Mark WATSON

Mark is a dual-qualified construction ADR professional and Managing Director of the Construction Consulting Service practice at DeSimone Consulting Engineering, based out their Dubai office. In addition, Mark leads the global delay and programming team in providing expert guidance on resolving complex matters of delay and disruption which tends to arise in construction disputes. As a seasoned Testifying Expert Witness, Mark is instructed by several law firms to give evidence both orally and in report form in adjudication, arbitration and litigation dispute resolution forums on matters of delay, disruption, loss of productivity, acceleration and concurrency that arise on construction and engineering projects.

Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as a Commercial and Civil Mediator, Mark has accepted appointments as Mediator in several construction disputes. This experience has enabled him to become a specialist in delivering a dynamic, structured and interactive process that encourages the disputing parties to resolve conflict using specialized communication and negotiation techniques.

Mark is admitted as an arbitrator to the ADR panel of the Master Builders Association of the Western Cape, South Africa and the General Commercial Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa.

As an academic, Mark developed and presented the course Contract Performance, Delays and Associated Damages which considers the rights, obligations and remedies the parties to a construction contract may have under the FIDIC, NEC, and JCT forms of Contracts. The training was accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa and delivered as a module in the Post Graduate Program in Construction Adjudication offered by the University of Pretoria’s Department of Construction Economics. Mark continues to deliver training under the Claims Class brand on matters of delay analysis and principles of contract management under the FIDIC form Contracts.

Mark is a member of the International Bar Association and sits on the Mediation, Arbitration and International Construction Projects Committees.