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Commercial litigation: Nottingham and Derby

Dominic Offord at Browne Jacobson LLP handles disputes with international elements alongside shareholder, warranty and contractual disputes and restrictive covenant cases for clients such as Triumph Motorcycles and Siemens Enterprise Communications.

Eversheds LLP stands out for its expertise in the financial services sector. National group head and ‘superb negotiator’ Paul Worth assists clients such as Santander and Lloyds Development Capital. ‘Exceptionally astute’ senior associate Rebecca Nicholas acts for a number of healthcare clients, and also Nationwide. ‘Pragmatic, business-focused’ senior associate Steve Dunseath, who transferred to Nottingham from Manchester, gained a victory in the Court of Appeal for RBS in a case relating to the enforcement of personal guarantees.

An ‘absolutely first-rate firm’, Flint Bishop LLP ‘punches above its weight’ on contractual claims for clients in the insurance, building services and waste recycling sectors. Qamer Ghafoor is ‘the kind of solicitor you would walk through fire for’.

At Freeth Cartwright LLP, commercial litigation specialists Philippa Dempster, Charles Powell and Mark Thomson are complemented by motor sports expert Simon Taylor. Clients including BSM, Vision Express, and Gala Coral Group benefit from the team’s mix of commercial contract, insurance, and regulatory experience.

Geldards LLP is experienced in complex cases for clients in the utility, retail, transport and automotive sectors, such as Citroën, National Express and Bowmer and Kirkland. It represented a mining exploration company in a £4.5m dispute in 2010. Jonathan Tardiff joined from Eversheds LLP, bolstering the firm’s capabilities in cross-border litigation and arbitration.

Nelsons Solicitors Limited is ‘a local market leader’ whose team ‘can play in the top national league’. Solicitor-advocate Jon Roberts provides ‘very good analysis of complex issues’, and took two cases to the Court of Appeal in 2010. IP specialist Stewart Vandermark is noted for his ‘control of cases’. The team includes ‘rising star’ Emma Ward, ‘tenacious fighter’ Heather Stanford and the ‘unflappable’ Karen Sandhu.

Shakespeares is ‘very client friendly, has a good understanding of its clients’ business needs, gives sensible and practical advice, and goes the extra mile’. New practice head Marie Evans joined from Roythornes LLP, replacing John Frith and adding to the existing team of Steven Skiba – noted for his ‘competence, clarity, avoidance of pitfalls’ – and ‘absolute terrier’ Kendal Litherland.

Smith Partnership combines general commercial litigation expertise at a high level with the ability to specialise and handle large-scale instructions for major clients. The ‘customer-focused’ Bally Atwal has ‘in-depth knowledge’ of aviation-sector disputes; and practice head Russell Davies is a licensing and drinks-industry expert.

Clients of the ‘top-class’ team at Actons range from a Swiss bonds company to residential landlords and brothers in a partnership dispute. Chris Murratt is ‘in a class of his own’ and ‘thinks outside the box’. Caroline Bowler handles equine cases.

With a longstanding reputation for assisting clients in the transport sector on matters including cross-border disputes, Rothera Dowson is well equipped to handle a full range of contentious matters, including employee fraud matters, shareholder disputes, amd professional negligence, breach of contract and non-payment cases.

Roythornes LLP has experience across a wide variety of cases in the agriculture, food, property/construction and manufacturing sectors. Marie Evans is now at Shakespeares, while Andrew Shipley has joined from Nelsons Solicitors Limited.

Fraser Brown is increasingly attracting instructions from landlords in relation to disputes with tenants, and is experienced in claims arising from franchising operations.

Commercial litigation: Elsewhere in the East Midlands

Gateley is a force in complex tax and banking litigation, fielding specialist James Baird for asset recovery and related complex fraud actions. The group recently assisted a plc and a national lender in substantial professional negligence claims, and also handled a number of complex contentious probate matters. ‘Technically strong street fighter’ Chris Greenwell is highly rated.

Chris Saul’s team at Harvey Ingram LLP handled a professional negligence claim involving damages of £13.5m, and around 500 complaints against solicitors in 2010. The group was also instructed in a judicial review involving a governmental body, and a multi-party shareholder action. Sean Moran is active in contentious insolvency cases.

At Hewitsons LLP, Dominic Hopkins is ‘responsive and thorough in his analysis and advice’. The team handled a number of disputes with international elements, including representing a UK medical product company in a dispute with a European chemicals company over supply of component materials.

Howes Percival LLP has an expanding team which handles an array of matters from contractual and shareholder disputes to contentious probate, tax and agency problems. Clients include Nampak and Norbert Dentressangle.

Chattertons’ disputes team noted an increase in corporate litigation and mediation matters in 2010. Key contact Patrick Cordingley was successful in arbitration over a £20m property development contract.

Mukesh Patel at Freeth Cartwright LLP deals with a range of litigation ‘to the highest standard’.

In addition to handling professional negligence, shareholder and director disputes and judicial reviews, the team at Langleys has been active in contentious property matters. Graeme Stenson obtained relief from forfeiture for a tenant in a Court of Appeal judgment.

Deborah Ritchie at Nelsons Solicitors Limited focuses on construction disputes, using a range of resolution procedures including mediation, adjudication, arbitration and litigation.

Jonathan Wheeler at Spearing Waite LLP leads a 
team covering shareholder, commercial contract, professional negligence and property disputes. He handled a complex loss claim and several high-value breach of contract claims in 2010. Ashwin Mody successfully concluded a multimillion-pound partnership/development dispute.

Tollers LLP is geared up for increased referrals of contentious probate matters; and also deals with high-value breach of contract/confidence and shareholder/partnership disputes. Tom Kings is defending a £3m claim arising from the sale of a business.

‘Uniformly excellent across all areas’, Andrew Holt at Wilkin Chapman assists food industry clients and local authorities, among others, with small to medium claims.

Debt recovery

Gateley’s experience includes high-value and complex cases, often involving intricately planned frauds with cross-border aspects. James Baird leads the team in providing legal advice and strategic guidance to prominent clients in the asset finance and leasing sector. Melanie Chell has moved to Shoosmiths.

Shoosmiths’ substantial banking litigation group provides bespoke advice to the finance sector on dispute resolution, finance recoveries, regulatory and compliance matters, and volume recoveries. Jim Taylor heads up the unsecured lending and recoveries unit, handling litigation arising under consumer credit legislation. Waine Mannix focuses on remedies for secured lending loss. Clients consistently praise the team’s ‘top service levels’.

Flint Bishop LLP is ‘proactive, responsive, cost effective, and flexible, and obtains good results’, providing ‘a good blend of “black letter law” advice balanced against commercial practicalities/business reality’. Clients include pub company Marston’s, a number of credit unions, and new gain LexisNexis.

Nelsons Solicitors Limited provides a ‘ten-out-of-ten service’ to clients requiring business to business debt recovery expertise. The ‘very professional’, eight-strong team pursues cases overseas, and is noted for its ‘above-average success rate in collection’.

Roythornes LLP advises blue-chip, utility and factoring companies, large multinationals, and accountancy firms, and has recently launched a pre-legal collections service.

Smith Partnership ‘provides an exceptional service’, reflected in new client gains such as Cadbury and its retention of prestigious existing clients for volume recoveries. Andrew Hambleton is ‘exemplary and thorough’.

‘Very professional outfit’ Wilkin Chapman counts household utilities suppliers, local authorities, debt collection agencies and insolvency practitioners among its clients. Chris Grocock and Matthew Dix are ‘experts in their fields’, and head up the five-division debt recovery group.

Actons is noted for its personalised service, and attracted work from a Beijing client for B2B recovery in addition to existing instructions from private schools, accountants and insolvency practitioners.

Hewitsons LLP offers a tailored, technologically supported service to a range of corporate and institutional clients.

Shakespeares handles recovery work for businesses and landlords locally, and was strengthened by the arrival of Marie Evans from Roythornes LLP.

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