
Joshua Bernie
Associate (Australian Qualified)
London
josh.bernie@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)3300452425
Joshua is an associate in the construction team and is recognised as an expert in contentious construction disputes. He has acted for government, developer and contractor clients on a broad range of pre- and post-completion disputes.
Joshua was admitted in Sydney, Australia where he initially practiced in the area of property law, specialising in strata law. More recently, Joshua was employed in Australia’s largest law firm by size of partners, practising exclusively in the area of contentious construction disputes. This included acting for a developer in multiple pieces of Supreme Court litigation concerning Opal Tower, arguably the most influential and highly publicised construction law dispute in the state of New South Wales in the last decade. The case fundamentally changed the construction industry by resulting in the passing of new legislation by the state government and the creation of a new building commissioner with powers to investigate building defects and to issue building work rectification orders.
Joshua has made appearances in the Supreme Court, the District Court, the Local Court and the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. He is experienced in drafting pleadings and submissions, preparing evidence, briefing experts, instructing counsel and managing a court timetable.
Expertise
Featured experience
Opal Tower
Acted for the developer in a class action suit brought by the owners of Opal Tower who were evacuated from their homes on Christmas Eve 2018, following observed cracking in the 36 storey building. After nearly four years of litigation, the matter settled during a mammoth six days of mediation, in the first two weeks of the trial.
Testimonials
"The final thing I should say is it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the efforts of counsel and legal representatives in resolving what are obviously very complex proceedings in a manner which should be for the benefit of all your respective clients and save significant legal costs."