Robert J. Norris

Major Infrastructure/Development/Building

• Advising the Olympic Delivery Authority regarding London 2012 – in particular, the Olympic aquatic centre and bespoke contracts regarding the surrounding infrastructure (including bridges and highways).
• Advising a UK local council and its regeneration company in relation to two £20 million seafront regeneration schemes as part of the wider headland redevelopment.
• Acting for Selfridges in relation to the construction of its iconic store at the Bull Ring, Birmingham (circa £70 million) and regarding the development of its central Manchester store (circa £30 million).
• Advising Muse Developments in relation to phase 1 of the regeneration of Reading Town Centre – a £100 million+ mixed use development which comprised a multistorey car park, residential/small retail block, affordable housing and public open space.
• Advising a UK investor/developer in relation to a number of UK mixed use residential projects regarding contractor claims and cross claims relating to project delays and cost overruns, including addressing by way of adjudications.
• Advising a main contractor in relation to its contract for the refurbishment of an iconic building in Yorkshire as a music venue and related cost/time overruns. This included Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) standard form with quantities. Claims up and down the contractual chain.
• Acting for a UK local authority in relation to the construction of a circa £60 million sea wall defence system by way of a target cost, New Engineering Contract (NEC) Option C form of contract.
• Advising a corporate client in relation to the design and construction of a £120 million high-specification mixed-use leisure, conferencing and hotel development.
• Advising investors, developers, long-term tenants and supply chain members in relation to defects claims, including in relation to cladding and fire safety measures.

Transport

• Advising Birmingham City Council in relation to the construction aspects of the £300 million+ redevelopment of New Street train station.
• Advising a public sector body in relation to the documentation relating to the new transport interchange development (bus, rail and light rail interchange) in the city of Wolverhampton.
• Advising a UK local authority in relation to two contracts relating to track and associated infrastructure plus a new depot facility in relation to the £120 million new light rail scheme.
• Acting for a UK local authority in relation to a series of disputes arising under the main contract regarding a bridge construction/civils work.

Waste Water/Waste Treatment

• Advising a subcontractor on claims and cross claims relating to the construction of a water treatment facility.
• Advising a main contractor on defects claims under an NEC contract in relation to the construction of a wastewater treatment facility. The matter was resolved by way of a tailored evaluative and facilitative mediation.
• Advising an EPC contractor in relation to delays, costs overruns and alleged defects relating to a waste treatment facility and related anaerobic digestion/combined heat and power (CHP) element. The matter was settled via a bespoke form of evaluative and then facilitative mediation.

Manufacturing, Technical and Industrial

• Advising Kodak in relation to the UK element of its worldwide footplate reduction programme, which included demolition and infrastructure works at its process plant facilities at various sites in the UK.
• Acting for a UK retail bank in relation to the circa £400 million development of its strategically important data centre – one of the largest in Europe.
• Advising a global corporate manufacturer in relation to defects at its main UK manufacturing facility.
• Advising a contractor in relation to an International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) turnkey derivative contract for design and construction of an automated paper manufacturing process plant.

Education

• Advising a main contractor and fund consortium in relation to claims up and down the contractual chain regarding a private finance initiative (PFI) project for the construction of a number of new high schools. The dispute mechanism was by way of a bespoke form of expert determination.
• Advising a sixth form and further education college in relation to its £70 million+ co-location development. Advising the colleges on forms of appointment for the professional team and the main design and build contract.
• Advising Imperial College in relation to its energy services and related construction projects, including the deal documentation and project advice.

Decentralised Energy (including small-scale CHP)

• Advising various energy service companies (ESCOs) on a range of projects and agreements, including EPC documentation and long-term O&M arrangements on projects in the public sector and private sector (including energy centres for industrial complexes). This includes advising – over the course of around 15 years – ESCOs EnerG Combined Power, Centrica and ABB Combined Heat and Power Limited on various projects in both the public and private sectors. These projects are generally based around CHP delivery solution, but also with some renewables, including, in some cases, biomass.
• Advising numerous public and private sector clients, including Imperial College and the Natural History Museum regarding their energy services agreements with energy services companies, generally including extensive construction works on live sites and transition of incumbent provider to new provider. This will usually include a 15-year operation, maintenance and heat/power supply arrangement.
• Advising the Carbon and Energy Fund in relation to its circa £1.2 billion investment programme across the NHS estate in England. Advice includes construction and long-term O+M arrangements for primarily CHP schemes but with some renewables.

Larger Scale CHP/Energy Production

• Advising the EPC contractor in a claim by a subcontractor in relation to the construction of a circa 10 MW power generation plant at an industrial facility in the UK. Disputes were resolved by way of a series of adjudications and related court proceedings.
• Advising the EPC contractor in relation to claims regarding delays to completion of the works and related defects claims regarding a waste collection, treatment and energy production facility. The matter was settled via evaluative and then facilitative mediation.
• Advising a main contractor on its claims against the employer in relation to delays and cost overruns regarding the construction of an offshore wind farm construction programme off the coast of the UK.
• Advising a contractor regarding claims by way of arbitration in relation to claims for delay and cost overruns relating to the construction of a circa 680 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station.
• Advising a Tier 2 contractor in relation to a FIDIC yellow book-based contract for the supply and installation of pipework and associated equipment at one of Europe’s largest CHP (circa 730 MW) gas fired power stations.
• Advising a contractor in the UK and the US in relation to claims against the US EPC contractor on a UK power station project (a circa 790 MW gas fired power station).
• Advising an Eastern European EPC contractor in relation to its EPC contract and downstream supply contracts by way of a derivative FIDIC silver book in relation to a dual fired power station in Bangladesh.
• Advising a Tier 2 contractor in relation to the design and construction of a biomass boiler system, one of the largest of its kind, and claims/cross claims against the EPC contractor relating to delays and cost overruns, and also advising in relation to claims within the supply chain.
• Advising a contractor on a circa £170 million package of works regarding the supply and installation of a multifueled solution for the power supply to a data centre project in Europe.

Transmission and Distribution

• Advising an EPC contractor in relation to the construction of substation facilities, including one of Europe’s largest substations. Addressed disputes up and down the contractual chain regarding time and cost overruns and alleged defects.
• Advising an EPC contractor in relation to claims regarding alleged defects arising from the installation of a subsea high voltage (HV) interconnector.