
William O’Brien
Senior Associate
Areas of Expertise
William specialises in the avoidance and resolution of disputes, particularly involving development and construction. He joined the Construction, Engineering & Procurement team in July 2020 having trained at the firm and qualifying into its Litigation & Dispute Resolution department. He has a broad range of experience of bringing, defending and resolving claims through adjudication, litigation, arbitration, expert determination and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). A significant part of William’s practice involves advising clients in situations where disputes are anticipated in the future and how to avoid them. He acts for companies, social housing providers and private individuals.
Experience
During his training, William sat in Devonshires’ Property Litigation and Real Estate departments. He previously worked as a paralegal in local government and gained experience of planning, property and development, as well as governance.
Publications
Insolvency cover clarified – Peabody Trust v NHBC (Local Government Lawyer, September 2024)
Challenging CVAs as a creditor (Local Government Lawyer, June 2023)
William regularly publishes insights on Devonshires’ website on a range of legal topics connected with construction and development.
Directories
Key lawyer – Planning (Legal 500, 2025)
Key lawyer – Construction: Contentious (Legal 500, 2024)
Education
William took an Upper-Second class degree in Laws (LLB Hons) at UCL, where his addressed restorative justice in criminal law. He achieved a Distinction in his LLM in Legal Practice at the University of Law, Bloomsbury, where his masters dissertation critically analysed the history and future of planning law.
Personal
Prior to becoming a parent, William ran half-marathons. Now, he runs 500m sprints after his two young children.
Awards
William won the René Cassin Human Writes Essay Competition 2018 and was given an honourable mention for his entry into the UK Environmental Law Association’s annual essay competition, the Andrew Lees Essay Prize 2018.
He was awarded a Choose Law scholarship while studying for his LLM at the University of Law, Bloomsbury (2016-17), achieved the second highest grade in his Jurisprudence module on his undergraduate law degree at UCL (2012) and was awarded his Sixth Form’s Politics Prize (2009).
Testimonials
“I was impressed by senior associate William O’Brien’s attention to detail; he knew the facts of the case inside out. He also had good instincts on the legal arguments.”
“Absolutely brilliant. His assistance and quality of work has been first rate”
“Excellent collaboration and communication.”
Get in touch
020 7880 4269 |
william.obrien@devonshires.co.uk |
London Office
Devonshires Solicitors LLP 30 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 7DT |
020 7880 4332 |
charlotte.ward@devonshires.co.uk |