Overview

Diana Burger is a senior associate in the Construction Litigation department and Construction Practice of our Johannesburg office.

Her practice areas are mainly in the construction and engineering infrastructure sector in relation to corporate construction and construction litigation. She has also advised clients on product liability and professional indemnity claims and administrative law issues.

Diana has obtained B. Com Law and LLB from the University of Pretoria and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2012.

Relevant Experience

Diana’s experience includes advising and representing clients in the construction and engineering infrastructure sector in relation to contract drafting, contract interpretation, dispute avoidance, claims for delay and disruption and claims for defective works.

• Acting for the employer, a state-owned entity, to defend delay and disruption contract claims referred to the Dispute Adjudication Board in relation to the performance of a boiler works contract at a coal-fired power station in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. My role in this matter included inter alia the day-to-day management of the adjudication proceedings including communication with the experts, counsel, DAB and contractor; drafting pleadings, drafting advice notes to client; briefing counsel and experts.
• Acting for the employer, a state-owned entity, to defend delay and disruption contract claims referred to the Dispute Adjudication Board in relation to the performance of a boiler works contract at a coal-fired power station in Lephalale, Limpopo Province, South Africa. My role in this matter included inter alia the day-to-day management of the adjudication proceedings including communication with the experts, counsel, DAB and contractor; drafting pleadings and briefing counsel and experts.
• Acting for the Contractor (a multinational company that designs and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security markets) in relation to contract claims against the employer (a state-owned entity responsible for most passenger rail services in the country) for delays and time related costs incurred on a large railway signaling project in the Western Cape. My role in this matter included inter alia the day-to-day management of the adjudication proceedings including communication with the experts, counsel, DAB and contractor; drafting advice notes and pleadings.
• Assisting a global player in the renewable energy sector, particularly in respect of operation and maintenance of renewable energy assets on all aspects of operation and maintenance, in relation to four photovoltaic power plants on solar farms in the Northern Cape, from highlighting the risks associated with a cession and delegation of the Operation and Maintenance Agreements, including the interfacing risks between the EPC Contract and the Operation and Maintenance Agreements, negotiating and closing an Operation and Maintenance agreement with the Project Company on one of the projects, advising on the provisions of subcontract operation and maintenance agreements and claims instituted by the subcontractors.
• Assisting a multinational networking and telecommunications company to draft and finalise the Request for Proposals and Conditions of Contract for the appointment of a contractor to perform office interior fit-out. My role in this matter was to prepare the first drafts and to update same based on client’s instructions.
• Assisting the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions to draft supply and installation agreements in relation to the development and operation of a 86 MW wind project to in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
• Advising the Lenders on the provisions of Operation & Maintenance and EPC Contracts in respect of national roadwork project in Kenya. My role in this matter was to prepare first draft reports on the risks associated with the provisions of the draft agreements and the proposed solution.
• Advising the Owner of one of South Africa’s largest solar farms in the Northern Province on the various aspects of its contractual relationship with the Operator.
• Acting for a consortium of professional consultants in arbitration proceedings against a state-owned entity in relation to a claim for payment of professional fees for services performed on a Railway Infrastructure Upgrade Project.
• Acting for a contractor in arbitration dispute resolution proceedings in respect of contractual damages claim against a large copper mine based in Phalaborwa.
• Advising various clients during contract negotiation regarding the South African law and standard market practice.

• Thomson Reuters: Contract Formation and Enforcement in South Africa: Overview
• South Africa: Possible changes in how courts approach interdict proceedings over construction performance guarantees
• Unfinished business: what to do when construction halts due to a contractor’s liquidation