Our litigation department is experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution and also County and High Court actions. We handle both simple and complex disputes from landlord and tenant disputes to freezing injunctions, shareholder disputes, tracing claims as well as disputes involving the investigation of historic evidence and facts.
We recognise that litigation is inherently stressful and seek to provide not only a cost effective service but one which is personal to you and keeps in mind your level of experience, objectives and instructions.
We look at the bigger picture as well as the detail, aiming for a broad and forensic understanding, focusing on what the client is seeking and working out the optimum strategy to get there. This may involve the court system, but more often will involve round table negotiation, mediation or arbitration.
Our Specialism
Advising at the first sign of trouble and acting on full blown disputes involving:
- performance and debts owed by a partner;
- breakdown of a partnership; and
- whether an individual is a partner or not.
Advice and claims by a minority of shareholders against the majority alleging unfair prejudice, fraud, dissipation of assets and including applications for and opposition to UK and worldwide freezing orders.
Trust disputes generally tend to relate to wills and property but sometimes involve other assets.
Typical caseload will include:
- claims by spouses, cohabitees and children for reasonable financial provision from a deceased’s estate;
- contentious probate claims challenging the validity of a will because of duress, fraud, mental capacity or for technical non-compliance;
- constructive and resulting trust claims where there is no trust document, but a party contends that they have an interest arising out of what has been said or done;
- UK and offshore litigation involving tracing claims where property has been moved from one trust to another;
- examination and reconstruction of historic will disputes relevant to current disputes;
- claims against misbehaving trustees; and
- fraud and forgery disputes involving allegations of forged trust instruments and signatures.
A very wide range of claims for and against developers, architects, surveyors, builders, property owners, neighbours, commercial and residential landlords, tenants, auctioneers and estate agents involving all manner of property disputes from possession to disrepair, forfeiture and immoral use, asking the court to create an interest in property based on representations and conduct, contested lease renewals and extensions, enfranchisement, professional negligence, commission payments, historic rights of way, feudal and manorial interests, obstructions and squatters.
Film and production disputes.
Disputes under the Washington Conference principles on Nazi-confiscated art
Trademark infringement as well as common law claims for passing off one business as another.
