The ‘strong team’ at Clarke Willmott LLP is active across the gamut of claimant-side mandates, and fields a group of sector specialists who bring their expertise to specific areas of the work. ’Brilliant’ commercial litigator Alex Jakubowski takes the lead on acting for lenders in high-value cases against solicitors and surveyors arising from complex transactions. Darren Kidd, who joined from Stewarts Law LLP in September 2023, now leverages his contentious financial services experience to oversee pension and investment advice claims. Chris Taylor is the name to note for negligence in relation to property transactions, while Esther Woolford is key for claims in an agricultural context.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Chris Taylor is a really grounded and sensible practitioner, who thinks through all the issues carefully and is a pleasure to work for.’

  • ‘Expert knowledge of their area of law.’

  • ‘Alex Jakubowski has strong knowledge of negligence cases, not just from a legal standpoint, but he knows how to "talk" bank language when explaining the case to stakeholders at all levels. Honest and realistic in his appraisal of cases and has successfully delivered positive results.’

  • ‘A strong team.’

  • ‘Alex Jakubowski is a really effective, no-nonsense litigator.’

  • ‘Alex Jakubowski is our partner at Clarke Willmott and frankly he is a brilliant lawyer and is my preference to use for any of this work.’

Key clients

  • Arbuthnot Latham Ltd.,
  • Wellesley Finance Ltd
  • UK & IE Flora Group Ltd
  • Kal Tire Ltd
  • Bristol Polytechnic Enterprises (Developments) Ltd
  • London and Quadrant Housing
  • ESP Colour Ltd
  • Gooch and Housego Plc
  • Office Visions Ltd
  • Solihull Moors Ltd
  • Alfred Munkenbeck
  • Solihull Moors Football Club
  • Fablex 2000 Ltd

Work highlights

  • Representing Wellesley Finance Ltd in a claim for £2.9m against a negligent monitoring surveyor.
  • Representing Kal Tire in a claim for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty against Direct Business Solutions and TotalEnergies Gas and Power.
  • Representing a private client in a negligence claim against Brooks Macdonald Financial Consulting Limited in relation to the advice and recommendations it provided to her to invest in film schemes.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Alex Jakubowski

Other key lawyers

Darren Kidd, Esther Woolford, David Stedman, Laura Robinson, Chris Taylor, James Marshall