Background
John Delaney is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, with 24 years of commercial experience on a range of projects in civil engineering, transport, mixed-use, high-rise, commercial, residential, industrial, health, and local authority sectors.
John is regularly appointed as a Quantum Expert in respect of matters before the High Court in Ireland, the Court of Session in Scotland, Courts in England, arbitration, mediation, and numerous matters under statutory adjudication in the UK and Ireland. John is regularly appointed to provide opinions as to quantum in respect of professional negligence claims made against construction design team members. He holds qualifications in Construction Law, International Arbitration, Construction Adjudication, and Expert Evidence.
John has provided cost and commercial management, expert witness, and dispute resolution services to numerous clients across a broad range of sectors, specifically construction, civil engineering, and gas pipelines, and has worked on projects in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
In the course of his career, he has acted as a consultant on multi-million-pound disputes, arbitrations, and adjudications and provided claim preparation/management on a number of projects under both standard and bespoke contracts. He has a successful track record of preparing detailed reports and meeting client demands.
John has also prepared independent reports for valuation of variations accounts, claims for loss and expense, claims for defective work repairs, supporting narrative to extension of time applications, assessment of submitted final account claims, and commercial strategies for negotiation and settlement of interim and final accounts.
John is recognised in the following Lexology Index Guides (previously Who’s Who Legal): Construction Expert Witnesses: Future Leader 2018 and 2019, Thought Leader (2020), and Quantum Expert 2024, where his peers say he is “a strong commercial operator who offers sound, pragmatic advice…his work product is extremely detail orientated and robust, but it is also presented in such a way that makes it easy to read and understand” and “one of the leading names in the quantum market when it comes to professional negligence claims in the construction and engineering sectors.”.
John is also recognised in Lexology’s Arbitration Expert Witness and Consulting Experts – Construction – Quantum, Delay & Technical Guides, where his peers say “he has a real gift for making the complex seem simple and for adapting his style to different audiences”, “he always has a strong grasp of the issues”, “his reports are accurate and produced in a timely manner”, and “he sits among the foremost construction experts in the market thanks to his stellar track record in high-value disputes involving professional negligence claims.
Visit John’s Lexology profile.
John also authors the Irish chapter of The Construction Disputes Law Review 1st Edition (2022), 2nd Edition (2023), 3rd Edition (2024), and 4th Edition (2025).
John is a board member of the International Construction Law Association and a member of the Society of Construction Law Ireland Committee.
Education and Certifications
- Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Surveying: University of Dublin, Trinity College
- Diploma in Construction Economics and Management: Dublin Institute of Technology
- Post Graduate Diploma in Construction Law and Contract Administration: University of Dublin, Trinity College
- Diploma in International Arbitration (CIArb)
- Diploma in Construction Adjudication (RICS)
- Advanced Professional Award: Expert Witness Evidence – BTEC Level 7
Publications
- “Perspectives on Professional Negligence Claims in Construction” – Society of Construction Law Event 2024.
- “Airport Disputes – The View from Above and the View from the Ground – Projects in Distress”, Society of Construction Law – Annual Dublin Conference November 2022.
- “Expert Evidence – The Role of the Expert” and “Construction Adjudication in the UK” – Lecture delivered to postgraduate students at the University of East London and various in-house CPD sessions to Law firms and consultancies.
- “Hill International – Mediation Masterclass” – Presentation and role play of Mediation as an effective forum for dispute resolution in construction and engineering matters -– Belfast 2017.
- “Delay and Disputes in Construction Conference” – Disruption and Loss of Productivity Claims in Construction – Best Practice.
- “Hill International – Adjudication Masterclass” – Presentation and role play of Construction Adjudication as an effective forum for dispute resolution in construction and engineering matters – Dublin 2016.
Committees
- Fellow: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)
- Fellow: Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (FSCSI)
- Fellow: Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- Member: Academy of Experts (AMAE)
- Regional Committee Member: Society of Construction Law – Ireland (SCL)
- Member: Board member of the International Construction Law Association (ICLA)