Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Languages

• English

Lawyer Overview

Ashley Howlett leads the Jones Day Greater China construction practice. Ashley's practice is concentrated on construction and engineering issues connected with infrastructure and major projects. His experience includes representation of a broad range of clients including owners, contractors, and design professionals throughout Asia. He is involved in all aspects of the design and construction process including drafting and negotiating contract documentation, dispute avoidance, and dispute resolution by way of mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

Ashley has lived and worked in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and has been involved in major construction and infrastructure projects throughout Asia for the past 12 years.

Ashley's practice is focused on construction projects and dispute in China, and he also regularly counsels Chinese contractors with projects around the world. He recently has advised Chinese contractors involved in projects in Angola, Brazil, Dubai, Egypt, Libya, and Nigeria.

Ashley is one of only two China-based construction lawyers listed in the prestigious International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers and is ranked in the Chambers & Partners 2008 and 2009 Asia Legal Guide as one of the leading foreign construction lawyers in China, where he is described as "probably the most famous foreign construction lawyer you'll come across in China." Ashley is also the author of the only English language text book on Chinese construction law: PRC Construction Law — A Guide for Foreign Companies, which was published by CCH in October 2006.

Areas of Practice

• International Litigation & Arbitration
• Trial Practice
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation
• Construction Litigation
• Energy
• Energy Projects
• Real Estate
• Construction
• Hospitality

Representative Cases

• Chevron Geothermal Indonesia, Ltd. v. Thiess Kanematsu Consortium
• Arbitration – Chek Lap Kok Airport Apron Tunnels, Hong Kong
• Arbitration – Housing Development, Midlands
• Arbitration – Office Development, Auckland
• Arbitration and Claims ― Office Development, London
• Arbitration and Litigation – Defective and Unsafe Works
• Arbitration and Litigation – Short Piles
• Breach of Contract – Elevator Installation
• Breach of Contract – Housing Development, Southern England
• Breach of Contract – Refrigerated Coldstores
• Breach of Contract — Shopping Center, U.K.
• Construction Bid – Subway Project, Beijing
• Construction Claims – Chek Lap Kok Airport (Dragonair Headquarters), Hong Kong
• Construction Claims Against Hong Kong Government
• Construction Contracts, Procurement, Claims – New Tanjung Pelepas Seaport, Johor
• Construction Disputes – Pipeline, Sudan
• Construction Issues – Subway Line, Beijing
• Construction Risk Analysis – Proposed Petrochemical Plant, Malaysia
• Contract Advice – Water Treatment Plants, New Zealand
• Contract Advisement Regarding SARS
• Contract and Agreement Drafting – Baggage Handling System, Heathrow Airport
• Contract and Claim Issues – Chek Lap Kok Airport Building, Hong Kong
• Contract and Claim Issues – High Speed Rail Project, Taiwan
• Contract and Claim Issues – IFC II Tower, Hong Kong
• Contract and Claim Issues – Macau Tower
• Contract and Claim Issues – Macau Tower Entertainment Centre, Macau
• Contract and Claim Issues – Taipei Financial Center, Taiwan
• Contract and Procurement Advice
• Contract Drafting
• Contract Drafting – Joint Venture West Rail Railway Project, Hong Kong
• Contract Drafting – Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lampur
• Contract Drafting, Procurement Options – Computer Manufacturing Plant, Shenzhen
• Contract Drafting, Procurement Options U.S. multinational manufacturing company Foundry Facilities, Heibei
• Contract Drafting, Project Management, Claims – Kuala Lumpur Light Rail Transit (LRT)
• Contractor Claims – Oil & Gas Platform, North Sea
• Contractor Defense – Building Project, Hong Kong
• Disputes – Channel Tunnel
• Disputes – New Zealand Government
• EPC Contract Drafting – Power Plant Expansion, Indonesia
• Foreign Investment Enterprise in China
• Foreign Investment Enterprise in China
• Foreign Investment Enterprise in China
• Guangdong LNG Import Terminal and Trunkline Project
• Health and Safety Issues – KCRC East Rail, Hong Kong
• Hitachi Global Storage Products (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
• International Contractor Claim – Undersea Sewage Tunnels, Hong Kong
• Joint Venture and Construction Issues – Baiyun Airport, Guangdong
• Kautex (Shanghai) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd.
• Kuala Lumpur International Airport Project
• NGO Registration
• Performance Bond Advisement
• Pipeline Construction – Marsden Point, New Zealand
• Real Estate Development
• Shanghai Manufacturing Plant
• SSDS Tunnels Litigation, Hong Kong
• Taipei 101 – Taipei Financial Center.
• Taiwan High Speed Rail Project
• Termination Issues
• Termination Issues, Injunction Proceedings – Infrastructure Project, Kuala Lumpur
• Tianjin Manufacturing Plant

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Litigation, Business & Commercial Law, Class Actions, Commercial Leasing, Commercial Real Estate, Complex Litigation, Condemnation, Condominiums & Cooperatives, Contracts, Conveyancing, Eminent Domain, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, International Trade Litigation, Land Use & Zoning, Landlord/Tenant, Litigation & Appeals, Military & Veterans Appeals, Mortgages & Foreclosures, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Real Estate Law, Residential Real Estate, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Title Insurance, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• Hong Kong

Education

• U of Otago - New Zealand

Published Works

• Conflicting Legal Regimes Governing Construction Project Management in China, 2009
• Land Ownership and Development in China, Counsel to Counsel Magazine, 2008
• Resolving the Minor Property Right Problem in China, 2008
• China's New Administrative Regulation on Prepaid Corporate Income Tax for Real Estate Developers, 2008
• The Impact of the New "Super Ministries" Announced by China and How This Affects the Construction Industry, 2008
• Impact of Recent Restrictions on Foreign Investors in the Chinese Real Estate Market, 2008
• Vague land-use rights provisions raise concerns, South China Morning Post, 2007
• China introduce medidas para regular la inversion, Elmundo, Spain, 2007
• The New Property Law in the People's Republic of China, The Real Estate Finance Journal, 2007
• The Impact of the WTO on China's Construction, Engineering and Design Industries – Five Years of Change and Challenges for Foreign Companies, The Real Estate Finance Journal, 2007
• Only Implementation Will Reveal Full Impact of New Property Law, Financial Times, 2007
• China's Ministry of Construction Issues New Qualification Regulations for Construction, Design, and Supervision Enterprises, 2007
• Further Restrictions for Foreign Investors in China's Real Estate Market, 2007
• China Introduces Further Measures to Regulate Foreign Investment in its Real Estate Market, 2007
• The New PRC Property Law, 2007
• The Impact of the WTO on China's Construction, Engineering, and Design Industries: Five Years of Change and Challenges for Foreign Companies, 2007
• PRC Government to Enforce Collection of Land Appreciation Tax, 2007
• China Issues New Regulations Opening the Market for Crude Oil, 2007
• China Issues New Regulations Opening the Market for Oil Products, 2006
• Interpretation of the PRC Arbitration Law by the Supreme People's Court, 2006
• PRC Construction Law - A Guide For Foreign Companies, CCH, A Wolters Kluwer business, 2006
• Cultural Design Collision—China’s Ministry of Construction Investigates Foreign Companies Involved in China’s Construction Industry, 2006
• PRC Ministry of Construction Issues Draft of Qualification Standards for Construction Engineering General Contracting Special Grade, 2006
• The Perils of Bad Contract Drafting: The Irony of Dispute-Resolving Provisions Becoming the Cause of Dispute, 2006
• China’s Ministry of Construction Issues Administrative Regulation for Foreign-Invested Construction Services Enterprises, 2005
• China’s Ministry of Construction Issues Consolidated Qualification Regulations for Consultation, 2005
• China’s Ministry of Construction Issues Standard Forms of Guarantee for Construction Works, 2005
• What Happened Last Year and What Might Happen This Year? The Fundamental Changes in China’s Land Law, 2005
• Provisional Measures Concerning Retention Money for Construction Works in China, 2005
• The Art of Construction Project Management in China, 2005
• A Revised Construction Law for China, 2004
• Ministry of Construction Issues Administrative Measures on Concession Arrangements for Municipal Public Utilities, 2004
• Chinese Builders Go Global, Far Eastern Economic Review, 2004
• Chinese Construction Companies Go Global - Evolving Know-How and Low Costs Help Firms Score Contracts Abroad, Wall Street Journal, 2004
• Skill Qualification Certificates Issued for First Foreign-Invested Construction Enterprises in China, 2004
• Arbitration - the Superior Method for Solving Disputes in Projects, Chinese International Contractors Association Magazine, 2004
• China's Construction Market, AmCham China Brief Magazine, 2004
• Design Firms Set for China Opening, Hong Kong Standard, 2004
• Relaxation of Some Restrictions on Subcontracting for Construction Projects in China, 2004
• Helping Chinese Construction Companies Go Global, Chinese International Contractors Association Magazine, 2004
• China’s Ministry of Construction Issues Foreign Design Enterprise Regulations, 2004
• Mainland Courts Take Practical Line on Disputes, Hong Kong Standard, 2004
• Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Law as it Applies to Construction Disputes in China, 2004
• China's Real Estate and Construction Market, Immobilien Business, Switzerland, 2004
• Improving Implementation of the PRC Construction Law, 2003
• China's Real Estate Market, Immobilien-Manager, Switzerland, 2003
• Building Boom in China, Finanzen, Germany, 2003
• China’s Ministry of Construction Extends Period for Applying for Foreign-Invested Construction Enterprise Qualification Certificates, 2003
• Swire Properties Ltd. and others v. The Secretary for Justice on behalf of the Government of the HKSAR, 2003
• China’s Supreme People’s Court Upholds Autonomy of Letters of Credit, 2003
• Honest and Reasonable Mistake: Is it Still a Defence to Construction Site Safety Prosecutions?, 2003
• Does Hong Kong Need a Construction Law?, 2003
• Construction: How will China’s Accession to the WTO Affect the Construction Industry in China – Opportunities for Foreign Companies, 2003
• Olympics to Pose Tender Test, Hong Kong Standard, 2003
• Market Access Report: Construction, China Law & Practice, WTO, 2002
• Enforcement of Mediation Settlement Agreements in China, 2002
• WTO and Construction in China, China Law & Practice, 2002
• Sub-Surface Conditions Revisited, A Contractor Fails Again , Hong Kong Construction Manager, 2002
• HK Needs Law Requiring Prompt Payments, Hong Kong Standard, 2002
• Taiwan Enjoys BOT Boom, Hong Kong Standard, 2002
• International Construction Developments – What Comes After Partnering?, 2002
• Support Builds for Arbitration, Hong Kong Standard, 2002
• Construction Dispute Resolution in Mainland China, Chartered Institute of Builders Journal (Hong Kong), 2002
• Environmentally Sustainable construction - the Hong Kong Experience, The Straits Lawyer, Singapore, 2001

Address

3201 China World Tower
No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue
Beijing 100004, China

Phones

86.10.5866.1113 (Business Phone)

Faxes

86.10.5866.1122 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com