Expertise
Ed provides advice on a range of construction and engineering documentation (including all major industry standard forms) and in relation to a variety of procurement structures. Ed was worked on projects spanning a number of sectors, including: large scale infrastructure projects (road, rail, tunnels and nuclear energy); data centres; manufacturing plants; renewable energy plants; residential and mixed used schemes; healthcare and biomedical facilities; offices; hotels; industrial units; and schools / educational facilities. Ed’s experience as an in-house lawyer has given him valuable insight into the full lifecycle of a construction project, from project structuring through to post-contract management.
Relevant Experience
- Advising a developer on the phased delivery of a 100 MW hyperscale data centre campus in the UK. Working with the project team to draft and negotiate a number of contracts for the scheme, including: main contractor appointments; contracts for a new sub-station and related power infrastructure; contracts for the offsite manufacture and installation of critical equipment; consultant appointments; and all ancillary documentation.
- Advising a developer on data centre projects in Berlin, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Working with the project team to develop a blueprint EPC contract for use across the EMEA region and drafting / negotiating the same with respective main contractors. Advising on related project agreements and associated pass down drafting.
- Advising a contractor / supplier on tenders for the manufacture and supply of products and materials for major rail, utilities and power projects, including HS2, Hinkley Point C and the Thames Tideway Sewer Project. Advice on contract structuring for related works, services and materials supply contracts (adopting a combination of NEC / bespoke construction and supply terms). Negotiating and finalising the same with project partners.
- Advising a contractor on several high value public highways / smart motorways frameworks. This included assisting at tender review stage, with contract negotiation / redrafting and advice during the project lifecycle.
- Advising the owner / operator in respect of the development of materials manufacturing plants across the UK (including process plants for the manufacture of cement, concrete, aggregates and asphalt, and a new deep-water shipping terminal). Advice across a number of project contracts (typically EPC contract, civils, electrical, equipment supply, consultancy appointments) and during the project lifecycle.
- Advising the developer on the phased redevelopment of 4.45 acre Thames riverside site into a luxury residential complex.
Career History
Ed studied Law at the University of Warwick and International Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham. Ed completed the LPC at the University of Law (Guildford) before training and qualifying in the London office of national law firm, Trowers and Hamlins LLP.
Ed rejoined Wedlake Bell LLP in 2024, having spent six years working as an in-house construction lawyer; at a large construction company and at a global developer of hyperscale data centres. Ed’s time in-house has allowed him to gain first hand experience of the many varied legal issues faced by businesses working in the construction sector.
Endorsements
Ed has been recommended in the Legal 500 for his “level-headed, no nonsense approach” (2018) and as “an excellent construction lawyer” (2013).