Professional negligence

Our clients come from a wide range of sectors including:

• care home providers
• private investors
• property developers
• creative designers
• leisure operators
• public authorities
• sports agents
• port authorities
• utilities providers
• title insurers
• high–net-worth individuals
• infrastructure providers
• technology providers
• construction material and equipment suppliers
• lenders
• engineers
• property agents

• Successfully acting for individuals who having sold their business had funds to invest and sought advice from a wealth management company. Contrary to our clients’ instructions, the funds were invested in high risk hedge funds rather than low/medium risk products. The losses were in excess of £2 million in total. The claim was successfully resolved at mediation
• Acting in a claim for damages for negligent legal advice during a corporate transaction involving a private equity sale where the sellers did not receive the priority ranking they had instructed lawyers to obtain in respect of loan notes for monies re-invested in the company and were not able to recover certain interest payments due to them. The case involves a complex loss calculation, involving consideration of a number of later corporate transactions. The dispute was resolved without trial
• Acting on a CFA basis for creative designers in a £1.2 million claim against their former solicitors in negligently conducting litigation proceedings on their behalf.
• Instructed by a major port authority to take £4.5 million action against their designers and project managers for a high-profile bespoke port infrastructure project. Claim was settled in advance of two week trial
• Acting for a high-net-worth individual in a claim against a top four accountancy firm (and legal advisers) arising out of negligent tax advice in relation to non-domicile status
• Acting for lessee of a large deteriorating industrial building claiming against their design and build contractor and structural engineer for design defects
• Acting for the claimant against surveyors in respect of a multi-million pound negligent over-valuation of a commercial property
• Successfully acting for a number of high profile individuals in respect of negligent investment advice received from a firm of IVAs.The claim was successfully resolved at mediation

My solicitor was negligent four years ago - have I waited too long to bring a claim?

You have up to six years from the date of the negligent act to bring a negligence claim. Also, you could have the right to bring a claim in a longer time period as there is a further right to bring a claim within three years of you having the necessary ‘knowledge’ required for bringing a claim.  Our team of dispute resolution solicitors can help you.

What if I lose? Will I have to pay my opponents costs?

Not necessarily. Whilst the general rule is an unsuccessful party in litigation would need to pay the successful party’s costs. It is usually possible to obtain an insurance policy (‘after the event’ policy or ATE) which is a type of legal expense policy which is designed to pay the opponents costs in the event of not succeeding with the claim. It is also sometimes possible to include cover for your own disbursements (counsel fees/experts fees and counsels fees and the like) in the event of being unsuccessful.

Do I have to go to court?

Not necessarily. Parties are encouraged to try to resolve disputes at an early opportunity. This is encouraged by the pre-action protocols which the court requires the parties to go through before proceedings are issued. It encourages the parties to set out what the case is about and any grounds of defence, and for the parties to exchange information about the claim to try to narrow the issues in dispute and try to resolve it. The parties are also required to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This can take a number of forms including a mediation where the parties will meet with an independent facilitator (or mediator) and they can try to settle the claim in an informal setting without having to attend court. Our team is a group of award winning dispute resolution lawyers. 

My problem is not listed on your website - does that mean I cannot bring a claim?

Negligence claims can take many forms depending on the circumstances of the case. We can assist with many types of business disputes. You may well have a case. Please contact us to discuss if we can help.

Can you act for me on a ‘no win no fee’ basis?

We often can act on a ‘no win no fee’ of CFA basis. Please contact us for a no-obligation fee assessment to see if we can help.

Our expertise has been recognised:

• Dispute Resolution Award at the Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards (2015 and 2013)
• Finalist for the Litigation Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2016
• Finalist for the Legal 500 UK 2017 Dispute Resolution, Regional Firm of the Year
• Winner of the Litigation Team of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards 2017
• Finalist for the Litigation Team of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards 2018