People
Jessica Taylor
Consultant
London
Jessica is a Consultant in the Contracts and Projects Advisory Team at Beale & Co.
She has spent over 30 years advising clients on all aspects of construction and engineering law. Her expertise includes working with consultants, contractors, property investors, institutional clients and banks, advising on a wide range of projects across the residential, commercial, hotels and leisure and healthcare sectors.
Her work involves the drafting and negotiation of major strategic and operational commercial and construction contracts. She advises on standard JCT, PPC and NEC contracts, as well as international forms of contract including FIDIC and bespoke construction contracts. Her expertise also includes advising on professional team appointments, collateral warranties, agreements for lease, development agreements, construction related elements of funding agreements and joint ventures. She also drafts and reviews parent company guarantees, advance payment and performance bonds, framework agreements, consortium agreements, hub contracts, extensive and short form letters of intent, initial contracts and appointments and specialist sub-contracts for multi-million-pound projects.
She is former Deputy Director of the Quantity Surveyors Division of the RICS and served on the JCT Drafting Committee. Jessica is also a non-executive director of the Construction Industry Council and serves on its Liability Panel and Building Safety Committee. She is also the Chair and co-founder of Diversitas – an independent umbrella body established under the auspices of CIC which champions diverse leadership and greater representation of top black professionals in construction.
Jessica is best known for advising on major construction, engineering, infrastructure, and regeneration projects. She has particular expertise acting on complex mixed-use multi-phase regeneration schemes.
Notable projects include advising on:
- A complex social infrastructure project involving drafting and negotiating phase project construction contracts for a new leisure centre, secondary school, energy centre and six residential tower blocks including advising on building safety requirements and obligations and drafting fresh appointments and novations for the professional team and bespoke security documents.
- Specialist highways and infrastructure consultant’s appointments including a 9 year consultancy agreement procured as an unofficial JV adapting an NEC4 Term Service Sub-Contract Agreement for highways, drainage and SUDS design and management services.
- The redevelopment of an historic site into international film studios. This is a key strategic project which will provide new purpose for circa 37,000m2 of Grade II listed buildings and surrounding land.
Jessica is a member of the Law Society, Society of Construction Law and Worshipful Company of Constructors.