Shoosmiths Hires Construction Disputes Partner Peter Stockill as UK Law Firms Build Out Specialist Contentious Construction Capacity
Shoosmiths has recruited construction disputes specialist Peter Stockill as a partner, strengthening the firm's contentious construction practice. The hire signals continued investment by UK national and mid-market firms in specialist disputes capacity targeting the construction and infrastructure sector — a market that has seen elevated claim volumes driven by contract overruns, supply chain disruption, and cost inflation across major public and private infrastructure projects. Construction disputes are a volume-intensive practice area: large-scale infrastructure projects typically involve complex, multi-party contracts — often based on the NEC (New Engineering Contract) or JCT (Joint Contracts Tribunal) standard forms — and generate disputes over delay, variations, defects, and payment that proceed through adjudication, arbitration, or High Court litigation. The lateral hire of an established partner with specialist construction disputes expertise reflects both the demand side (a deep pipeline of live and anticipated claims) and the supply-side dynamic of firms competing to offer credible contentious capacity alongside their transactional construction and real estate teams.
Why this matters
The Shoosmiths hire illustrates a broader pattern of UK firms investing in disputes capacity as a counter-cyclical hedge: when transactional deal volumes soften, litigation and arbitration mandates provide revenue stability. Construction disputes in particular are countercyclically attractive because cost overruns, insolvencies among sub-contractors, and project delays tend to peak in periods of economic stress. For trainees, construction disputes practices offer early exposure to complex factual and technical cases, with substantial disclosure review and witness statement work. The hire also reflects competition among national firms — Shoosmiths, DWF, Womble Bond Dickinson — to capture construction disputes market share from Magic Circle and Silver Circle firms that tend to focus on the largest international arbitrations.
On the Ground
On a construction dispute, a trainee would assist with disclosure review and categorisation — working through the project correspondence, site records, and contract documents to identify materials responsive to specific issues — and prepare chronologies of key events for use in witness statements and skeleton arguments. Assisting with court filing and service of claim documents, particularly in adjudication proceedings with tight statutory timelines, is a core trainee task.
Interview prep
Soundbite
Construction disputes are countercyclically resilient — cost inflation and project overruns generate claim volumes that track the economic cycle in reverse.
Question you might get
“What are the main routes for resolving construction disputes in England and Wales, and why might a client choose adjudication over High Court litigation?”
Full answer
Shoosmiths has hired construction disputes partner Peter Stockill, adding specialist contentious capacity in a sector that has seen elevated claim volumes from infrastructure cost overruns, supply chain disruption, and contractor insolvencies. Construction disputes are practice-area significant because they combine complex technical facts, multi-party contract structures under NEC or JCT forms, and a mix of adjudication, arbitration, and High Court proceedings — making them demanding mandates that require specialist expertise. The hire reflects a broader investment trend among UK national firms seeking to build credible disputes capacity that can compete with larger practices for mid-market and regional infrastructure claims. This is a smart counter-cyclical move: as transactional construction volumes face headwinds from higher financing costs, the disputes pipeline grows.
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