Ed Cooke
lawyer, entrepreneur, and Start up Founder in London, United Kingdom
Ed is a lawyer specialising in IT contracts and complex real estate, infrastructure development and data centres. He is based in London, although he frequently works on projects internationally.
He is a recognised expert in IT infrastructure, engineering, procurement and construction, and has helped clients finance and deliver some of the most complex property and infrastructure projects. He has a particular interest in the convergence of real estate / infrastructure with energy efficiency, information technology and telecommunications. He works with clients in respect of smart cities and communities. He helps clients achieve commercial success in combining the “more traditional outlook” of the real estate industry with modern technology and innovation.
Ed is perhaps best known for having been one of the principal lawyers working to help the Olympic Delivery Authority deliver the venues, Olympic Park and infrastructure in order to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In that role, he assumed a very wide range of commercial and legal responsibilities.
Ed acts for a variety of real estate investment funds, developers, banks, government entities and occupiers, and has particular expertise in:
• smart cities and smart communities;
• the development of data centres and other mission critical projects;
• the procurement of complex development projects with the public sector;
• the development of sports venues;
• hotels;
• major transport and energy infrastructure projects.
Awards and Testimonials
Ed’s ‘specialist expertise’ was recognised in the 2013 edition of Legal 500, where he is described as ‘creative and commercially pragmatic‘. In the 2014 edition, he is described as ‘first class‘.
Ed’s work ‘stands out where there is construction work with technology or IT issues involved‘ according to the Legal 500 in 2015.
The work of Ed and his team also received a commendation from the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers award in 2013.
Ed was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom® 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the field of construction law.