Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones

Partner

Areas: Construction

Stephen Jones has spent the past 15 years specialising in construction law. “I’ve been involved in a lot of defendant professional indemnity work,” he says. “This was multitrack, high value, multiple party disputes—’heavy litigation’ as it’s called. It’s extremely interesting work but after 15 years I felt I wanted a better balance of claimant/defendant, contentious and non-contentious work. I’ve been able to find that since joining GSC.”

On his desk right now is a range of casework, from non-contentious contractual negotiations with architects and structural engineers to contentious damages claims for late delivery of projects, and defects claims (“I help clients whose building isn’t performing as it should because it hasn’t been designed correctly or built in accordance with the designs and also advise designers and contractors facing those allegations”).

Why GSC?

It wasn’t just the balance of work that made Stephen excited about joining GSC. “It’s a good size firm without being too big,” he says. “There’s an interesting client profile and challenging work, and while it has a fantastic reputation for its real estate work I saw an opportunity here to create a successful construction practice to complement our property division. On a personal level, that’s extremely exciting.”

Clever people doing clever things

“I find construction projects fascinating,” Stephen explains. “I get to work with sophisticated clients who are commercially switched on—these are clever people doing clever things. There’s a lot of money invested in construction which makes people more likely to assert their rights, which in turn makes it a dynamic and busy legal market. And I like the fact that much of the law that comes out of the Technology and Construction Court [where Stephen’s cases may be heard] pervades so many other areas of law.”

Commercially minded

Why do GSC clients choose to work with Stephen? “I think my clients trust me to find the commercially pragmatic route to a solution,” he says. “A realistic commercial resolution will usually be the better, least costly and far less risky route than pursuing disputes in court. I always aim to help my clients find that commercially sensible way out.”

Outside of work, Stephen is a keen golfer and enjoys watching international rugby… he is happier when Wales play well.

Qualifications & Experience

Stephen gained his degree at Durham University and became a Master of Laws at the University of Bristol. He completed the Legal Practice Course at Cardiff University in 2001.

Specialising in construction law early in his career with RadliffesLeBrasseur, Stephen continued building his legal expertise in construction, engineering and infrastructure with Berrymans Lace Mawer, DAC Beachcroft, Beale & Company and on secondment at Zurich Insurance.

 

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