Experience

• Considerable experience in handling commercial and construction related claims, professional indemnity claims against solicitors, construction professionals and IT consultants as well as insurance/policy disputes.
• Acts principally upon the instructions of large self insureds, London market insurers, national and European composites. Clients have also included major insolvency practitioners and corporate clients in connection with insurance and policy issues.
• Lauded in the professional indemnity (PI) sections of the 2007 Legal 500 as “…outstanding… with clients quick to praise his industry knowledge as ‘second to none’…” and the 2008 edition of Chambers UK praises “…his “commercial but well-considered legal views” that go down well with indemnity insurers”.
• As a fully qualified Solicitor Advocate he has liaised with industry bodies such as the ABI on insurance topics and has addressed the All Party Parliamentary Insurance group at the House of Commons.
• Currently chairman of the PI group of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), which is one of the few defendant PI lawyers’ groupings in the UK.
• In Chambers 2010 "Clients note that he is 'a commercially astute lawyer' and particularly compliment his work on construction claims".

Significant reported cases/major transactions

• Acting for a large contractor in proceedings brought by a developer arising out of a major dispute concerning damage to neighbouring property. The matter involved drawing the project consulting engineers into the proceedings and mediating. The matter ultimately settled before trial and a significant contribution was secured from the engineer.
• Acting upon the instructions of PI insurers in handling various claims against architects, engineers and project managers, including successfully disputing a number of adjudications recently.
• Acting for the insurers of solicitors concerning the handling of a trust prior to and upon the death of the donor including a mediation which resolved the matter at a significantly lower sum than was being sought.
• Acting for piling contractors in connection within a property damage dispute with losses in excess of £1.5m arising out of the diversion of a canal in the North West associated with a motorway construction project. Involving proceedings and the joiner of other parties, this matter settled at mediation with the client paying less than 20 percent of the value of the original claim.
• Acting for M & E engineers being sued by the Cabinet Office for in excess of £1m. The claim was settled at mediation for less than one tenth of the value of the claim.
• Acting on the insurers’ instructions in connection with an £8m professional indemnity claim arising out of structural engineers’ alleged negligence. Part of the claim was resolved by adjudication in the insured’s favour and the remainder following a mediation.
• Acting for the insurers of IT consultants who were sued by their client for over £750,000. The allegation made was that the functionality of the IT systems was less than warranted. Policy coverage issues were evident due to guarantees provided by the insured in contractual documentation. A resolution was concluded at a mediation for less than £100,000.

Clients

• Insurers
• Solicitors
• Contractors and construction professionals
• IT professionals