Natalie Keyes

Natalie has over a decade of experience in both contentious and non-contentious construction law matters.

Natalie assists a wide variety of clients, including international, national and regional contractors, sub-contractors, consultants, employers and insurers and has experience across diverse sectors including leisure and educational buildings, infrastructure, energy, groundworks and piling, roofing, mechanical and electrical, lifts and commercial, residential and public developments.

Natalie’s non-contentious experience includes review, negotiation and drafting of build contracts, appointments, collateral warranties and framework agreements, particularly using the JCT and NEC forms of contract.

Natalie’s contentious/dispute experience includes advising clients in relation to commercial resolution of disputes through negotiation, mediation, adjudication, and, where necessary, Court proceedings, particularly in the Technology and Construction Court and Natalie has experience in the conduct of multi-million pound disputes.

Natalie regularly writes legal briefings and legal update newsletters and has presented numerous legal update seminars both to clients and on behalf of other organisations such as the University of Leeds, Constructing Excellence, CECA, ICE, and CIAT.

Notable cases

• Conduct of a multi-million-pound, multi-party dispute for breach of contract and negligence by a public authority against its Design and Build Contractor including TCC proceedings.
• Assisting in the conduct of Court proceedings and resolution of a multi-million-pound negligence claim by our client, a college of further education, against its consultant engineer and design and build contractor.
• Assisting in the resolution, at mediation, of a negligence and breach of contract claim (worth in excess of £1million) by against our client’s foundation contractors and insurers.
• Assisting with the defence of a claim for damages against an international design and engineering consultant in respect of alleged negligence in the design and supervision of a remedial works scheme which ultimately resulted in resolution for her client.
• Assisting in the defence of a Part 20 claim made against a developer client by its employer and pursuing the same claim against its sub-contractor in relation to alleged defects with lifts installed at a residential development.
• Conduct of a number of adjudications by a public body against its contractor in relation to disputes concerning contractual payment provisions, extensions of time and loss and expense with an associated value of in excess of £4 million.
• Successful and complete defence of a multi-million-pound adjudication by a sub-contractor seeking payment from our civil engineering contractor client.
• Entirely successful conduct of an adjudication for a national contractor against its client regarding alleged defects and significant alleged future losses in excess of £3.5million.
• Complete success in adjudication for a sub-contractor client, recovering in excess of £1million;
• Successful resolution of a loss and expense claim valued at in excess of £1million brought by a contractor against our local authority client.
• Successful adjudication enforcement proceedings.
• Drafting, and review and advice on, building contracts (including framework agreements, standard form, and bespoke forms of contract) and associated documentation including appointments, sub-contracts and warranties and providing advice on contract management including issues such as payment notices, suspension and termination.
• Advice on amendments to a JCT Design and Build 2016 contract for utility infrastructure works which raised issues requiring bespoke drafting to address rapidly fluctuating materials prices, estimated measurements, and the payment profile, including delay damages.
• Advising a higher education provider on forms of framework agreement for use in relation to major campus development works.
• Providing document review services to a number of clients on an annual retainer basis including a leading UK insurance company, making use of technology assisted review.