2025 marked a significant chapter in Hawkswell Kilvington’s history and growth. With the opening of our London office and the launch of our international construction practice, we took clear steps to strengthen not only our practice but our presence in the global construction and arbitration community.
In its first ten months, the international construction practice took shape under the leadership of partner Ben Mellors. It has felt purposeful from the outset; modern in outlook and agile as a globally-connected construction and energy practice.
This blog reflects on our achievements and the wider market in 2025 and considers what that means for 2026.
Highlights from 2025
In 2025, we launched the international construction practice, opened our new London office at 100 Bishopsgate, joined the Beyond Law Group and were honoured to be named Boutique Litigation Law Firm of the Year at the British Legal Awards.
Spanning multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, our work reflected the international nature of the practice and strengthened new and long-standing relationships around the world.
Throughout the year, Ben contributed to industry knowledge and thought leadership. His work included a widely read paper on contracting practices for tunnelling and underground works, published in the SCL Journal, and our first international webinar on EPC tender reviews. He also spoke at industry events in Cambridge, Dubai and London. The practice participated in Paris Arbitration Week, London International Disputes Week, Dubai Arbitration Week and the DRBF Nordic Conference in Oslo.
Ben was also invited to join the International Construction Arbitrators Association as a Next Generation Member, reflecting his commitment to the field and his role in the rising generation of global arbitration practitioners.
Taken together, these achievements point to a practice that cuts through the complexity, stays tuned to commercial realities, and approaches each matter with genuine curiosity.
What We Saw in 2025
Construction and energy project activity remained high in 2025, but we saw something closer to a strategic pause, with organisations reviewing their portfolios, risks and exposures and identifying priorities, reminiscent of the period following the global financial crisis.
In this landscape, several themes stood out and were explored in our briefing note, International Construction Arbitration in 2025: Horizon Scanning and Hot Topics:
Energy transition and decarbonisation projects – Energy-transition projects accelerated, new technologies moved from prototype to development and regulators tried to catch up. This shift brought more issues around design responsibility, commissioning and commercial risk.
Geopolitical pressures – Conflict, sanctions, tariffs and supply chain disruption pushed up project delivery risk. Parties are now scrutinising change-in-law and force majeure provisions, price adjustment mechanisms and risk allocation more closely, and those clauses are under greater strain.
Effective expert evidence in arbitration – Expert evidence remains a key feature of construction and engineering arbitrations and 2025 put the spotlight on how it should be managed.
Adoption of AI in Arbitration – In 2025, AI moved from theory and test cases to an everyday tool in arbitration. That raised questions around confidentiality, fairness, disclosure and tribunal engagement that are far from settled.
English Arbitration Act 2025 – This new Act modernised London as a seat and reinforced its attractiveness for international construction disputes.
Data centres – Data centre projects emerged as a dominant theme across jurisdictions. Their speed, scale, power demand and interface complexity absorbed huge technical, commercial and legal resource.
What 2026 Might Bring
Every jurisdiction and global region will have its own macro themes, but several broad themes are likely to define 2026. Some continue from 2025 – decarbonisation, geopolitics, data centres and AI – while others are still evolving and emerging:
Commercially driven decarbonisation – The emphasis will need to move away from purely policy or moral imperatives towards practical, commercially sustainable carbon reduction. In the EU, this shift is underpinned by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which became financially binding on 1 January 2026.
Procurement reform and behavioural alignment – There’s a growing sense that 2026 may bring a renewed drive to look honestly at the realities of project delivery: the pressures, incentives and leadership gaps that impact outcomes. This is not simply a question of contract drafting but of the behaviours that make projects succeed or fail. Politics and financing remain critical factors that must be managed, but there appears to be a growing appetite to examine the deeper, often unspoken dynamics that shape project behaviour across the industry.
Analogue contracts in a digital world – Traditional contract structures and methods will increasingly be tested by digital delivery models, integrated systems and data‑rich workflows. As more projects adopt digital twins, cloud‑based collaboration platforms, automated reporting tools and golden‑thread information requirements, it is becoming harder to ignore that traditional contract forms were not designed for a world in which data sits at the centre of design, delivery, risk management and handover. The question is not just whether contracts need to change, but how quickly they can adapt to reflect the realities of digital processes such as real‑time data sharing, version control, model ownership, cybersecurity obligations, transparency of decision‑making and the evidential weight of digital records – and who will take the lead.
Sector-specific focus – Offshore wind, grid connections, hydrogen, BESS and data‑centre infrastructure will all continue to absorb significant commercial and legal attention.
Looking Ahead: Our Programme for 2026
For Hawkswell Kilvington’s international construction practice, 2026 will build on the momentum from 2025 and focus on growing our work, client base and connections with the international community.
We will continue publishing regular bulletins and blogs, and our practical event programme includes three international webinars on the following topics:
- March: Procuring Tunnelling and Underground Works (FIDIC Emerald Book & NEC)
- June: Protecting Payments in an Uncertain Market
- September: Contracting for Decarbonisation
We will also remain active at industry conferences and are always open to in‑house sessions and collaborative discussions.
A Final Word — And an Invitation
2025 was a year of building: our practice, our presence and our community.
2026 will be a year of deepening: deeper insight, deeper relationships and deeper contribution.
If you are involved in international construction, energy or infrastructure — as a client, collaborator or fellow practitioner — we would be delighted to continue the conversation and work together in the year ahead.
