MD of Morecraft Drury and Chair of the CIOB’s Bristol hub on getting involved in dispute resolution
Was law a calling? What else might you have done?
In my youth I did not consider a career in law. At school I went to a careers event and one of the professions represented was surveying. I decided at that relatively young age that was what I wanted to do. My first job was as a trainee quantity surveyor for a national contractor and worked my way up the career ladder, working for a number of well-known main contractors. It was dealing with contractual issues on projects that got me interested in construction claims, dispute resolution and law.
I then moved into expert witness services, working for a large firm of surveyors in London and then, after a return to contracting, became an executive director of an international consultancy specialising in construction dispute resolution.
Seventeen years ago I set up my own consultancy, Morecraft Drury, specialising in quantity surveying and project management expert witness services, adjudication, procurement and commercial management of projects, plus management consultancy, troubleshooting distressed projects.
Given the work I was doing, I decided to undertake legal qualifications and was called to the Bar in 2011. I managed to secure a pupillage (training in a chambers) in 2016 and have been a practising barrister at 12 Old Square Chambers since 2017. So, I now have two jobs.
I am not sure what else I would have done career-wise. I do recall, like many a teenager, at one point wanting to be a rock guitarist, but on assessing my talent and earnings potential, I decided to go for a sensible professional job that my parents would approve of!
Why are you actively involved with CIOB?
I enjoy being involved, organising events and using some of my knowledge to hopefully serve the membership for the better, and in a small way help develop the industry, which I have now been in for 38 years. It feels good to give something back.
I am currently the CIOB Bristol Hub chair, and I have also served on the CIOB Innovation and Research Panel for many years, plus a number of other CIOB panels and boards. I have also been involved in working groups which have generated a couple of codes of practice/guides.
What do you love about your job?
I like the intellectual challenge of finding solutions to problems and the variety of work. In this industry you also get to meet all sorts of people and some great characters. With my background, I can talk my clients’ language and I can relate to their problems, as I have been there myself.
What do you do in your spare time?
I am an avid follower of Formula 1 and occasionally get to a Grand Prix, plus I love football, these days mainly from the comfort of my armchair. I still have the electric guitar and amplifier in the loft!
