Ciaran Harper
Call: 2023
Clerk Details
Practice Summary
Ciaran began his tenancy with Keating Chambers in September 2026, following the successful completion of his pupillage. He accepts instructions across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including construction and engineering, adjudication, professional negligence, and procurement.
Prior to starting pupillage, Ciaran gained a First Class Law degree from the University of Exeter in 2021, as well as a Distinction in an LLM from the University of Bristol in 2022. Ciaran then spent nearly two years working as a Technical Lead at RAC Legal Services, a legal expenses insurer. This involved advising on a broad range of legal areas, including contract and negligence law, as well as supervising and training a team of legal advisors.
Practice Areas
Advocacy
- Acted as sole counsel at a Case Management Conference in the County Court, in a case involving the allegedly defective construction of an orangery.
Construction & Engineering
- Drafted a Defence & Counterclaim for a Defendant resisting a claim for payment and making its only claim in respect of alleged construction defects in a property renovation.
- During pupillage, Ciaran drafted:
- Various Particulars of Claim concerning alleged fire safety and cladding disputes which involved various causes of action, such as claims for breach of contract, professional negligence, and breach of duties under the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- Various Particulars of Claim concerning other construction defects, including: (a) the allegedly defective construction of the roof of a commercial development; (b) the allegedly defective construction of walkways, leading to severe water ingress.
- A Particulars of Claim for an employer seeking repayment of alleged overpayments under an NEC3 ECC Option C contract.
- A Particulars of Claim for an insurer making a claim against a contractor and its shareholder under a deed of indemnity.
- A Defence for a geo-environmental consultant who was alleged to have carried out defective testing and to have produced a defective report, in a case concerning a residential development.
- A position statement for a Respondent to an application to the First Tier Tribunal for a Remediation Contribution Order under section 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022, in respect of the legal costs incurred in obtaining a Remediation Order.
- A skeleton argument for an employer seeking an interim injunction to prohibit a contractor from entering its land to remove materials provided under a contract.
- A skeleton argument on behalf of an employer, opposing an application by the contractor for an interim injunction against a bank, to prevent the bank from paying the employer under a bond.
- During pupillage, Ciaran produced advices on:
- Various issues as to contractual interpretation, including: (a) whether a clause amounted to an exclusive jurisdiction or mandatory arbitration clause; and (b) whether a clause constituted a change to the applicable limitation periods or was merely a longstop on claims.
- Various issues as to statutory interpretation, including: (a) section 135(6) of the Building Safety Act 2022, and what it means for a “claim” to have been settled or finally determined; and (b) section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, and whether it creates a single or threefold duty.
- Various issues as to the merits of potential causes of action, and respective positions concerning limitation, against contractors in respect of construction defects (including issues arising under the Latent Damage Act 1986, Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, and claims under indemnities).
- Various issues arising under amended NEC3 standard forms of contract, including: (a) whether a termination account had been calculated in accordance with the relevant contractual provisions under an NEC3 ECC Option C contract; and (b) whether a contractor was entitled to a compensation event under an NEC3 Engineering and Construction Subcontract.
Professional Negligence
- During pupillage, Ciaran drafted:
- Various Particulars of Claim against design professionals in relation to building defects (for example, fire safety and water ingress).
- A Particulars of Claim for a contractor claiming against an architect in respect of the allegedly defective design of culverts.
- A Defence for a structural engineer alleged to have been professionally negligent in a case concerning a residential construction.
- During pupillage, Ciaran produced advices on:
- Whether a geotechnical consultant assumed a duty of care in tort by providing a letter of reliance to a purchaser of land.
- Whether a monitoring surveyor, engaged by the funder of a development, assumed a duty of care in tort to a contractor.
Adjudication
- Drafted witness statements in support of a Response in a construction adjudication, in a case concerning a final account dispute under a joint venture agreement.
- During pupillage, Ciaran drafted:
- A Response in an adjudication concerning whether an employer terminated a contractors’ employment in accordance with the contract, or whether this termination constituted a repudiatory breach.
- A skeleton argument on behalf of a Respondent in a case in the Court of Appeal, concerning a Court’s decision not to enforce an Adjudicator’s award on grounds of natural justice.
- A skeleton argument on behalf of a Claimant seeking enforcement of an Adjudicator’s award, in circumstances where the Defendant was resisting on grounds of jurisdiction and natural justice.
- A skeleton argument for an adjudication enforcement hearing concerning where there was a dispute as to whether a contract had ever been concluded between the parties.
- During pupillage, Ciaran produced an advise on:
- The merits of commencing Part 8 proceedings to restrain potential adjudication proceedings, on the basis that the relevant dispute had already been decided in a prior adjudication.
- Whether a collaboration agreement constituted a “construction contract” within the meaning of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
Other Information
Education & Career
Professional Career
- Tenant, Keating Chambers – 2026
- Pupil, Keating Chambers – 2025
- Technical Lead, RAC Legal Services – 2023-2025
- Call to the Bar – 2023
Education
- Bar Practice Course, University of Law (Very Competent) – 2022-2023
- International Law & International Relations LLM, University of Bristol (Distinction) – 2021-2022
- Deans Commendation for Exceptional Performance, University of Exeter – 2019/20 & 2020/21
- Law LLB, University of Exeter (First Class) – 2018-2021
Privacy Policies
Additional information
Ciaran is a keen sportsman, enjoying boxing, Muay Thai, and powerlifting. He competed in powerlifting while at university, which included competing in the British University Championships in 2019.