Sarah Crewes

Sarah joined Clyde & Co’s Edinburgh office as a senior associate in 2015, became a legal director in 2018, and was promoted to partner in 2021.

Since joining Clyde & Co, Sarah has developed a specialism in defending claims against construction professionals, with a focus on engineers, architects, and design and build contractors. She has over 15 years of experience of litigating complex disputes, and is experienced in adjudication, mediation, and other forms of ADR, as well as representing core participants in public inquiries.

Beyond this Sarah has a broad professional disputes practice. She advises insurers on the defence of claims in a wide variety of sectors, from insurance broking and financial services through to claims against educational institutions, social welfare organisations and property professionals. She and her team are also regularly instructed to advise on property liability matters, as well as general commercial disputes and claims arising from data breach.

Sarah speaks fluent French and has a diploma in French law from Universite de Paris-Sud (Paris XI).

Experience

• Successful defence of an action to enforce an adjudication award on the basis that the adjudicator did not have jurisdiction.

• Successful defence of a £4m claim against a firm of consulting engineers arising from defects in a concrete slab on the basis that the claim had prescribed.

• Defence of a multi-million pound claim against a firm of insurance brokers arising from advice given at policy renewal.

• Acting for consulting engineers in the defence of a complex seven party construction dispute arising from alleged structural defects in a converted hospital building.

• Defending a complex claim against a project manager and quantity surveyor for alleged defects in the framing of a construction contract, as well as failure to issue a pay less notice.

• Acting for consulting engineers in a claim arising from the design of a whisky bottling plant.

• Securing abandonment of a claim against a university for alleged wrongful suspension of a student for plagiarism.

• Advising on a wide variety of coverage issues including a £25m cladding claim and £500m contractor’s all risk policy.

• Advising on the defence of multiple claims arising from a data breach involving unauthorised access to sensitive records.

• Acting for a core participant at a Public Inquiry, following allegations that negligent advice by an engineer had led to a multiple fatality gas explosion, and successful defence of related civil claims.