Head of construction at MacRoberts LLP, Neil Kelly, has been presented with a top award from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Mr Kelly was given the Open Award by the institute for services to the construction industry. Described in Chambers (2015) as “an outstanding advocate of construction and contract law”, he has over thirty years’ experience specialising in advising employers, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers and their insurers in the construction sector.

Mr Kelly, who is also the chairman of the Scottish branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, said: “It’s a huge honour to receive this award and I am very grateful to CIOB Scotland. The award reflects the work of the whole construction team and the strong relationship that MacRoberts has with the industry. It is a pleasure to be involved in a sector that plays such a vital role within the Scottish economy and has such an important effect on its built environment.”

He has led the construction group at MacRoberts since 2003, and was chairman of the firm between 2011 and 2014. Six partners and 11 other qualified lawyers work solely within his team, which has more accredited construction specialists than any equivalent group in in Scotland.

John MacMillan, managing partner of MacRoberts LLP, said: “Neil Kelly has been a powerhouse in the construction team for 30 years or so and continues to perform at that level. This award by the CIOB is, first of all, richly deserved; secondly, amounts to exactly the sort of professional recognition that the august institute would generously dispense; and, thirdly, makes us all at MacRoberts feel delighted on Neil’s behalf.”

Mr Kelly has received several other notable awards. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the highest award that can be given by the RICS to non-surveyors. Other honorary members of the RICS include Prince Charles and the Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2012, he was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for services to construction law and the Incorporation.

The Chartered Institute of Building is an international organisation with about 50,000 members in 100 countries. They represent those who work in the contractor side of the industry, usually at a management level.