Paul Darling

Paul Darling OBE QC is an English commercial law barrister, Queen's Counsel and current chair of the Horserace Betting Levy Board. Darling's areas of practice law include construction and engineering, procurement, domestic and international arbitration which has been recognised by both The Legal 500. (Tier 2 for Construction, Leading Silks) and Chambers and Partners (Band 2) independent directories. 
== Early life ==
Darling grew up in Cleadon, and went to Tonstall School in Sunderland before attending Winchester School and then St Edmund Hall College, Oxford.
Darling’s mother was a magistrate and his brother Ian Darling is a British Circuit judge.
In 2015 Darling became the third member of his family to be appointed to the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to sport safety and horse racing
== Career ==
He joined the set of barristers' chambers, Keating Chambers in 1985. Whilst there, he built up a specialist practice focussing on construction law and the resolution of disputes.
Darling has represented clients in tribunals such as the Commercial Court, the Technology and Construction Court, and the Court of Appeal in London, the High Court and the Supreme Court in Dublin, the High Court in Northern Ireland and Arbitration Tribunals globally. He has acted in ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC and DIAC Arbitrations.
In 1999 Darling took Silk. He is also called to the Northern Ireland Bar where he has been instructed by firms such as Cleaver Fulton Rankin.
In 2010, Darling became head of Keating Chambers where he remained until 2017 when he took the unusual step of moving chambers. He subsequently joined general commercial set, 39 Essex Chambers.
== Notable cases ==
Darling has been instructed on a number of notable cases through his career as lead counsel, including:
* Between 1991 and 2003 he represented the Contractor in disputes between McAlpine v Panatown & Unex. The dispute involved all aspects of construction law and professional negligence, and culminated in a 14-week TCC trial. The case is often referenced in English contract law education as a result of the issues raised around the rights of third parties or Privity of contract. 
* 2003 Clegg v Andersson (t/a Nordic Marine)
* 2008 London & Regional (St George’s Court) Ltd v Ministry of Defence
* In 2013 Mackay and Another v Walter Lilly and Company Limited, Paul represented the appellant contractor. This case notably dealt with a number of issues including the analysis and Doctrine of concurrent delay in construction disputes and the use and appointment of experts or consultants and the notion of Legal professional privilege in England and Wales.
* In 2020, Darling conducted cross-examination in the first ever ‘Zoom Trial’ in the Technology and Construction Courts
== Publications and Editorial Contributions ==
Paul has been involved in the editing and publication of a number of learned articles and books, and his cases and work have been referred to in professional journals. Some notable examples have included: 
* Contributing editor to Keating on Construction Contracts Reviewed in Construction Law International in 2007
* Who Do You Want? Who Do You Get? Appointing the Right Arbitrator, a peer-reviewed article in Asian Dispute Review in 2010 
* Lafarge (Agregates) Ltd v Newham London Borough Council - case review in Arbitration Law Reports and Review
* Straight There No Detours: Direct Access to Barristers, a research paper by the University of Westminster
== Horse racing ==
Darling has owned a number of race horses including Monkey Madge, Book Matched, and Belle Choisir. In 2006 Darling was appointed as a non-executive member of the Horserace Totalisator Board or “Tote”.
== References ==
== External Links ==
* Official website
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Category:Queen's Counsel 2001–
Category:English Queen's Counsel
Category:British barristers
Category:English barristers
Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:British Queen's Counsel