Specialist disputes lawyer and accredited mediator
Commercial and property disputes, handled by someone trained in both the legal fight and the route to resolution.
Talk to me free of charge, with no obligation to proceed.
Typically, my clients are SMEs, owner-managed businesses, directors, shareholders and partners.
My specialist areas are:
Commercial disputes
Property disputes
Mediation and ADR
Commercial
disputes
Most of the disputes I handle are between people who used to work together, do business together, or rely on each other. For example:
Directors who can no longer agree
Shareholders who feel they’ve been pushed out
Partners whose joint venture has stopped working
Where a relationship has broken down, there’s usually money, control, or both at stake. My niche within a niche is director and shareholder disputes, which currently make up the largest part of my caseload.
If you’re a director, a shareholder, or both, and the people you went into business with are now the problem, that’s an area I know well.
The kinds of commercial disputes I handle include:
- Unfair prejudice claims
- Partnership disputes and dissolutions
- Joint venture disputes and breakdowns
- Breach of contract claims
- Misrepresentation claims
- Commercial fraud
- Professional negligence
- Personal guarantee disputes
- Contentious insolvency, including misfeasance claims
If your dispute sits within this area but isn’t on the list, ask me. I’ll probably be able to help, and if not, I’ll know someone who can.
Property
disputes
I deal with commercial property disputes only. Within that, I work with landlords, tenants, business owners with property assets, and parties to property joint ventures.
The disputes I handle most often involve leases, possession, boundaries, and the rights and restrictions that come attached to commercial land.
The kinds of property disputes I handle include:
- Lease renewals and terminations, including Section 25 and Section 26 notices under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
- Forfeiture claims
- Break clause disputes
- Dilapidations claims, both at and during lease end Boundary disputes
- Restrictive covenant disputes
- Easements, including contested rights of way
If you’ve been told you need help with a “Section 25 notice” or a “dilapidations schedule” and you’re not entirely sure what either means, that’s normal. Part of my job on the first call is to help you understand. Book a call now, and I’ll help you make sense of it.
Mediation and ADR
For commercial
client disputes
Whether you’re a commercial or property client, I approach your case as a mediator from day one.
Mediator training influences the questions
I ask, the letters I write, and the strategy I build. The result, in most cases, is an earlier settlement on better terms than you’d get from a courtroom, and a significantly smaller legal bill on the way there.
When mediation isn’t possible or isn’t appropriate, I’m still a solicitor ready to take the case to trial. You don’t have to choose up front.
As a mediator for
other solicitors
I’m an accredited mediator with specialist experience in commercial and property disputes.
If you’re a solicitor acting for a client in a dispute of this kind and you need a mediator who actually understands the subject matter, I’m available on that basis. I sign
a confidentiality agreement, I mediate the dispute, then step away. Your client stays your client.
I also accept instructions directly from parties in dispute who have agreed to mediate without lawyers, particularly in commercial and property matters where my subject matter knowledge is useful.
Across every service area, my method of working remains the same
I understand people, determine the commercial outcome, resolve where possible, fight where necessary, and keep you informed throughout.
How much will it cost?
My hourly rate is £300 plus VAT. Where I can, I’ll quote a fixed cost for defined pieces of work, and I’ll do that fixed work for that fixed price.
For example, if you’ve already gathered the documents and you need a letter of claim drafted and sent, I’ll give you a fixed fee for that work. For the next phase, where the work depends on what the other side does, I’ll quote it clearly before it starts. You’ll always know what you’re committing to before you commit.
The first 30-minute call is free, and the clock never starts on anything else without telling you first. No surprise bills, no charges for the privilege of telling me your story.
View my FAQ page for more information on how my services work.
Struggling with a dispute? Let’s talk
Book a free, confidential 30-minute call with no obligation to go ahead. If you’re worried or feel completely overwhelmed, the best place to start is to talk about it.
Book a free
30-minute call
Send Chris
a message