Beale & Co

Joanna Lewis

Jo is a partner in the construction and engineering and professional indemnity departments. Jo has extensive experience in advising professionals in the construction industry having represented engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and project managers and their professional indemnity insurers. She has advised in both small and high value complex litigation in the TCC as well as mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Jo specialises in adjudication both in bringing high value fee claim adjudications and defending professional negligence adjudications including a multi million pound double adjudication arising out of a high profile PFI project. Jo also advises clients in relation to health and safety and regulatory law. She advises on all aspects of an investigation and/or prosecution including what to do after an accident, coroners’ inquests, regulatory offences, sentencing and insurance cover. Jo successfully advised on the acquittal of a corporate manslaughter prosecution in the crown court against an engineer. In recent years Jo has been involved in a number of claims against surveyors, both residential valuation claims and missed defect claims. Jo is currently involved in an initiative to stream line the method of dealing with and resolving claims against surveyors and working in conjunction with surveyors, RICS, brokers, insurers and lenders to achieve this.Jo has also advised solicitors, insurance brokers, IFAs and their professional indemnity insurers in defendant actions. She has advised in particular in large high profile multi party claims from the Financial Compensation Scheme defending independent financial advisors and in bringing a claim by multiple claimants in regard to complicated financial pension advice against various financial institutions and IFAs. Jo also regularly advised insurers on all aspects of professional liability policy coverage.

Sheena Sood

Sheena qualified in 1992 having trained with Beale & Company. She has over 20 years’ experience advising clients within the construction and related industries on a wide range of disputes and on investigations and prosecutions under health and safety law. Sheena has advised and represented numerous clients and their insurers in relation to civil claims both advancing claims for construction industry clients through the most effective means and defending negligence claims brought against them; conducting early risk assessments for clients to understand the merits of their position and achieve results which takes into account those risks and the need for a proportionate approach to costs. Her work is across all sectors of the construction industry and she has a thorough understanding of the issues of importance. She undertakes an increasing amount of work with an international focus, providing legal support for high-profile projects across the world. Sheena’s work in the health and safety field includes numerous fatal site accidents and personal injury claims that can follow construction site and workplace accidents. She represents clients throughout HSE and Police investigations and in criminal prosecutions brought by the HSE and CPS. She has many years experience in representing clients in meetings and interviews with the Police and the HSE during the course of an investigation including interviews under caution. Sheena advises on CDM and other health and safety legislation and assists clients in the implementation of good practice. Sheena works with her clients to set and keep under review the overall strategy to resolution and manages delivery to achieve the client’s aims in the most efficient and cost-effective way.