The Legal 500

Position

Area of practice include disputes and advice in relation to all forms of agricultural property, farming partnerships and agricultural banking and insolvency. Clients range from landowners to tenants to banks and other lenders (including HSBC Bank, the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation and Lloyds TSB Bank) to a range of agricultural businesses. Work is undertaken nationwide. Cases include: Hoveringham Group Ltd v Scholey (1982) (High Court: Gladstone v Bower agreements); Puncknowle Farms Ltd v Kane (1985) (High Court: apportionment of milk quota); Cawley v Pratt (1988) (Court of Appeal: notice to quit); Ellis v Gratton Hughes (1991) (Court of Appeal: farming partnership); Barclays Bank plc v Eustice (1995) (Court of Appeal: mortgagee possession of agricultural property); Legal Services Commission v Morgan (1999) (High Court: LSC statutory charge); Swift v Dairywise Farms Ltd (2000) (Court of Appeal: transfer of milk quota); Pye v Graham (2002) (House of Lords: adverse possession of agricultural land); National Westminster Bank v Jones (2002) (Court of Appeal: mortgagee possession of agricultural property); Charlton v Hawking (2003) (High Court: rights of occupation of agricultural land); Barclays Bank plc v Bean (2004) (High Court: the operation of the statutory rent review provisions under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995); National Assembly for Wales v Penycoed Farming Partnership (2004) (European Court of Justice: milk levy); Lifely v Lifely (2008) (Court of Appeal: farming partnership); Peel v Coln Park LLP (2009) (High Court: Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 appeal); Aurora Leasing Ltd v Morgan (2009) (High Court: recovery of possession without a court order).

Career

Trained Burges Salmon LLP; qualified 1982. Burgess Salmon, Bristol 1980-2010; Ebery Williams, Bristol 2010-March 2011; Wilsons, Bristol April 2011 to date. Publications of note: author of the leading textbook Scammell and Densham’s ‘Law of Agricultural Holdings’ (9th edition); joint author of ‘Halsbury’s Laws (Agriculture)’; ‘The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents (Agriculture)’, Sweet & Maxwell’s ‘Agricultural Law, Tax and Finance’; the RICS publication ‘Farm Receiverships’ and the Burges Salmon publications ‘Farm Cottages’ and ‘Agricultural Arbitrations and Dispute Resolution’. Joint author of the CAAV publication and the RICS electronic textbook, both entitled ‘Dispute Resolution’. Former Blundell lecturer. Regularly lectures to RICS, CAAV and others.

Member

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (honorary member); Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (fellow); British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (fellow); Agricultural Law Association; Law Society; R3, Property Litigation Association.

Education

BA; FCIArb; FBIAC.

Practice Areas

Agriculture and estates; Contentious trusts and probate; Property - litigation