James Ballance > Chambers of Michael Gibbon KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

James Ballance

Position

James Ballance has a busy advocacy and advisory practice, encompassing a wide range of Commercial Chancery work, with particular experience and specialism in property litigation and professional negligence claims.  He appears regularly in the High Court and the County Court (in London and elsewhere), and increasingly in the Court of Appeal.

General civil and commercial litigation

Instructed in a wide range of general civil and commercial litigation, including: contractual and other business disputes, claims involving urgent injunctive and/or freezing relief, lender claims against borrowers and/or guarantors, claims in restitution, unjust enrichment and subrogation.
 
Property litigation

Particular experience and specialism in property litigation.  His principal fields of work involve:

Real property litigation: conveyancing matters, co-ownership claims, land registration issues (both pre- and post-Land Registration Act 2002) and rectification claims, constructive trust and proprietary estoppel claims, trespass, boundary disputes, nuisance, adverse possession, contracts for the sale of land/agreements for leases, easements, restrictive covenants, mortgages, undue influence/duress claims, overreaching issues.

Mortgage possession claims and related lender disputes, including lenders’ powers of sale, LPA Receivers, and limitation/adverse possession issues.

Commercial landlord & tenant disputes, including renewal applications, construction of leases, rectification, issues under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, break notices, forfeiture/termination, relief from forfeiture, breach of landlord and tenant covenants, and rent review provisions.

Residential landlord & tenant claims, covering both ASTs and ATs (and earlier forms of secured residential leases), and long leases; possession claims, rent and service charge disputes, forfeiture & termination, relief from forfeiture, and extension / enfranchisement.

Also familiar with and able to advise and act on a wide variety of other property matters, including Sale of Goods Act claims, Village Green applications, applications for charging orders, orders for sale, and vesting orders.

Equity and trusts

Wide experience of a range of equity and trusts work.  High profile cases have involved complex issues within the law of trusts and constructive trusts, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trust. 

Professional negligence

Wide-ranging experience in professional negligence claims, against accountants, legal representatives and surveyors, including high-profile multi-million pound litigation brought by a company in liquidation against its former defence solicitors, involving complex issues in professional negligence, under the Companies Acts and in breach of fiduciary duty.

Insolvency

Advises and acts on a variety of corporate and personal insolvency matters, including winding-up petitions and rescission applications, bankruptcy petitions, annulment applications and applications to set aside statutory demands, administration applications, and a range of other insolvency matters including appointment of provisional liquidators, CVAs and IVAs, transactions at an undervalue and preferences.

Company & partnership matters

Advises and acts on a range of company and partnership matters, from share re-organisations, pre-emption rights and unfair prejudice petitions to disputes as to the existence, or terms of, partnerships, dissolution claims, and partnership accounts.

Career

Qualified 2009, Grays’ Inn.

Languages

Dutch, French, German.

Memberships

Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association, Professional Negligence Bar Association.

Education

Jeanne d’Arc College, Maastricht; St John’s College, Oxford (BA (Hons), BCL, MPhil).