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Haynes and Boone, LLP

William Cecil

Partner

Expertise

Construction Litigation
Energy Litigation
Energy Power and Natural Resources
Europe, Middle East and Africa

WSG Practice Industries

Activity

WSG Leadership

WSG Coronavirus Task Force Group

Member

Haynes and Boone, LLP
England

William Cecil is head of the dispute resolution team in London. He has extensive experience in litigation and arbitration matters for clients in the shipping, offshore oil and gas and energy industries. He has been involved in a series of heavyweight international arbitrations. In particular, he has been the lead partner on the following matters: an ICC arbitration based in Geneva relating to a power and desalination construction project in the Middle East; an SCMA arbitration based in Singapore relating to a dispute arising out of the upgrade of a semi-submersible drilling rig; two LMAA arbitrations based in London relating to delay and cost overruns arising out of the construction of two semi-submersible rigs in Korea; an LMAA arbitration based in London; and associated High Court proceedings relating to the construction of two semi-submersible drilling rigs; two LMAA arbitrations based in London relating to delay and cost overruns arising out of the construction of two semi-submersible rigs in South Korea; an LMAA arbitration based in London and associated High Court proceedings relating to the construction of two semi-submersible drilling rigs in China; an LMAA arbitration relating to the termination of a construction contract for a drilling rig in South Korea; two connected arbitrations relating to the construction and operation of a drillship.

Alongside his litigation and arbitration practice, William also assists clients in the drafting and negotiation of various forms of offshore contracts. He has written extensively on marine and offshore construction topics for publications such as Lloyds List, Harts E & P, Petroleum Review and European Oil and Gas, and has lectured on managing litigation risk in high-value marine construction projects. Will is a co-author of a chapter on Offshore Vessel Construction Disputes within Global Arbitration Review’s Guide to Energy Arbitrations (Third Edition). He is also a co-author of the chapter on shipbuilding contracts governed by the law of England and Wales in Getting The Deal Through- Shipbuilding 2018: England and Wales.

William is currently working as co-author on the fifth edition of the Law of Shipbuilding Contracts. The other co-authors of this edition are Simon Curtis and Ian Gaunt, the President of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association. The fifth edition will be published early in 2020.

William is a recommended lawyer in the international arbitration, oil and gas and shipping sections of the 2020 UK edition of The Legal 500, Legalease, the international directory of law firms. Legal 500 reports that “Will Cecil …is particularly notable."

Chambers UK, Chambers and Partners, 2020 ranks William in the Shipping section UK-Wide as a notable practitioner, who comment “the very knowledgeable" William Cecil assists clients with litigation and arbitration, including disputes related to shipbuilding contracts. He is experienced in oil and gas-related mandates.”

Previously Chambers UK, have noted that he is an “experienced shipping lawyer who routinely acts for clients in litigation and arbitration . . .[and] in the negotiation and drafting of offshore contracts.”

Bar Admissions

England and Wales, 1994

Education

B.S.C. (Hons), Psychology, Bristol University, 1990

Areas of Practice

Professional Career

Articles

GAR’s “Guide to Energy Arbitrations”: Offshore Vessel Construction Disputes
Haynes and Boone, LLP, January 2019

Haynes and Boone CDG is proud to continue to feature a chapter in Global Arbitration Review’s (GAR)Guide to Energy Arbitrations, the Third Edition of which has just been published. TheGuide to Energy Arbitrationsis a widely regarded reference tool for energy companies, their advisers and arbitrators...

Getting The Deal Through - Shipbuilding
Haynes and Boone, LLP, May 2018

Getting the Deal Through – Shipbuilding is part of the series of Getting the Deal Through law guides published by Law Business Research that provide an overview of specialist areas of the law in a variety of international jurisdictions. It is published annually and the seventh edition, covers 13 jurisdictions. Leading practitioners from each jurisdiction answer the same key questions...

Design Risk: What Have You Agreed?
Haynes and Boone, LLP, October 2017

Contractual negotiations for ships and offshore units commonly involve commercial, legal, and technical teams negotiating different parts of the contract. It is however crucial that before the contract is signed, it is read as a whole to ensure consistency in a party’s obligations throughout the contract. The English Supreme Court’s judgment in MT Højgaard A/S v. E...

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