Barry Hembling > Watson Farley & Williams LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Barry Hembling

+44 20 3314 6458 [email protected] View profile

Work Department

Real Estate

Position

Barry is a successful, legal directories recommended, construction law expert working across a wide spectrum of construction projects both domestically and internationally. He has 25+ years in-house and private practice experience of helping clients manage risks so they can meet their cost and time objectives. He acts on projects in the hotel, real estate, infrastructure, energy and transport sectors and on the construction aspects of real estate development finance transactions.

He has an established record of offering contentious and non-contentious legal support from initial contract negotiations, advice on live projects and dispute avoidance. Barry has a reputation for commercial acumen, building long-term global client relationships and offering cost effective commercial solutions that minimise risk.

Impressed sources quoted in the 2024 edition of legal directories say, “having tried other commercial construction solicitor, he is, in my view, the best out there”. Others remark “I am pleased we have Barry in our corner in order to best protect the business in a period of growth.” His advice is commended as “top-notch, always succinct and to the point, and extremely practical.”

Barry is experienced in prosecuting and defending all types of construction claims, particularly complex, high value construction disputes. These include sixteen reported UK High Court and Court of Appeal judgments plus acting in proceedings before the UK Supreme Court.

Barry has advised on some of the world’s most iconic projects including the Aquatics Centre at the 2012 Olympics, the City of London Lloyd’s Building, the London Eye and the Sydney Tower. He often acts for clients on global projects including Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and USA among others plus the UK.

He is a board member of the Technology and Construction Solicitors’ Association, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Society of Construction Law. He is a construction law thought leader, with articles regularly published, including in The Times and the Estates Gazette. He has presented at Chatham House, at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, at the Houses of Parliament, at the Third UK-China Rule of Law Roundtable in China, at the Architects’ Journal Conference and at the Construction Law Summer School. He has been a recommended lawyer in legal directories for many years, most recently in the October 2023 edition of Legal 500 in three separate categories.

Memberships

1. Technology and Construction Solicitors’ Association
2. Society of Construction Law
3. Solicitors Regulation Authority

Education

1. 1993 – 1996 Anglia Law School, Law
2. 1989 – 1993 King’s College, University of London: Masters of Arts (MA), Associate of King’s College, London