Law firm appoints first-ever head of construction

Howes Percival has recruited partner Piet van Gelder as the firm’s first ever head of construction, to meet the growing demand for construction law services.

Based in the East Midlands, van Gelder is a specialist construction and engineering lawyer who advises clients in the construction, engineering and renewable energy sectors and in respect of compliance with the new regime under the Building Safety Act.

He is a director of Procon Leicestershire and chair of the East Midlands Chamber of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Lucy Lord, partner and head of property at Howes Percival, said: “Piet has a wealth of experience and a strong client following. He is a great recruit for us and brings the calibre and credibility we need to align with the strength of our development team and take our proposition to the next level.

“The local and national market in development terms remains very strong and we are seeing our development instructions increase quarter on quarter. As a result, we need to expand our construction offering which is a critical specialism for our development clients.”