Bernadette is a Practising Member of The Academy of Experts and is listed with the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Panel of Experts.
Bernadette has over 35 years’ experience in the construction industry and is a Chartered Arbitrator with extensive experience acting as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and expert witness. She is a member of the CIArb Presidential Panel of Construction Adjudicators, the CIArb Presidential Panel of Arbitrators, the SCMA Panel of Arbitrators, the HKIAC List of Arbitrators, the SIAC Panel of Arbitrators and the CEA Madrid. Bernadette is also an expert member and a member of the arbitration tribunal on the list of neutrals of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC/Centre) for the EU Unified Patent Court.
Bernadette is listed as an arbitrator with the Pubs Code Adjudicator and is available to accept appointments as arbitrator. Bernadette has undertaken comprehensive training in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, including the MSc in Construction Law and Arbitration at King’s College London, the CIArb Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, ICC Arbitration training, and the CIArb Diploma in International Maritime Arbitration.
Bernadette holds the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate (Civil) (2021), the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate (Criminal) (2022), and the University of Aberdeen Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate (2025). She has also completed the Bond Solon Discussions Between Experts training (2022) and the Bond Solon Scottish Law & Procedure course (2023) and a Bond Solon bespoke expert witness master class in criminal law and procedures (2023).
Bernadette has appeared in court as an expert witness and has also given evidence as a witness of fact before an employment tribunal in Sri Lanka.
Bernadette qualified as an architect in 1986 and gained wide-ranging experience in private practice with Laing Design, Marks and Spencer, and the specialist construction claims consultancy James R Knowles, before establishing her own practice, Barker Consultants, in 1993.
Bernadette’s work encompasses appointments as an expert witness, mediator, adjudicator, and arbitrator, as well as roles under the CDM Regulations as Principal Designer and the monitoring of remediation works under the Building Safety Act.
Bernadette’s expertise as a forensic architect is both broad and highly specialised. She has undertaken numerous expert witness appointments covering building defects, cladding issues, drainage matters, professional negligence, construction contracts, project coordination, health and safety, fire safety, regulatory compliance, and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations. This wide-ranging experience ensures she is well equipped to address complex issues across the construction and regulatory landscape.