James Harrison

James is a founding partner of our construction and engineering team in Newcastle. Over the last 5 years, he has helped to grow the team from its inception to over 20 lawyers – making it one of the largest construction and engineering legal teams in the country. He is a member of DAC Beachcroft LLP.

James has acted for a variety of public sector and private developers, house-builders, end users/ owner occupiers, landlords, tenants and funders. He operates across a range of sectors including: residential development, commercial and investment, retail, renewable energy and infrastructure.

James advises on, drafts and negotiates development agreements, collaboration agreements, build contracts, supply chain contracts and ancillary documentation (such as bonds, warranties, guarantees and step-in arrangements). He regularly presents workshops on risk allocation, contract law and practice and procurement.

James assists the dispute resolution team by applying his transactional background to practical issues that regularly crop up during the construction and post-construction phase of a project. Whilst his primary focus is on providing procurement, contract formation and contract negotiation support to clients, he is often called on to provide ad-hoc advice on contract interpretation and to consider potential solutions or alternatives to invoking formal dispute resolution procedures. He also experienced in acting for clients in adjudications, arbitrations and court proceedings.

James and his team work with the real estate property, planning and corporate teams to provide a fully integrated and seamless service to clients on transactional work relating to: acquiring or selling land, businesses and new build, extension, refurbishment and conversion developments.

James has been quoted in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for the last 10 years. He is currently a Band 1 ranked construction lawyer.

Chambers & Partners (2020) says he 'is a specialist non-contentious construction lawyer with substantial expertise in large-scale projects. He routinely handles matters relating to the energy, education and commercial property sectors. "His knowledge and attention to detail is unparalleled and he clearly cares about both his work and clients," declares one interviewee. Another describes him as "commercial, businesslike and client-focused."

Chambers & Partners (2019) says he is "highly experienced in non-contentious construction matters, including substantial transactions and document drafting. He specialises in the education and house building sectors. Clients laud him as "extremely client-focused, extremely knowledgeable, proactive and pragmatic." He also wins praise for his leadership and "quick and coherent advice."

Chambers & Partners (2018) says he "enjoys a thriving non-contentious practice, specialising in drafting and negotiating build contracts and other documents. He advises major house builders on both high-end and affordable residential developments, with additional expertise in renewable energy. Clients say: "He is a superb practitioner - he runs our construction work as if he were in-house, and is dedicated to us through and through."

James has been independently nominated in this year's Acritas Stars talent survey.