Elizabeth Donnelly

Call: 2020

Email: edonnelly@keatingchambers.com

Tel: +(0)20 7544 2600

Practice Overview

Elizabeth Donnelly was called to the Bar in 2020 and joined Keating Chambers as a tenant in September 2021.

Elizabeth’s practice encompasses the core specialist areas of Keating Chambers. She welcomes instructions to advise, draft pleadings and represent clients in disputes arising from construction, engineering, energy, infrastructure, and offshore projects. She has experience of acting as sole counsel, and as junior counsel in large legal teams.

Before coming to the Bar, Elizabeth spent a year as Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice McCombe in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Prior to that, she undertook a six-month traineeship with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris, where she worked on several international commercial arbitrations and investment treaty arbitrations. She holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and completed her legal training at BPP University.

Elizabeth is fluent in French. She is also a proficient Spanish-speaker.

Practice Areas
  • Construction and Engineering
  • Offshore Construction & Marine Engineering
  • Professional Negligence
Construction and Engineering

Elizabeth accepts instructions to advise, draft pleadings and represent clients in disputes arising from domestic building works and large-scale construction and engineering projects. She is familiar with bespoke and standard form construction contracts.

Examples of recent work include:

  • Advising and drafting the Defence on behalf of a building contractor in a complex claim for damages for defective works, repudiatory breach of contract, and non-fraudulent misrepresentation.
  • Drafting Particulars of Claim on behalf of a contractor alleging wrongful termination of contract in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Advising the owners of a large hotel on the merits of a prospective claim for damages for defective roofing works.
  • Advising a building contractor on (i) the proper construction of an amended JCT Minor Works contract, and (ii) the employer’s prospects of successfully claiming liquidated damages from the contractor.
  • Advising homeowners on the formation and interpretation of their part-written, part-oral contract with a builder.
  • As junior counsel, advising and representing the Defendant contractor in a payment dispute concerning an abandoned infrastructure project.
  • As junior counsel, representing the operator of a quarry in its claim against a concrete manufacturer for damages for breach of contract.
Offshore Construction & Marine Engineering

Elizabeth recently acted as junior counsel to a shipbuilder in two high-value international arbitrations relating to the termination of contracts for the design and construction of semi-submersible offshore drilling rigs. Working in a team of barristers led by Adam Constable KC, Elizabeth was responsible for drafting substantial pleadings, witness statements and application submissions relevant to numerous issues in the case.

Professional Negligence

Elizabeth has experience of advising clients on prospective claims against construction professionals.

Examples of Elizabeth’s work in this area include:

  • Advising homeowners on the merits of their prospective claim against an architect. Issues included the scope of an architect’s duty to exercise reasonable care and skill when recommending a specific building contractor to a client.
  • Advising homeowners on their prospects of establishing that a company acting as Approved Inspector had failed to exercise reasonable skill and care when performing its duties under the Building Regulations 2010.
  • Assisting with an Advice on the scope of a design-and-build contactor’s duty of care in tort in respect of the design and construction of cladding works.
Case Reports
Case Date