Barry Hembling is a legal directories recommended construction lawyer who helps manage risks so clients can meet their cost and time objectives. He has over 22 years in-house and private practice experience of acting on domestic and international construction projects, including in the hotel, real estate and sports sectors. He also acts for funders on the construction aspects of UK real estate development finance transactions.
He has an established record of offering contentious and non-contentious legal support throughout a project’s lifecycle from initial contract advice and negotiations, advice on live projects and dispute avoidance.
He is regarded as “particularly well organised, reliable, knowledgeable and always willing to analyse issues in detail”, “very honest and open on the best way forward – he deals with technical issues very efficiently and handles negotiations extremely well" and an "incisive adviser" by impressed sources quoted in legal directories. Barry has a reputation for commercial acumen, building long-term global client relationships and offering cost effective commercial solutions that minimise risks and help teams meet their completion dates and budgets.
Barry is experienced in prosecuting and defending all types of construction claims, particularly complex, high value construction disputes, which include 15 reported UK High Court judgments.
He often acts for clients on global projects including Australia (16), Austria, China (11), Cyprus, Denmark (3), Estonia, France, Germany (13), India (2), Italy (10), Japan (5), Korea (3), Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia (4), Singapore (4), Thailand (4), Turkey (5), UAE (3) and USA (3) in addition those in the UK. Barry has advised on many iconic projects including the Aquatics Centre at the 2012 Olympics, the City of London Lloyd’s Building, the London Eye and the Sydney Tower.
Barry is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been a Constructing Excellence Awards panel judge. He is a construction law thought leader, has presented at Chatham House, at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, at the Houses of Parliament, at the Third UK-China Rule of Law Roundtable in China, at the Architects’ Journal Conference and at the Construction Law Summer School. His articles are regularly published, including in The Times and the Estates Gazette. Barry has been a legal directories recommended lawyer for many years, most recently in the 2022 edition of the Legal 500 in multiple categories.