who specialises in complex construction litigation, rounds off the listing for White & Case. Salans is the clear leader in the voting for the Eastern Europe sections. Two representatives in the Czech Republic, Evan Lazar and Olga Humlová were hailed by their peers as “great to work with”. Recent matters taken on by this team include preparing and negotiating a construction agreement for the development of EGATE, an A-class office centre in Prague. They have also conducted a review into a significant number of construction agreements connected to the acquisition of a construction company. Perry Zizzi is based in Romania and is “an outstanding lawyer”. In 2006 Zizzi completed financings in Ukraine, Poland and Russia. He has advised Austrian bank, Investkredit on a €34 million acquisition loan to Italian developer Cefin for the staged acquisition of a large industrial park in Bucharest and advised Turkish investors on the largest PPP project in Romania, consisting of a €150 million mixed-use development at the former Casa Radio building, in downtown Bucharest.

Marc Frilet of Frilet - Société d’Avocats is the second of only two European-based practitioners on our list of the practice areas high flyers. Frilet, who co-chairs the IBA PPP task force, was hailed as “leader of the French construction bar”. He participates heavily in concession and PPP projects and has been involved in drafting, negotiating and concluding a new ‘deep sea’ port concession in the South East of Madagascar, representing the concessionnaire company. He also advises international banks on PPPs and advised the final bidder in a PPP for yachting infrastructure in the south of France.

Asia-Pacific

Mallesons Stephen Jaques has an impressive array of talent in the Asia-Pacific region, fielding four leading nominees from offices in Australia and Hong Kong. The firm has an impressive client list that includes Leighton Contractors and Leighton Asia, Bechtel, Multiplex and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; Telstra and BlueScope Steel (owners); and project and infrastructure financiers such as Macquarie Bank, ABN AMRO and Westpac. They also regularly advise government departments and authorities. David Bateson is the senior partner in the Hong Kong office and co-head of the firm’s Asian construction practice. He was described to researchers as “a leading light” for dispute resolution, handling matters including a new airport dispute for Shimizu Corporation in Thailand and a number of construction disputes in Hong Kong, including a mediation for Maeda-Hitachi- Yokogawa-Hsin Chong joint venture on the Stonecutters Bridge project. “Top class practitioner” and fellow head of the Asian construction practice, Paul Starr, joins Bateson in this edition. In full dispute matters Starr has acted for Henderson Land in a dispute against the Hong Kong government regarding the Hong Kong Ferry court case. In Australia, Peter Megens has an “enviable Asian practice” focused on contentious matters and he has recently become increasingly engaged in offshore in international arbitration. In 2006 Megens acted for Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd in the matter of State of Tasmania v Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, which concerned the construction of a road project in Tasmania. Other representative clients include Transfield Philippines whom he represented in the ICC arbitration with Luzon Hydro Corporation concerning the Bakun power project in the Philippines. Jim Delkousis comes “highly recommended” by both clients and peers alike. Peter Pether, in the Sydney office, specialises in the resolution of construction and engineering project disputes and was described to researchers as “one to watch”. Pether acted for EnergyAustralia in ongoing disputes concerning Downer’s design and construction of a major infrastructure cable dispute project in Sydney’s Central Business District. He also advised Multiplex in relation to various aspects of the Wembley Stadium disputes.

Minter Ellison has three practitioners listed in the publication. Phillip Greenham “should be on everyone’s list” according to one interviewee. Greenham is known for his participation in the Murrin Murrin arbitration, one of the largest construction arbitrations conducted in Australia. He also advises government agencies on public sector contracting principles and government codes of conduct. Julian Hill relocated to Sydney after nearly a decade based in Hong Kong, during which time he earned a great deal of respect for a “real knowledge of the region”. Sources “hear very good things about” Greg Steinepreis.

Clayton Utz, like Minter Ellison, also has four nominees and was hailed by one interviewee as “a first rate firm in this area”. Three of its six national offices are represented in this edition: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Douglas Jones is Australia’s most highly nominated individual, obtaining sufficent nominations to place him in the list of our most highly regarded practitioners. Jones is “a prominant figure in the Austalian construction bar” and an “outstanding lawyer” who heads the major projects, international arbitration and construction practices for the firm. Andrew Stephenson – “a familiar name in the market” – is head of the construction group and the international arbitration group in Melbourne. Stephenson has handled matters in Australia’s states and territories and abroad in the UK, Iran, Singapore, China, and India. Arch Fletcher and Dale Brack in focus their practices on contentious matters, each boasting extensive experience in construction litigation and arbitration as well as alternative dispute resoultion. Examples of contentious matters dealt with by the team include the BassGas Arbitration, an arbitration of disputes arising out of A$400 million onshore/offshore gas extraction and processing facilities. The group has also been involved in a number of significant matters in the past 12 months, including the RailCorp Rolling Stock Procurement PPP. They also advised on the Newcastle Mater Hospital Redevelopment, the Royal Children’s Hospital Redevelopment Project in Melbourne and the Bonnyrigg Living Communities Project (a social housing PPP in New South Wales).

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