The group at White & Case LLP guides clients through the entire construction process, from tender to completion. Its expertise covers both advisory and contentious work, with particular areas of strength being financing, contract management, and construction arbitration and litigation. Construction companies and consortiums, energy companies and government clients routinely look to the group for support. The practice is led by Charles Nairac, who specialises in international arbitration.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Main strengths are availability and listening to the customer. Recruitment quickly adapts to the firm's philosophy of pragmatism.’

  • ‘The team is very available and responsive. It provides the best advice with detailed analysis, most often beyond expectations. It also warns of risks, watches over the client's interests and guides them towards pragmatic solutions. It is very up-to-date with new technologies in invoicing and fee justification.'

  • ‘Paule Biensan - competence, perfect knowledge of the history, pragmatism, experience of financing with pools of development banks. Emma France - availability, speed, adaptation to the context.’

  • ‘Very professional and knowledgeable team, good negotiation skills. Very high quality service.’

  • 'Paule Biensan is very experienced - she always has a pragmatic solution at hand. She is available, attentive and listens to the customer, always exceeding expectations. Omar Sinaceur is very competent, pragmatic, always committed and well motivated to overcome obstacles. He is friendly and available.’

Key clients

  • EDF Renouvelables and Zero Waste (“Green Fuel Alliance”)
  • ITER
  • Katara Hospitality
  • Atinkou
  • Eranove
  • AfDB
  • BII
  • EIB
  • Eiffage
  • SECAA
  • Arise
  • Acciona Agua
  • Green of Africa
  • Afriquia Gaz
  • Wärtsilä Development & Financial Services
  • Proparco
  • EBRD
  • DEG
  • WeBuild (formerly Salini Impregilo S.p.A)., Jan De Nul N.V., Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (Panama Canal)
  • Commisimpex
  • Ministry of Justice of Georgia

Work highlights

  • Assisted EDF Renouvelables and Zero Waste (together 'Green Fuel Alliance') with the joint development of a large scale green hydrogen and green ammonia project consisting in the design, engineering, procurement, financing, construction and operation of a bunkering station powered by renewables.
  • Represented ITER, an international organization created by China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States of America, in relation to the construction of the world's largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy, in the south of France.
  • Represented Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A. and its international shareholders WeBuild, Sacyr S.A., and Jan De Nul N.V., in a dispute with the Panama Canal Authority relating to the $5.5bn Panama Canal expansion project.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Charles Nairac

Other key lawyers

Paule Biensan, Emma France, Omar Sinaceur