Lucy Colter

Lucy is presently developing a busy practice in this area of law. She is particularly interested in matters with an international or cross-jurisdictional angle.

A flavour of Lucy’s work and experience is provided by the following:

• Acting for the successful trustee and investment company in a multi-million pound claim against defendant surveyors in litigation concerning the acquisition of a factory outlet shopping centre by a Unit Trust: (1) Capita Alternative Fund Services (Guernsey) Ltd (2) Matrix Securities Ltd v Drivers Jonas [2011] EWHC 2336.  (With Sue Carr QC and Graham Chapman).
• Acting in a highly sensitive dispute between an oligarch and his solicitors, involving an application to come off the record. (With Justin Fenwick QC).
• Acting in a multi-million pound claim brought in relation to the drafting of a Share Purchase Agreement. (With Patrick Lawrence QC and Rick Liddell).
• Acting in relation to claims arising out of overpayment of shareholder dividends. She also has an interest in particular issues arising in relation to claims by shareholders.
• Acting for the claimant in a claim for restitution in respect of monies paid away under a mistake.
• Instructed to advise and attend applications in various cases where complex issues have arisen in relation to a party being in administration or liquidation, including acting for a defendant wealth management company in liquidation.
• Instructed in various subrogated claims for recovery against third parties in contractual disputes.

“Provides very quick and commercially focused advice, and inspires confidence in clients.” – Legal 500, 2019

“She is very user-friendly and approachable.” – Chambers & Partners, 2019

“Perfect with clients and one of the cleverest barristers I have worked with.” “She provides consistently excellent service and understands entirely what we and our insured and insurer clients want.” – Chambers & Partners, 2018

‘Very able.’ – Legal 500, 2018

“She is user-friendly and her advice is always very clear and concise.” “She is extremely hard-working, very bright and has an exceptional mastery of the detail of complex matters. She provides invaluable input.” – Chambers & Partners, 2016

Ranked as a Leading Junior in both Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500, Lucy is praised for being “good at the detail, very positive and has good knowledge of the law.”, “she works hard under difficult circumstances and is very approachable and normal.”

Lucy has swiftly built her experience acting for claimants and defendants in claims against solicitors, including claims arising from commercial and property transactions, lost or mishandled litigation, and claims which involve allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and dishonesty. She has a particular interest in the latter, especially in claims where fraud may be alleged.

She also has particularly strong experience acting in claims against valuers, both for claimant and defendant, and enjoys the challenges presented in such matters by sometimes complex valuations (and equally complex expert evidence).

She also acts for and against a range of other professionals, including surveyors and valuers, architects, financial services professionals, and insurance brokers and agents. She particularly enjoys cases set in a commercial context or with an international or cross-jurisdictional angle, or which raise issues of foreign law.

Lucy is equally comfortable working individually or as part of a counsel team, has been frequently led by senior members of Chambers, and enjoys the challenge of urgent and interim applications.

Lucy has extensive experience of running construction and engineering cases to trial in the TCC and is developing her experience in arbitration.  She has dealt with various forms of contract including JCT, NEC and FIDIC. She acts for leading construction engineering companies and development companies. She especially enjoys the challenge presented by complex technical and scientific evidence.

Past and current cases in this area include:

• Acting on behalf of the successful project manager/quantity surveyor in William Clark Partnership Ltd v Dock St PCT Ltd [2015] EWHC 2923 (TCC), defeating a “global” claim that the project manager had caused the entirety of a £1m costs overrun. Lucy was instructed to appear on her own against a silk. The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal.
• Acting on behalf of Carillion in a 5 week trial in Manchester TCC in a final account dispute arising out of a project at Warrington College, led by Anneliese Day QC. Carillion succeeded at trial. The case included a complex delay claim and allegations of breach of duty in respect of the corrosion of a low temperature hot water system.
• Acting on behalf of a development company in respect of a claim against architects and quantity surveyors arising out of the construction of a clubhouse, using a log-shell constructed in Russia.
• Instructed in respect of an adjudication under an NEC3 contract, in respect of delay issues arising out of the construction of an airport terminal.
• Acting on behalf of a leading engineering company in respect of a dispute and potential high-value arbitration against a major energy company arising out of the construction of a power station. There were complex factual and legal issues in respect of project management and responsibility in addition to technical issues. Again led by Anneliese Day QC.
• Advising a French company tendering for the construction of waste treatment processing at a new nuclear power station, in respect of the application of the FIDIC “Yellow Book” precedent.
• Instructed in a claim by a contractor against its subcontractor for negligent installation of a sprinkler system at an office block development, involving preliminary issues about the proper construction of the contractual mechanism for determining practical completion.
• Successfully defending a firm of architects in a 5 day trial in Manchester TCC in respect of multiple allegations of negligence by a construction company arising out of the construction of office blocks, especially in respect of the design and specification of a roof and high level ventilation system.
• Acting for Carillion in respect of a claim brought by a subcontractor (now in administration) arising out of payments made in the course of 18 different construction projects.
• Acting for a quantity surveyor partnership in a claim in a dispute relating to the construction of an NHS Primary Care Centre. This claim raises difficult issues in respect of funding, tendering and causation, in addition to typical construction project and cost issues.
• Acting for a quantity surveyor alleged to have inadequately supervised and monitored the demolition and rebuild of a property on Guernsey. The plaintiff alleged that the property was unfit for occupation and should be demolished. The plaintiff had also alleged that the construction company had concealed breaches and defective work. Lucy assisted the Ogier (Guernsey) team in preparing for trial (before settlement on Day One).
• Acting for a defendant quantity surveyor in respect of a claim brought by a construction company, in respect of an unprofitable construction project carried out under a JCT. This includes issues arising out of failed dispute resolution, adjudication and (again) includes issues relating to the extent of the surveyor’s responsibilities and role.
• Acting for a regulated energy company against engineers in respect of damage done to a water main during excavation works on a bridge.

Lucy has equal experience of pure construction disputes and of professional negligence disputes with a strong construction/engineering flavour. She is equally comfortable acting in a team on a particularly high-value dispute or acting as sole advocate at trial.

Lucy particularly enjoys insurance coverage disputes – and disputes purely concerning the construction of insurance policy wording. She also has experience of professional liability claims which require a thorough understanding of multiple issues of insurance law. She also has a real interest in the defence of fraudulent or exaggerated claims.

Recent examples of Lucy’s experience are as follows:

• Instructed by the defendant insurer both to advise and to attend the hearing of a preliminary issue in the multi-million pound arbitration relating to both triggers to cover and aggregation, turning on complex points of construction of several policy clauses. The underlying claims against the assured arise out of large-scale claims-handling on behalf of multiple other insurance companies. (Led by both Sue Carr QC and Patrick Lawrence QC).
• Advising a Hong Kong manufacturing company on its rights against its insurers, under a policy governed by Hong Kong law, in relation to a product liability claim brought against the company in the US. This case involved multiple assureds and complex questions of notification.
• Acting for defendant English solicitors in a claim brought by a firm of Brazilian lawyers. The claim arises out of advice given in relation to a D&O policy of insurance, and concerns in particular issues of notification of claims against the claimants brought in various Brazilian states. (Led by Sue Carr QC).
• Acting for various insurers, defending coverage claims under both commercial and household policies of insurance, on multiple grounds including an assured’s failure to cooperate with insurer’s investigations.

Lucy is keen to develop her practice in public law, especially in the context of healthcare. She appeared as junior counsel for the Secretary of State for Health (led by Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC): R(on the application of McVey) s Secretary of State for Health [2010] EWHC 437 and [2010] EWHC 1225.

The Secretary of State successfully resisted the judicial review brought in respect of the ex gratia compensation scheme set up to compensate those infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, including a challenge by interested parties, living victims of the disease. This judicial review also engaged private law questions regarding trusts. Permission to appeal was refused.

Lucy has experience acting in arbitration under the LCIA rules, particularly in the context of a complex and multi-million pound insurance dispute over the proper construction of policy terms. She is looking forward to developing her practice in this area.