Mercy Milgo

Mercy regularly appears in Court, tribunals and adjudications. She has recently been instructed:

• in a multi-million-euro international arbitration five-week trial concerning the use of a pioneering anaerobic digestion technology at a waste-to-energy plant (led by Fionnuala McCredie KC and William Webb KC);
• in a c. £28 million adjudication concerning a defective bulkhead at a pumping station (led by Justin Mort KC);
• in a fire safety dispute concerning matters of principle arising from Martlet Homes Limited v Mulalley & Co. Limited [2022] EWHC 1813 (TCC), the Developer Remediation Contract, and the use of PAS 9980:2022 (led by Simon Hughes KC);
• as sole counsel in a c. £5.5 million professional negligence adjudication concerning alleged fire safety (cladding, insulation, and cavity barrier) defects in a large student residential development, successfully arguing (on behalf of the Responding Party architect) for the dismissal of the Referring Party’s claims in full;
• as sole counsel in a Remediation Order, Costs, and Case Management hearing in the First-tier Property Tribunal (Property Chamber), in an ongoing c. £3.3 million multi-party dispute regarding alleged structural, fire safety and water ingress defects in a residential block;
• as sole counsel in the High Court (TCC) to oppose the Defendant/Part 20 Claimant’s application for judgment in default on their counterclaim in a multi-party dispute concerning the enforcement of a personal guarantee;
• as sole counsel in the High Court (TCC) to seek the enforcement of a c. £1.3 million adjudicator’s decision; and
• as sole counsel in a 2.5-day multi-track trial in the County Court (TCC) in a dispute concerning the release of a retention sum due to the landlord pursuant to an agreement for lease.

Mercy has experience with all common standard forms, including the JCT, NEC, FIDIC, as well as bespoke construction contracts and PFI agreements. She has a particular interest in NEC and is a contributing author of Keating on NEC (2nd edition), which provides commentary on NEC3 and NEC4 standard forms. She is also a contributor to Keating on Construction Contracts.

Mercy is a member of the Attorney General’s Junior Counsel Scheme. She was involved in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (Module 4) as part of the counsel team instructed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (led by Sam Stein KC and Abdul Jinadu).

Mercy draws on her previous varied legal experiences: as a secondee to the construction and engineering team in a leading Newcastle solicitors’ firm, as a marshal to Lord Justice Coulson in the Court of Appeal, and as a legal assistant.

Having grown up in Kenya, Mercy is also fluent in Swahili and is familiar with issues affecting the construction and energy industry in the EAC and the wider African region. She recently spoke at the annual Construction Law in Africa conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa.