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Project Disputes

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We work swiftly to protect your investments, minimise risk, and deliver strong, commercially focused outcomes - keeping your project on track and your business moving forward.

Large IT and infrastructure projects often encounter significant challenges, such as scope changes, delays, and cost overruns, compounded by ineffective communication and coordination among stakeholders. Technical complexities, unforeseen risks, and regulatory changes can further complicate delivery, leading to disputes over responsibility and liability. Mishcon de Reya offers expert guidance in managing these complexities, with a proven track record in resolving project disputes across the IT, construction & infrastructure, and energy sectors. Our team of commercial litigators and arbitrators combines deep industry knowledge with strategic expertise to protect your interests, ensuring swift resolution and minimal disruption.

Our strong arbitration capability will be particularly advantageous for these disputes, providing confidentiality, efficiency, and expert decision-making, with enforceable awards across jurisdictions, offering greater certainty in cross-border projects.

Energy and infrastructure project disputes

When high-stakes energy and infrastructure projects encounter disputes, you need a legal team that combines industry insight with expert dispute resolution strategies. At Mishcon de Reya, we specialise in addressing complex conflicts across large-scale projects, including construction delays, regulatory challenges, and contract breakdowns that are often cross-border in nature.

Read energy and infrastructure case studies

IT project disputes

Managing the complexities of large IT project disputes requires more than just legal expertise; it demands a strategic partner who understands both the intricacies of technology and the law. At Mishcon de Reya, our IT disputes team excel in resolving disputes related to major IT projects, utilising our deep industry knowledge and proactive approach to safeguard your interests and achieve favourable outcomes swiftly.

Read IT project case study

How we can help

Comprehensive expertise for project disputes

To help resolve your project disputes, we can marshal expertise from across the firm that complement our core team.

Insolvency in project disputes

The insolvency of a single participant in a large project can create a wave of challenges including the sudden withdrawal of services, non-payment of contractors, frozen funds, delayed works, breaches of contract, domino insolvencies and litigation. Working alongside colleagues in the construction, innovation or energy teams, our contentious insolvency team provide the specialist expertise needed by sponsors, employers, directors, contractors, creditors and funders to navigate distressed situations and safeguard their interests and contractual rights.
Finance in project disputes

Financing is essentially for large scale projects. This is most relevant at the outset of the projects, as funding will be needed to get them off the ground. However, it is an ongoing issue throughout the life of a project. The evolution of the project and/or challenges that are inevitably faced during their life mean that ongoing dialogue with financing parties is essential. Good relations with them is vital to allow for flexibility and responsiveness.
- Richard Hughes
  People
Insurance expertise in projects

Insurance is a key component in infrastructure and construction projects. When things go wrong, insurance is often the first port of call and how that insurance responds is crucial in minimising the interruption to the project. Our team has worked on large (re)insurance claims arising on a number of significant projects around the world including construction all risks, delay in start-up and business interruption. Our team advises clients from immediately following the incident that interrupts the project through to the resolution of disputes with (re)insurers. Their expertise helps mitigate financial risks and keeps projects from stalling due to insurance conflicts.
- Ralph Fearnhead
  People
- Chris Neilson
  People
Fraud and asset recovery in project disputes

Fraud and asset recovery expertise is crucial in large IT and infrastructure project disputes, as it helps uncover and investigate fraudulent activities such as bid rigging and false invoicing. By resolving these issues, Mishcon assists clients in recovering losses and mitigating risks, ensuring compliance and reducing costly legal battles.
Outsourcing in projects

In large IT projects ensures impartial conflict resolution over contracts, delays, or service failures. Our industry-leading negotiators possess specialist knowledge of technology and IT provisioning in complex, often international markets. Combined with our deep expertise in disputes, we are expert negotiators and legal professionals. We help mitigate financial risks, enforce agreements, and maintain project continuity, saving time, reducing legal complexities, and preserving business relationships.
Crisis management in project disputes

Crisis management in project disputes is vital for navigating unforeseen setbacks, such as accidents or financial failures. Legal professionals provide guidance on identifying and mitigating reputational and operational risks, managing stakeholder engagement and communication, and advising on potential legal claims. Their expertise and experience ensures a swift and strategic response, minimizing legal and reputational damage during a crisis and afterwards.
- Emma Woollcott
  People
Health & safety expertise for projects

In large infrastructure projects is crucial for ensuring compliance with safety regulations and preventing legal criminal and civil liabilities. It helps navigate incidents, manage claims, and address potential breaches – all while protecting workers and maintaining the reputation of the project. Expert lawyers minimize risks, ensure regulatory adherence, and manage compensation, fines and other penalties – not just for actual injuries or incidents, but also to minimise the risk of harm.
- Kizzy Augustin
  People
Forensic accountancy in project disputes

Our project disputes offering is enhanced by our embedded team of forensic accountants. These specialists uncover hidden financial risks, analyse cost overruns, and expose mismanagement or fraud, delivering clear, data-backed insights that bolster our legal strategy. Their expertise in breaking down complex financial data into compelling evidence strengthens our ability to challenge inflated claims, defend against unwarranted allegations, and negotiate from a position of strength.

Work highlights

Work highlight

Ghanaian power plant project

Represented a power company in a complex dispute over delays and equipment failures at a Ghanaian power plant project. Successfully facilitated a multi-party settlement in London, involving contract amendments and potential performance bond calls.

Work highlight

Contract termination in relation to a large container port

Advising a major French contractor in respect of a dispute about termination under a FIDIC contract in relation to a large container port in the Middle East. This dispute raised issues of delay and concurrency, and was arbitrated through the ICC.

Work highlight

Contractual issues for a new build power project

Advising an energy company in relation to various contractual issues in relation a new build power project. Alex represented her client in an adjudication arising out of a major earthworks contract, and provided detailed legal advice in relation to disputes concerning the design and engineering of the nuclear island.

Work highlight

National oil company arbitration

Acting for a national oil company on two sets of arbitration proceedings for claims worth tens of billions of US dollars for its failure to deliver gas under a long-term gas supply agreement.

Work highlight

Arbitration proceedings against an African state's expropriation

Advising an investor in potential arbitration proceedings against an African state and the national oil company relating to the State's expropriation of the Claimant's interest in a project for the design, development, construction, and maintenance of an oil refinery.

Work highlight

Multi-billion-dollar project for pipe manufacturer

Acting for a pipe manufacturer in a dispute brought under a bilateral investment treaty against a North African state relating to the investor's right to bid for tenders in respect of a sewerage network for a multi-billion-dollar project to relieve overcrowding in one of Africa's largest cities.  The investor claimed that measures introduced by the government were unlawful and discriminated against the investor's investment in favour of domestic investors.

Work highlight

Development of trading platform for a global bank

Advising a systems integrator in relation to the distressed development of a zero-latency trading platform for a global bank. Dealing with cost overruns, multiple change requests and delays, we assisted our client in negotiating a contract re-set with newly scoped project plan including new timelines, deliverables and costs.

Work highlight

Offender management software project

Acting for the provider of offender management software in a dispute with probation and rehabilitation service provider relating to the costs of significant customer and government mandated change and associated delays to the implementation of a long term offender management project. Matter settled at mediation shortly before trial.

Work highlight

Practice management system

Acting for a provider of GP practice management systems in a dispute with the provider of a storage infrastructure which failed, causing significant losses. Bringing a claim for damages which was settled at mediation.