Praised for its ‘meticulous attention to detail and desire to provide a first-class service’, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP houses a team of ’master tacticians’ and stands out for its experience in contentious insurance disputes, shareholder litigation, product liability and recall cases, and financial services litigation. Manoj Vaghela leads the Cheltenham-based team and specialises in contentious insurance mandates, often involving a cross-border element, while ‘unflappable’ legal director Claudine Morgan handles contractual disputes, breach of fiduciary duties, shareholder litigation and breach of warranty issues. Commended as ’indefatigable’, senior associate Ben Moore is another key contact in the group.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Commerciality and willingness to get stuck in. Definitely one of the friendliest firms I've worked with.’
‘Manoj Vaghela is commercially astute, particularly in the field of pensions, and has a great sense of the commercial realities of a dispute.’
‘CRS is a smart, dynamic team. Great knowledge of the law, and master tacticians. I am always struck by their ability to work as an effective and efficient team, with clearly defined roles.’
‘Claudine Morgan is unflappable, spots the big picture quickly, responsive and extremely good at putting clients and everyone in the team at ease.’
‘The team stands above others due to their commercially focused approach.’
‘Ben Moore is indefatigable, able to get on top of masses of documents and detail, and calm and collected at all times.’
‘Meticulous attention to detail and their desire to provide a first-class service.’

Key clients

Greggs plc
Keith Smith
Tsokkos Hotels Public Limited
Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund Limited
Ian Stannard
Oxford Plastic Systems Limited
Trustees of the Harrowby’s Discretionary Will Trust
The Trustees of the Earl Bathurst 1963 Settlement
Riverstone Insurance/Argo Insurance
Zenium Technology Partners
Argo Insurance
QBE
Lord Wemyss
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd

Work highlights

Acted for Greggs in a claim issued in the High Court, winning a landmark ruling in Greggs’ battle over a £150m insurance claim triggered by the Covid-19 crisis.
Successfully obtained an Anti-Suit Injunction for the benefit of our clients, based in Ghana and Mauritius, restraining the defendant from pursuing its claims in respect of various alleged breaches of a shareholders’ agreement.

Lawyers

Rising stars

Ben Moore

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Ben advises a broad range of individual and corporate clients in relation to a wide range of commercial disputes. Ben has experience of the following: Disputes involving breach of contract, misrepresentation, breach of warranty, directors’ and officers’ duties, product recall, professional negligence and all aspects of debt recovery and enforcement. Advising on insurance coverage disputes Advising a bank in defending claims by a customer relating to the repossession and sale of secured assets resulting in a favourable settlement for his client. Acted on a breach of contract, breach of trust and fraudulent concealment claim issued for in excess of £6 million. Advising a bank on the enforcement of a loan facility and charge against a property involving cross-jurisdictional issues resulting in successful enforcement and recovery by the institution. Ben’s clients operate across a range of sectors including banking, retail, technology and food services. Ben is described as “a very good lawyer and perceptive when formulating strategy” in Legal 500.