Neave is a highly experienced construction lawyer with a dual practice in contentious and non-contentious matters, advising clients across the full project lifecycle. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating NEC, JCT, and bespoke contracts on major UK and international infrastructure projects across the energy, transport, life sciences, and residential sectors. Neave frequently supports clients with procurement strategy, contract amendments, risk allocation, and project delivery issues. She also advises on collateral warranties, bonds, and construction aspects of corporate transactions.
On the contentious side, Neave acts as lead associate in complex disputes involving fire safety, delay and disruption, latent defects, final accounts, and wrongful termination. She has experience in adjudications, mediations, expert determinations, and court proceedings, including before the Court of Appeal. She also advises on contractor insolvency, recovery strategies, and general commercial litigation.
Neave’s clients include developers, pension funds, housing associations, subcontractors, and global engineering and transport firms.
Expertise
- Construction law – contentious and non-contentious
- Bespoke construction contracts
- Fire safety compliance and disputes
- Contract negotiation
- Risk management
- Construction litigation
- Adjudication and mediation
- Development agreements
- Construction due diligence
- Insolvency – debt recovery
Experience
Construction (non-contentious)
- Advised on drafting a bespoke NEC4 Option F contract for a multidisciplinary design and project delivery consultancy in connection with a major pharmaceutical development in the North East of England for a Swiss life sciences company entering the UK market.
- Advised on a fire safety review of a UK pension fund’s property portfolio with estimated remedial works of £111 million, including negotiation of MHCLG-compliant construction documents for 37 developments, review of fire engineer reports, and drafting tenant correspondence.
- Advised on contract negotiation and execution for a £16 million mixed-use development in Hammersmith for a subcontractor.
- Advised on drafting and negotiating construction documents for the development of various commercial and retail units, including the King William Street mixed development.
- Advised on bespoke development agreements for clients in the care home and student accommodation sectors.
- Advised a large UK pension fund and international property fund on the terms of grant funding agreements.
- Advised on the review and negotiation of development agreements and construction documents for projects (generally airport assets) valued at approximately £500 million, as a sub-consultant to an American law firm.
- Advised a specialist groundworks, basement, and RC frames contractor on its bespoke precedent subcontract.
- Advised various funds on construction due diligence for complex property transactions.
- Advised on the negotiation and use of various NEC forms of contract for a broad client base.
Construction (contentious)
- Advised a joint venture on contractual liability for significant latent M&E defects at a private educational facility in North London.
- Advised boutique façade and balustrade specialists on dispute avoidance strategies and the preparation of delay claims.
- Advised and successfully defended a G12 housing association in a loss and expense claim, then pursued a wider defects claim through successful tri-party mediation and a further £2 million cladding claim.
- Advised a housing association on a complex water ingress defect claim, including issuing referral documents, defending expert determination, and negotiating a settlement agreement.
- Advised and successfully defended a subcontractor in a Court of Appeal case involving a £22,000 dispute, securing a final award of approximately £100,000.
- Advised a high-net-worth client on an engineering claim involving four defendants for basement-related damage to neighbouring properties, including insolvency-related issues.
- Advised specialist subcontractors on multiple smash-and-grab adjudications.
- Advised a high-net-worth client on terminating an agreement with an insolvent contractor, onboarding a new contractor, and pursuing recovery against the original contractor.
Infrastructure & Transport
- Advised on a £120 million delay claim concerning a major UK highways infrastructure project for a Spanish-headquartered multinational construction group.
- Advised a Tier 2 subcontractor in a final account dispute involving construction works at Old Street Station.
- Advised on the negotiation of HS2 contracts for Thales’ Ground Transportation Solutions, covering third-party and operational communications and security arrangements.
- Advised a British train operating company on a full suite of bespoke documents for development, design, and maintenance works, including delivery of a client workshop.
- Advised a Spanish railway and bus manufacturer on a bespoke contract for the installation of specialist equipment to support rolling stock maintenance operations.
- Advised a British train operating company on NEC contracts relating to emergency remedial works and GRIP stages 1–3.
Energy
- Advised a Tier 2 contractor in a dispute with the main contractor regarding design delays affecting the EC&I package at Hinkley Point C.
- Advised an international consultancy on the financing, supply, installation, and commissioning of 700 solar pump and irrigation systems in an African state.
- Advised a contractor on a bespoke subcontract and O&M contract for a solar power plant project in the United States.
- Advised the developer of a 1500MW Solar PV plant in Al Dhafra on a delay and termination dispute arising from global solar panel shortages.
Fire Safety
- Advised a housing association on the Court of Appeal case Martlet Homes Ltd v Mulalley & Co Ltd and acted on associated substantive claims.
- Advised on the negotiation of complex settlement agreements addressing time, money claims, and defects—successfully increasing one housing association’s recovery from £250,000 to over £3.3 million plus a £200,000 lump sum payment.
- Advised various housing associations on fire safety property portfolio reviews and managed subsequent claims, including on-site support and drafting of contractor submissions.
- Advised several mid-size funds on Section 20 processes and service charge liabilities related to remedial works on external wall systems.
- Advised on and managed adjudications for a range of fire safety defects claims.
Retail
- Drafted and negotiated construction documents for various clients in relation to the development of commercial/retail units, including the King William Street mixed development.
- Advised an Italian contractor on fit-out contracts for a high-end fashion brand, including design, procurement and execution matters.
- Advised a pension fund on a development due diligence basis in connection with the purchase of multiple retail stores operated by a high street fashion brand.
- Drafted and negotiated construction documents for various clients in relation to the development of commercial/retail units, in central London.
- Advised a European contractor on fit-out contracts for a luxury retailer, including design, procurement, and execution matters.
- Supported a pension fund purchaser with construction due diligence in connection with the purchase of retail stores operated by a high-street fashion brand.
- Acted for a developer on the construction aspects of an agreement for lease with an international supermarket and office tenant, including negotiation of the associated fit-out construction package.
- Represented a national storage provider in multiple defects claims against its property and construction contractors, relating to maintenance obligations and latent defects across customer-facing sites.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Career
Neave qualified as a solicitor in 2018. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2025, she worked at the following firms:
- Systech Law
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Penningtons Manches Cooper