James Williams, Partner at Acuity Law

Contact Details

Words From Our Clients

"James Williams is always responsive and available to support the client and their team on contractual queries."

James Williams was not only deeply knowledgeable but also very personable, and able to make the often-complex areas of contract law accessible to a non-legal professional. He was also very commercially minded and able to take a big picture view of risk and reward.

James Williams works through the tasks at hand and delivers on programme even to ridiculously tight timelines.

He has significant expertise and is very knowledgeable in his field. He is also very personable and able to explain matters in areas where the client's understanding might not be extensive.

James Williams

Partner
About
Expertise
Recent Work
Accolades

James is a partner in Acuity’s Construction team.

His advice is regularly sought on complex construction projects by local authorities and major companies due to his breadth of knowledge.

James specialises in non-contentious construction law, regeneration and development and acts for contractors, developers, consultants, and funders on various projects in the UK, the Middle East and Australia.

He has extensive experience covering the drafting and negotiating of building contracts, sub-contracts, professional team appointments, consultancy agreements and warranties. He also specialises in the production of ancillary documents such as performance bonds, parent company guarantees, supply contracts and facility management contracts.

James has worked extensively in the MENA Region and in Australia, and is experienced in using the FIDIC and AS forms of contracts, as well as those contracts more readily found in the UK, including the JCT, NEC and ICHEME forms. More recently, James has worked on some of the most significant recently developed Welsh construction projects, including over one million square feet of design and build projects in Central Square Cardiff.

He and his team have also completed extensive work on modern methods of construction, off-site manufacture and in advising on the consequences of Brexit and COVID-19 on supply chains and performance.

James is ranked as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500 and in Band 2 by Chambers and Partners.

After beginning his legal career at Wragge & Co, he has also practised at Minter Ellison and Carter Newell in Australia, Trowers & Hamlins in Dubai, and Al Tamimi & Company in Abu Dhabi.

  • Acting on all aspects of non-contentious construction work
  • Drafting and negotiating building contracts and amendments to the most commonly used standard form contracts, including the JCT, the NEC and the FIDIC suites of contracts
  • Drafting and agreeing consultancy agreements and associated warranties for all consultants engaged in the construction process
  • Advising on the provision of construction finance and security documents, and acting for banks’ lending funds for construction projects
  • Acting for Rightacres, an innovative commercial property developer specialising in occupier-led property solutions for business, in connection with its Cardiff Interchange construction project. This is the high-profile £100 million development of a new transport interchange, which includes a state-of-the-art bus terminus and a mixed-use development incorporating over 45,000 square metres, which will include a new grade A* office space, retail premises and accommodation consisting of 318 apartments
  • Advising Rightacres on the development of Plots 1 and 2 of its Central Quay site in Cardiff City Centre, to create approximately 700 new residential units, varying from studios to three-bedroom penthouse apartments, along with commercial units, bars, restaurants, and leisure facilities at the site of the old Brains Brewery
  • Advising Rightacres on the development of “The Ledger”, which will be the first building developed on the Central Quay site, consisting primarily of office accommodation, with a large public square linking the building to the rear of the Station and potential future metro stop
  • Acting for Principality Building Society on a further phase of the high-profile Ely Mill project – Phase D – comprising 157 residential units.
  • Acting for Julian Hodge Bank in respect of a development being undertaken by One Nature Homes, comprising the construction of 25 new homes in Lampeter, Ceredigion
  • Advising a developer on all aspects of the construction of a new Wales headquarters for HMRC in Cardiff, with a contact value of circa £65,000,000
  • Advising the developer on all aspects of the construction of Wales Broadcasting House, with a contract value of circa £65,000,000
  • Advising the developer on all aspects of the development of The Cardiff Interchange comprising of a new bus station with separate commercial, residential and retail sections with a contract value of circa £85,000,000
  • Advising the professional team on all issues, including drafting and negotiating the construction contract in relation to the second partnering project ever undertaken in the UAE, involving the construction of a new business park comprising of nine high-rise towers, a retail mall, central podium and car park with a contract value of circa $US2 billion
  • Advising a consortium in the tender process in relation to the submission of a tender for a multibillion-dollar project for a Saudi Arabian Government department. This involved attending a three-day negotiation in Paris to agree on the main terms of back-to-back subcontracts with American and European subcontractors
  • Acting on behalf of a major Australian contractor in undertaking a risk analysis and negotiating the building contract for the construction of the first building in Queensland to achieve a five-star green star rating, comprising of a new office tower in Central Brisbane with a contract value of approximately $AU 80,000,000
  • Acting for a sub-contractor and advising on the sub-contract terms and conditions in relation to a sub-contract package for the construction of the new national stadium for the English Football Association in Wembley
  • James is listed as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500
  • James is ranked Band 2 by Chambers and Partners
  • The Construction Team is ranked Band 2 by Chambers and Partners
  • The Construction Team is ranked Tier 2 in The Legal 500
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