Commercial litigation: elsewhere in the North West

PARTNERKit is personally ranked as a Leader in the Field in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence in Chambers & Partners. He is also recognised in Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ as a Leading Individual in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence. He is the only lawyer in the entire North West to be ranked by Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ in the field of Professional Negligence and in Commercial Litigation (elsewhere in the North West). With over 30 years’ experience, Kit Sorrell is a highly renowned litigation specialist. He acts in complex high value commercial matters such as contract disputes, minority shareholder claims, property disputes and also acts for both high net worth individuals and corporate entities in complex and high value professional negligence claims against, by way of example, tax advisers, solicitors, property professionals and independent financial advisers. Kit is nationally recognised as a Leader in the Field and is recommended in both Chambers UK Guide and Legal 500 where he is described as a ‘great tactician and inspires real confidence in his clients’ and a ‘great tactician who knows how to plot the outcome of a case from the very outset’. Kit has developed a particular specialism in commercial construction disputes of all types in his many years of acting for well-known national property developers and is a founding member of the firm’s specialist Construction Disputes Team. Kit is also widely known for leading the way in Professional Negligence claims against financial and tax advisers in particular claims involving tax avoidance and mitigation schemes. Kit was amongst the very first lawyers to be instructed on the high profile Film Scheme Tax Partnership cases and to issue the first High Court proceedings against advisers who recommended such schemes. Kit has become known as the ‘go-to’ lawyer for well-known sports and media personalities in this field. Kit has been interviewed by the Financial Times on a number of occasions and quoted in numerous articles in the FT, The Mail on Sunday, FT Adviser, Money Marketing and IFA Online. Notable cases Halsall v Champion Consulting Ltd [2017] EWHC 1079 (QB)Represented the claimants in a £6M claim arising out of tax avoidance schemes. This widely reported case is believed to be one of the first claims of this type to reach the courts. Acting for a group of high net worth individuals in a £5M claim against an international law practice arising out of negligent conduct of litigation initially brought against their accountants and tax advisers. Acting for a client in a seven-figure professional negligence claim against Gibraltar based IFA company arising out of the clients’ investment into a £50M failed investment scheme. Acting for minority shareholder in a shareholder dispute in relation to his holding in a highly successful engineering company. Action resolved with an order for the purchase of his shares on very satisfactory terms. Acting for a national property/property development company in Judicial Review proceedings challenging enforcement orders made by the Authority which threatened a regeneration scheme the value of which ran to many hundreds of millions of pounds. Acting for a sports management company in a dispute over the ‘ownership’ of a very high profile premier league professional footballer. Acting for Morris Homes Group, the country’s largest privately owned house builder, in a number of complex seven-figure claims against various property professionals. Career history FS Legal – Partner, 2014 to date Pannone LLP – Partner, 2006 – 2014 Wacks Caller – Partner, 2000 – 2006 DWF- Partner, 1983 – 2000  

Mark is the Firm's Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation. He has been named as one of the Legal 500's leading lawyers since 2015 to the present day. He specialises in commercial litigation, acting on behalf of both businesses and their principal shareholders and directors. Most of his work being contractual, shareholder, and partnership disputes. With an exceptionally strong client base many of whom have been with him for a considerable length of time and excellent knowledge in all aspects of commercial litigation, he is recognised for his practical approach and to see the commerciality of a case very early on. Mark is also a trained mediator and fully believes in the benefit of ADR to get to the real issue of a case, quickly and in a cost-effective way.

Dispute Resolution Partner

Partner, Head of the Planning, Environmental, Energy and Regulatory Team

Guy is not only a Leading Lawyer for Commercial Litigation but also heads up Property Litigation at Gorvins LLP.  He has been at Gorvins for more than 25 years.  Guy has a great deal of experience and expertise in advising all types of client from owner managed businesses and SMEs to PLCs and multinationals. As well as dealing with a whole range of commercial matters, Guy has a particular expertise in Property Litigation.  He likes to become involved in disputes at an early stage so that litigation can be avoided if at all possible.  Wherever possible, Guy will not only look at things from a legal perspective but also a commercial one with a view to trying to exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution and the possibility of a resolution through negotiations.”

Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution & Commercial Litigation Department

Partner

Partner

Senior Associate

Senior Associate in the Commercial Litigation team.Vicky works closely with Adam Maher, a Partner and Head of the Commercial Litigation department and specialises in complex commercial litigation disputes, with a particular emphasis on intellectual property disputes relating to trademarks, copyright, patents, design rights and confidential information.  Vicky is also currently acting for a number of banking customers who were transferred into the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) and assisting them with high value claims through the bank’s redress scheme. In addition to her commercial litigation experience, Vicky works with the construction team in dealing with litigation relating to property and construction matters. 

Senior Associate Solicitor

SOLICITORSunny has a wide range of litigation experience involving high value and high profile disputes with considerable complexity. She has been involved in a number of multi-million-pound claims which have been widely reported in the press and heard in the specialist courts. Her experience includes: Professional negligence claims; Construction disputes; Shareholder disputes; Breach of contract claims; Breach of fiduciary duty claims; and Fraud Notable cases Halsall v Champion Consulting Ltd [2017] EWHC 1079 (QB) A £6M claim arising out of tax avoidance schemes. This widely reported case is believed to be one of the first claims of this type to reach the courts. Anthony Barness and Others v Formation Group Pls & Others Representing one of the 150 defendants in this multi-million pound claim brought by over 260 separate claimants. The claims concern tax avoidance schemes, football agent disputes and allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation. Hillsborough Inquest As a result of the events in the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 where 96 football fans lost their lives, an application was made by the Attorney-General. The High Court quashed the verdicts in the original inquests and ordered fresh inquests to be held. The fresh inquests took place in 2014. More than 500 witnesses were called and 4,000 pages of documents and hours of videos were shown during the inquest. After 2 years of evidence, the jury found that 96 football fans were unlawfully killed and that the then match Commander Chief Superintendent Duckinfield was responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence. The inquests are considered to be the longest in English legal history. Barclay Pharmaceuticals Limited and others v Waypharm LP and others 2012[2012] EWHC 306 (Comm) 2012 A claim concerning breach of contract, causing loss by unlawful means, director’s liabilities, fraudulent misrepresentation, letters of credit and procuring the breach of contract.