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Jo Clarke is a solicitor who focuses on international construction and engineering disputes. She has particular expertise in complex international arbitration and FIDIC contracts.
Joanne Clarke is a contentious construction and engineering lawyer with over 25 years of experience in dispute resolution, spanning a broad range of international projects such as power and energy (including hydro and wind), civil engineering (including road, rail, tunnels and dams), mechanical and electrical engineering, process plant, complex buildings and infrastructure, and hotel development.
She has acted for employers, developers, lenders, contractors, subcontractors, construction professionals and insurers across different jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Jo has particular experience of and expertise in the FIDIC forms of contract and often advises clients on issues and disputes arising out of contracts based on the FIDIC conditions. She is co-author of the book 'FIDIC 2017 – A Practical Legal Guide'.
Jo's primary focus is international arbitration but she also provides advice before formal proceedings are commenced and acts for clients involved in other forms of dispute resolution, including dispute boards and mediation.
She holds an LLB, LLM and a Diploma in International Arbitration. She is a solicitor advocate and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. A French speaker, she has also worked in Paris and Brussels.
- Acting for a contractor in an ICC arbitration relating to the construction of airport facilities in the Middle East (contract based on the FIDIC Yellow Book 1999).
- Acting for a subcontractor in an ICC arbitration relating to a road construction and rehabilitation project in the Balkans (subcontract based on FIDIC Red Book 1999).
- Acting for a developer in a UK domestic arbitration relating to building safety defects.
- Acting for an employer on issues and disputes relating to a hydropower scheme and collapsed transfer and head race tunnels in Europe.
- Acting for an employer in an ICC arbitration relating to the design, supply and installation of a new mining facility in Europe (contract based on FIDIC Yellow Book 1999).
- Acting for an employer on issues and disputes relating to a hydropower scheme in east Africa (contract based on FIDIC Silver Book 1999).
- Acting for a contractor in dispute board proceedings and an ICC arbitration relating to a rail rehabilitation project in eastern Europe (contract based on FIDIC Red Book 1999).
- Acting for a contractor in an ICC arbitration relating to a baggage handling system at a European airport.
- Legal 500 UK 2025, Contentious (Construction) - Recommended as a key lawyer
- Legal 500 2024, Construction (Contentious) – 'proficiency in handling large and complex international construction and engineering disputes and arbitration' – 'possessing deep knowledge of FIDIC contracts'
- Finalist 'Best Woman in Construction Law 2023' - The European Women in Construction and Engineering (WICE) Awards
- Legal 500 UK 2023, Contentious (Construction) - 'Joanne Clarke has a highly methodical approach and has a talent for finding the key information necessary to unlocking any issue'
- Legal 500 UK 2023, Contentious (Construction) - Recommended as a key lawyer
- 'Soaring global construction costs under FIDIC: whose risk?' in Construction Law International, Vol 18, Issue 1, March 2023 (co-author with Victoria Tyson)
- 'Covid-19 and FIDIC contracts: protections and entitlements' in Construction Law International, Vol 15, Issue 3, September 2000
- 'Design obligations in design-build contracts - recurring issues' [2019] ICLR 484 (co-author with Andrew Tweeddale)
- 'Corbett & Co. FIDIC 2017 A Practical Legal Guide' (2020 Corbett & Co) Chapters 1 and 2
- Corbett & Co. Construction Law At Large: 'Where do FIDIC Cases Go' (2015); 'Third Party Funding' (2017); 'Mistake in English Law – Two Recent Cases' (2017); 'Protection in FIDIC' (2019); 'Pay Attention Bond!' (2020); 'Feedstock v. Performance in FIDIC' (2020); 'COVID-19 and FIDIC Contracts' (2020); 'Subject to Contract in English Law' (2021); 'Funding in International Arbitration' (2022); 'Price escalation and FIDIC: is Force Majeure an answer' (2022).
Jo loves running and once ran in a cross country race with Zola Budd (who was very far ahead).
International construction knowledge hub
Our international construction team provides useful analysis, commentary and updates on everything FIDIC related from arbitration to bonds. The hub is searchable by book colour and specific clauses in the FIDIC 1999 and 2017 contracts.