HKA is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Johnson as a Partner within its Forensic Technical Services team. Based in the UK, Jim will support HKA’s portfolio of dispute resolution and expert witness work across the infrastructure, energy, and built environment sectors. His appointment reinforces HKA’s strategic focus on deep technical expertise and senior, court-tested experts in the UK and internationally. 

A Chartered Engineer (CEng, MICE) with 40 years in the consulting engineering sector and more than 20 years as a Director at Arup including board-level responsibilities, Jim brings broad infrastructure lifecycle experience and a proven expert witness track record. He has acted on over twenty forensic geotechnical investigations and has provided written and oral evidence in the Technology & Construction Court, including concurrent evidence under the Civil Procedure Rules. Jim’s casework spans foundation and ground movement disputes, slope stability, settlement and subsidence, earthworks and retaining structures, and asset performance issues across complex projects. 

“Jim’s appointment strengthens our ability to provide strategic, multidisciplinary expertise on complex disputes. His leadership experience and technical depth in geotechnics, risk, and sustainability will be invaluable as we continue to deliver even greater value to clients facing complex challenges in infrastructure, energy, and the built environment, globally.” 

Dr Kourosh Kayvani, Partner, Head of Forensic Technical Services International, HKA

Beyond his dispute-focused work, Jim has held global and regional leadership roles across assurance and risk, digital transformation, innovation, and sustainability, shaping strategies and governance frameworks for major infrastructure programmes. He has chaired alliance and JV boards, led multi-disciplinary engineering teams from feasibility through commissioning, and has helped advance data-enabled practice and climate-aligned decision-making across the sector. 

“The intersection of engineering, sustainability, and risk management in a data-enabled environment is critical for today’s infrastructure projects. HKA’s commitment to excellence in expert services aligns perfectly with my passion for delivering clarity and assurance in high-stakes environments. I look forward to applying my geotechnical expertise and infrastructure leadership experience to help clients resolve complex technical disputes, deliver clear, objective analysis, and support robust decision-making in litigation, arbitration, and investigations.” 

Jim Johnson, Partner, Forensic Technical Services, HKA

Jim holds an MA (Hons) in Engineering Science (Oxon) and is a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He has completed executive programmes with Cambridge Judge Business School (Advanced Leadership), the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), and the Royal College of Art (Open Innovation Fellowship). His broader industry contributions include steering and advisory roles with organisations such as FIDIC’s Global Leadership Forum Advisory Board (steering white papers on infrastructure and AI and the Gap to Net Zero) and the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction. 

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Media contact

Name	Jill Dawson
Title	Senior Marketing and Communications Manager
Number	+44 20 7618 1200
Email	jilldawson@hka.com