Expertise

Suzanne headed up the Construction team at Wedlake Bell until 2020 and has been instrumental in its growth to a current team of 10 lawyers. The practice covers all issues relating to construction projects including contract drafting, advice throughout a project and resolving disputes with emphasis in doing so, where possible without recourse to formal proceedings. She has acted for most sectors of the industry and in recent years has acted principally for developers, private healthcare, care homes and later/senior living providers.

Suzanne has over 25 years’ experience in the construction industry involving a wide range of projects large and small, such as hospitals and care homes, residential, office and retail development, manufacturing plant, sports stadiums and infrastructure.

Recent Experience

• Acting for a number of national private care home developers on numerous developments, financing and sales institutions investors; including innovative development and refurbishment of multiple care homes in a joint venture with a local authority.
• Acting on conversion and redevelopment of private care homes to later living residential flats.
• Acting for a national house builder on the development of a number of new-build sites including private and social housing units.
• Acting for health care providers on various hospital projects and for a health care insurer in relation to a major hospital upgrade and refit.
• Acting for an international company on construction documentation for a new office building in central London and also advising on numerous issues arising during the construction period and at practical completion.
• Acting for a developer in relation to a mixed use development to revitalise the centre of a south coast town.
• Acting for company on new HQ building in central London.

Career History

Suzanne qualified as a solicitor in 1979 and became a partner at Wedlake Bell in 1983. She has long featured as a leading construction lawyer in Legal Business’ Legal Experts, in Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession as a leader in construction and in the Legal 500.

She sits on the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Drafting Sub-Committee and Council, is a (former longstanding committee) member of the Technology and Construction Solicitor’s Association and a member of the Society of Construction Law. She sat on the Government payment review working party that led to the payment provisions of the Construction Act and Scheme for Construction Contracts and subsequent amendments. Suzanne is an accredited adjudicator and CEDR qualified mediator.

Suzanne has a degree in Law from The University of Exeter.