Hall Of Fame

Next Generation Partners

Rising Stars

Banking litigation in Yorkshire And The Humber

Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard’s impressive client roster includes a full range of financial institutions, including high street banks, building societies, asset financed lenders, and private and foreign banks. Sally Emerton, who is well regarded for her experience acting for retail and commercial banks, with particular expertise in the asset finance and leasing industry, co-heads the practice alongside Ben Lowans, who has a broad finance litigation practice, though specialises in fraud-based litigation. Sandip Singh is noted for his experience handling negligence and fraud-related litigation, while Jennifer Hedley has particular expertise acting for defendant financial institutions.

Practice head(s):

Sally Emerton; Ben Lowans


Other key lawyers:

Sandip Singh; Jennifer Hedley; Christopher Gilbert


Testimonials

‘Jennifer Hedley and the associates that support her, have always gone out of their way to meet all of our needs. They provide great legal advice as you would expect, but they also make my life as an in-house lawyer easier by meeting deadlines, making themselves available to assist at short notice, replying promptly to emails, billing in line with agreed fee structures and providing additional reports as requested.’

‘The banking litigation team are an amazing group to work with. They are conscientious and are always willing and able to help. The team provide full disclosure on options and will not be afraid to recommend a decision that they believe are in our best interests.’

‘Christopher Gilbert is a hidden gem. He clearly loves the challenges of the more difficult case and displays what can only be described as dogged terrier mentality to get results.’

‘Ben Lowan’s team at AG are excellent. They have real strength across the bench and a clearly very partner-led approach to their work. It always feels like Ben’s fingerprints are on all the work we see, which is a real testament to the team he’s chosen. The team are known for their strength in the field, and it’s good to know we have them in our corner rather than acting for our opponents.’

‘Ben Lowans is clearly one of the best in his field. He has worked incredibly hard with us and our team to get to grips with our needs and to understand our industry. That knowledge clearly plays out across the rest of his team.’

‘Jennifer Hedley is approachable and knowledgeable.’

‘The team has vast and varied experience making it equipped to deal with a multitude of issues affecting financial institutions. The team are well versed in tackling matters commercially and efficiently which is always of interest to clients. They are also extremely personable and a pleasure to work with.’

‘The standout individual in this team is Jennifer Hedley. She is intelligent, commercial, superbly efficient and most importantly of all, a real pleasure to work with. Jen and the rest of the team keep their promises and that’s extremely important for in-house teams managing busy caseloads. I know that when I instruct Jen, the matter is going to be in very safe hands.’

Key clients

Natwest


HSBC


Nottingham Building Society


Co-op Bank


Santander


Aldermore Bank


Close Brothers


Lloyds Banking Group


Arbuthnot


Societe Generale Equipment Finance


Duologi


DLA Piper

DLA Piper is well known for its banking litigation expertise, which includes litigation in the fintech sector, COVID-lending disputes, class actions, cyber-security, private equity funding disputes, and ESG-related matters, as well as traditional-litigation support. Practice head Adam Ibrahim has extensive experience in this arena, including acting on class actions. Other key practitioners include Hugh Evans, who has a broad practice that covers mortgage disputes and fraud claims, and Chris Harvey, who handles operational banking issue-related claims, mis-selling claims, injunctions, crypto-assets, and fraud-related matters. Sohail Ali acts for investment, retail, and commercial banks, as well as fintech clients, while Claire Clayton-Stead was recently promoted to partnership.

Practice head(s):

Adam Ibrahim


Other key lawyers:

Hugh Evans; Chris Harvey; Sohail Ali; Claire Clayton-Stead


Testimonials

‘The best banking litigation team outside of London. Real bench strength from senior partners down to junior associates. Very experienced, responsive and hard-working and a pleasure to be in the trenches with.’

‘Sohail Ali is very commercial, strategic and has a cool head in a crisis.’

‘Effective highly experienced and insightful banking law team who have done everything and know exactly what their clients need.’

‘Hugh Evans is a massively experienced banking law practitioner, who continues to lead the field in banking law. His expertise in retail and investment banking is largely unmatched.’

Key clients

Bank of Ireland


Lloyds Banking Group


NatWest Group


Goldman Sachs


Leeds Building Society


Virgin Money UK Plc


ANZ Bank


Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank


Deutsche Bank


New Day


Work highlights


  • Successfully acting for New Day on a strategic litigation, in respect of the biggest issue to hit the FS sector.
  • Acting for Virgin Money/Clydesdale Bank on a litigant alleging fraud, conspiracy and misrepresentation against a major bank, successfully striking out multiple claims, including success in the Court of Appeal.

Gateley Legal

Gateley Legal’s banking litigation group, which forms part of the firm’s wider commercial dispute resolution team, acts for a wide range of banks, building societies and other finance providers. It is well-versed in a variety of financial disputes, including recovery actions, asset finance disputes, and regulatory matters. The team is led by Andrew Johnson, while Roger McCourt is noted for his experience in handling contractual disputes, professional negligence claims, and fraud-related matters.

Practice head(s):

Andrew Johnson


Other key lawyers:

Roger McCourt


Shoosmiths LLP

Shoosmiths LLP’s finance disputes team primarily acts for banks and financial houses, and has experience in handling business-to-business asset finance matters. Other key areas of expertise include advising on breach of covenant and misrepresentation claims, civil fraud, commercial debt recovery, guarantees and indemnities, enforcement of awards, and cross-border contractual issues. David Farnell and Jonathan Mills, who recently joined from Addleshaw Goddard, co-lead the team; both of whom have experience in acting for asset finance clients on recoveries and litigation work.

Practice head(s):

David Farnell; Jonathan Mills


Testimonials

‘Great team, who are very client focused.’

‘Very responsive to client needs.’

Key clients

Capita PLC


Paragon Development Finance Limited


Shawbrook Bank Limited


Bibby Factors Limited


Bibby Financial Services Limited


Bibby Leasing Limited


Bibby Trade Factors Limited


Walker Morris LLP

Walker Morris LLP acts for a variety of clients, from high street banks, to alternative, niche and challenger lenders, as well as receivers and insolvency practitioners. Rob Payne has a broad practice that covers managed-exit advice, fraud, asset-tracing and recovery, and operational disputes, while Richard Sandford acts for lender clients on a range of disputes. Louise Power rounds off the leadership team, with particular expertise acting for vulnerable borrowers. Legal director Ellen McLean focuses on secured lending litigation, while senior associate Ashley Neville has experience in the retail mortgage and commercial lending arena.

Practice head(s):

Rob Payne; Richard Sandford; Louise Power


Other key lawyers:

Ellen McLean; Ashley Neville


Testimonials

‘Rob Payne and his team have taken the time to really understand our business and how we operate. As a result, the advice we receive is meaningful, commercially minded and allows us to quickly make a decision regarding next steps. We are immensely grateful to have built such a good relationship with Rob and his team and have no doubt that it is greatly improved our in house service to our business.’

‘The team are experienced and reliable to work with.’

‘Rob Payne is as good as it gets. His grasp of the technical knowledge required is second to none, and he is able to distil that knowledge into sound, commercially minded advice to the benefit of his clients. Ashley Neville is a rising star and will no doubt make a fantastic partner in the future.’

‘The team is helpful and pragmatic.’

‘Ellen McLean and Rob Payne are always available to discuss matters it is helpful and a valuable outlet to our team.’

‘Huge amount of experience in banking litigation. Excellent partners and a really strong pipeline of talented associates. Always a pleasure to work with.’

‘Rob Payne is an excellent partner with experience, legal knowledge and determination to get results.’

‘Walker Morris’s banking litigation practice is one of the strongest regional practices I know. They have excellent links to a number of high street banks and as a result are very experienced in the range of banking and financial claims likely to arise.’

Key clients

Lloyds Banking Group


Handelsbanken Plc


Bank of Ireland


Mortgage Express


NRAM Limited


Topaz Finance Limited


Computershare


Oakwood Home Loans


Together Commercial Finance


OneSavings Bank


Capita Business Services Limited


Pepper UK Finance


Octopus Real Estate


Imagine Mortgages Limited


Shawbrook Bank Limited


FRP Advisory


The Mortgage Lender Limited


Loughborough Building Society


Skipton Building Society


Leeds Building Society


Yorkshire Building Society


Schneider Financial Solutions Limited


Foundation Home Loans


Furness Building Society


Leek Building Society


SDKA Limited


Walker Singleton


Work highlights


  • Advising Handelsbanken on a professional negligence claim against valuers and solicitors which has impacted on approximately £1m of security value and associated negotiation with the bank’s customer.
  • Acting for Handelsbanken in an application to vary a criminal restraint order to facilitate the realisation of a substantial investment property by receivers appointed by the bank.