JCT appoints new drafting chair: contract risk and disputes lens for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Standard contracts body JCT has appointed Michelmores partner Anna Wood as chair of its drafting sub-committee, succeeding Clyde & Co partner Victoria Peckett, who steps down in July 2026 after 18 years in the role. Wood leads Michelmores’ construction team and advises developers, employers, contractors and consultants on contentious and non-contentious UK projects, including complex built environment disputes. Her leadership will shape future updates to the JCT suite of standard form construction contracts, directly affecting risk allocation, payment, and dispute mechanisms on UK infrastructure and building schemes.
Technical Brief
- Outgoing chair Victoria Peckett has held the drafting role for 18 years, providing long-term precedent continuity.
- Wood’s remit covers the entire JCT standard-form suite, so any drafting changes will cascade across all procurement routes.
- Her practice mix of contentious and non-contentious work is likely to influence clearer dispute and claims wording.
- Experience advising developers, employers, contractors and consultants should support more balanced risk allocation across the supply chain.
- Focus on “significant legal, commercial and regulatory change” signals likely updates around building safety, ESG and procurement compliance.
- Emphasis on keeping contracts “clear, relevant and fit for purpose” points to tighter drafting of payment, notice and programme mechanisms.
Our Take
JCT features in a Supreme Court decision from January 2026 on termination rights under a JCT Design & Build 2016 contract, signalling that whoever chairs drafting (now moving from Victoria Peckett to Anna Wood) will be operating against a backdrop of close judicial scrutiny of JCT wording in the UK.
Within our 151 Policy stories, JCT is one of the few standard-setting bodies that repeatedly appears in contentious case law as well as guidance pieces, which tends to make even subtle drafting changes highly consequential for UK project risk allocation.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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