---
title: "About - Chris Clayton - Commercial & Property Dispute Lawyer in the UK"
description: "For business owners, directors and shareholders who need clarity and a workable outcome. Not years of litigation and spiralling legal costs."
url: "https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/about"
date: "2026-08-11T12:40:55+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

## Most lawyers see a legal problem. I see a business problem with legal consequences.

I’m Chris Clayton, a commercial and property disputes solicitor advocate and an accredited mediator. I built RM Clayton to find the best business outcome for your dispute.

Talk to me free of charge, with no obligation to proceed.

[Book a free 30-minute call ](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/contact)

![About Chris Clayton, a commercial and property disputes solicitor](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/mobile-hero-bg/about.webp)

### Resolving disputes is not about legal theatre

**It’s about reaching a workable outcome, ideally without bankrupting you or losing 18 months of your life along the way.**

Litigation is one tool for resolving a dispute. But it’s rarely the best one for the kind of clients I work with. Most SME owners, directors and shareholders don’t want a courtroom war. They want the problem resolved so they can get back to running their businesses.

That’s what I’m here to do.

### Disputes are about people

Companies don’t fall out. The people running them do. Suppliers don’t fall out. The people behind them do. Even the most complex commercial dispute, when you strip it back, is a relationship that’s gone wrong.

That’s why one of the first question I ask isn’t actually about the law at all. It’s about the other side. What are they like? What do they want? How will they react when they read this letter? Because once you understand who you’re dealing with, you can start to find the path to the best outcome.

A partner I once worked with used to say you can’t be a good lawyer if you can’t be a good table waiter. He meant that you have to relate to people, and he was right. It’s a people business. Everything else flows from that.

![UK Commercial Dispute Solicitor](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/about/company-dispute-lawyer-uk.webp)

![Chris Clayton - UK Dispute Solicitor](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/svg/strapline.svg)

![UK Property Dispute Solicitor](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/home/uk-property-dispute-lawyer.webp)

![RM Clayton - Commercial Dispute Lawyer](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/about/legal-mediator-in-the-uk.webp)

### The combination that makes my approach work

**As a solicitor advocate**, I can appear in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in appropriate cases. This benefits you because it usually means less reliance on barristers, lower total costs, and the same person handling your case from the first letter to the final hearing.

Most solicitors don’t have these rights. Most cases that need them are handed to a barrister. I do the work myself and only bring a barrister in when the case genuinely needs one.

**As a mediator**, I’m trained to think about disputes differently. That includes finding practical solutions that work in the real world rather than a binary “winner vs loser” result that court judgments produce. Mediation isn’t a service I offer at the end of a case once everything else has failed. It’s the lens I bring to every case from day one.

A bit more about me...

- I have two degrees, one in history and the other in law
- I qualified as a solicitor in 2016, then as a solicitor advocate in 2020, and as an accredited mediator in 2023
- During my career, I’ve worked for large national firms handling complex litigation, as well as at regional firms across Cumbria and the North East, all in commercial and property disputes
- I’m based in Cumbria and work remotely with clients across the UK, meeting in person when it’s useful. This flexibility allows me to work in a way that’s most helpful to you
- I have two young boys, which is where the firm’s name comes from... [read blog](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/blog/rm-clayton-disputes-resolved-with-perspective-and-clarity)
- I’m not the kind of lawyer who speaks Latin when English would do. My job is to make complicated disputes easier to understand, not harder.

### What I won’t do:

Run up bills on legal arguments that don’t move your case forward

Drag a case to trial when
a sensible deal is on the table

Dress up bad news in legal jargon

Hand you over to a paralegal once you’ve signed

Take on disputes outside my specialism just to fill a slot

Force you to accept something you’re not comfortable with

### Sounds like the kind of lawyer you're been looking for?

**Book a free, confidential 30-minute call with no hard sell or obligation to go ahead. Just a down-to- earth chat to see if I can help you.**

### Book a free

30-minute call

[![Book a call with Chris Clayton](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/svg/arrow-white-circle.svg)](https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/bookwithme/user/bdd9f5fae2664741bd2cc528421a60b6%40rmclayton.co.uk?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled)

### Send Chris

a message

[![Send a message to Chris Clayton](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/images/main/svg/arrow-white-circle.svg)](https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/contact)

## Schema

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://www.rmclayton.co.uk"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "About",
            "item": "https://www.rmclayton.co.uk/about.md"
        }
    ]
}
```