Name: Angus Rankin Firm: Hogan Lovells Location: London University: Pembroke College, University of Cambridge Undergraduate degree: English literature
often document-heavy: “There is often a vast number of technical drawings, formal and informal emails from different parties involved in the project, formal letters and meeting minutes, which help us to piece together the story of what has gone wrong in the project. That in itself requires a lot of project management – the job must be done thoroughly but in an efficient and cost-effective way for the client.” In some cases, the risks facing clients can be even graver than potentially serious financial losses. “One of the most interesting cases of my career was not a commercial dispute, but a criminal case arising from a project in Africa,” says Angus. “It was a serious and difficult case that would have meant personal liability for one of our client’s executives if we lost, and it was heard in a local criminal court. I am still very proud of the team effort across our international offices that went into securing a good outcome for the client in that case.” However, an ideal outcome is not always possible, and one of the least enjoyable – but necessary – aspects of his role is “having to tell clients that they have a low prospect of success – we work extremely hard to try to find any and all angles to help our clients succeed, so when you have to tell them that their options are limited, or that they might have to pay their adversary a significant sum of money, it’s part of the job, but not an especially enjoyable part. The important thing though is never to overstate the client’s case to them because it is much better for clients to go into something with their eyes open, or sometimes decide not to take the dispute further.” Fossil fuels make way for renewables Looking more widely at the current state of the construction and engineering sector, he observes that “whatever challenges our engineering clients are going through soon have a knock-on effect for us. For example, with the increasing change from fossil fuels to renewables, the type of power stations that
clients are involved with has changed. Whereas previously clients might have been engineering oil rigs and processing plants, now they are much more involved with wind turbines and solar power.” Another key concern for the team’s clients is staying on the right side of increasingly complex regulation. “Our clients are operating in a much more regulated global environment than they used to be, for example, having to navigate export sanctions and embargoes”, he observes. “If it becomes difficult to import steel or machinery across certain borders, this will have an effect on clients’ ability to manufacture abroad, which may lead to disputes over an increase in costs or delay to the project.” To succeed in this area, “very high technical ability” is essential. “Like all litigators, we have to be experts in general common law such as contract, tort, agency and privilege, but also in international arbitration and statutory adjudication, which is very different to court litigation. We also work across the globe with local counsel in the country where the project is located or the judgment or arbitral award will be enforced,” Angus explains. “In addition, there is construction law itself. English construction law has developed over hundreds of years, with changes being made on a near- daily basis, dealing with how risks are allocated between the owner and the contractor.” Good construction disputes lawyers “tend to have the temperament of litigators,” he reflects, “but are also very interested in the built environment – we are fascinated by the technical detail of how power stations, airports and other infrastructure are built.” Getting to grips with the many processes involved is made easier because “we are also privileged to work for the leading engineering companies in the world and within those companies, we work alongside very senior commercial executives and in-house legal staff. The continual learning experience you get from working with these great people on the most difficult problems is very satisfying.”
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