He has been tasked with launching and building our brand new Construction offering and will be working closely with team members in both litigation and property.
“I have known CooperBurnett as a firm for many years,” says David. “In fact, I worked closely with John Spence, him in litigation and me in construction, at another firm in Tunbridge Wells more than 18 years ago and we’ve kept in touch since then. While I’d been with my previous firm for a long time, I feel confident moving across to CooperBurnett and am looking forward to this new challenge.”
Adds Partner and Head of Litigation Joseph Oates: “We are excited to have secured such an experienced and highly-qualified construction lawyer as David. Our property and litigation teams here at CooperBurnett are already very strong and to now have a Construction team is a perfect fit and good news for our clients.”
David is a member of The Technology and Construction Solicitors Association and the Society of Construction Law. With more than 30 years’ experience, his work typically involves providing dispute resolution and contract law advice (to include JCT and collateral warranties) to building contractors, developers, sub-contractors, architects, surveyors and other construction professionals. He is an accredited mediator and has been a Professional Conduct Panel Member of RIBA for 12 years.
“In many ways, this is a challenging time for the construction sector; money is tight and businesses are having to deal with the increasing cost of materials and labour for instance,” says David. “At the same time, they are dealing with new demands as part of the Building Safety Act and the need to build in a more carbon friendly and green way.”
“I was attracted by the fact that law affects everyone,” he explains. “I realised quite soon in my career that I wanted to specialise in construction and found myself really enjoying working with employers, contractors, and sub-contractors and everyone involved in the process. In many ways, it’s quite a small sector and, having been based in Kent for a while now, I know many of the key players, as well as other construction professionals and barristers.”
His goal at CooperBurnett is to ‘build the construction department and grow its profile and its reputation’. Having not worked in Tunbridge Wells for nearly 20 years, David says he’s pleased to be back in the town.
“It’s good to be here again,” he explains. “I’ve got many professional contacts and friends in Tunbridge Wells and hope to grow that number.”
In his spare time, David enjoys playing golf and, having been brought up in the West Midlands, supporting the football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. He also likes travelling.
