Firm Profile > Hill Dickinson LLP > London, England

Commodities disputes Tier 1

Hill Dickinson LLP is best known for its work in soft commodities cases involving grains, seeds, pulses, edible oils, fertilisers and cocoa, but the firm continues to expand its offering in the energy and metals sectors. 'It is a "go-to" firm for anything commodities-related,' remarks one client. The practice led by Jeff Isaacs, who is arguably the leading cotton lawyer in London and a longstanding adviser to the sugar industry, is highly active in the major trade association arbitral fora, including the Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) and the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations (FOSFA), and before the High Court. Fred Konynenburg, whose 'dedication and work ethos are hard to beat', Andrew Buchmann who is dual-qualified in England and South Africa, the 'incredibly hardworking, commercial and user-friendly' Paul Taylor and Darren Wall (who is 'at the top of the list for commodities disputes') are also recommended. Paul Sinnott's in-depth knowledge of the energy and metals markets is also a key pillar of the disputes practice. Experienced associate Olga Newman joined from Reed Smith LLP in 2020.

Healthcare Tier 1

With four teams spread across London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds, Hill Dickinson LLP is one of the most prominent national healthcare operators, with an increasing presence in the South and in London advising NHS organisations, start-ups, and private providers on procurement, regulatory and governance work, inquests, and Court of Protection matters. The 'exceptional' Kiran Bhogal and Emma Galland co-head the London practice and both are highly recommended by clients, as are Joanna Trewin, Robert McGough, and Sharon Thomas. The team continues to expand with new hires such as Fiona McLellan from Hempsons and Ben Troke from Browne Jacobson LLP.

Property finance

Clinical negligence: defendant Tier 2

Hill Dickinson LLP's spectrum of clients ranges from NHS Resolution and the Medical Protection Society, to private healthcare providers and insurers. The firm also handles claims arising from inquests within the prison service and walk-in centres, and is known for being the primary litigation support within the aesthetic sector, regularly defending individual clinicians and clinics. Andrew Craggs, who oversees both the London and Liverpool offices, focuses on complex clinical negligence claims. Recent arrival Rebecca Hunt, formerly of Capsticks LLP, brings extensive experience of advising NHS organisations on highly sensitive incidents, including those involving the Health and Safety Executive and police, to the practice.

Shipping Tier 2

Trade finance Tier 2

The trade finance practice at Hill Dickinson LLP is an important adjunct to the work done by the firm's leading commodities group, which has extensive experience in softs, energy and metals. The firm has an increasingly prominent role in trade finance deals and related disputes, frequently acting for banks and trading houses in high-value and complex structured transactions. Among its clients are Bunge, Gunvor, Cargill, Tate & Lyle and Gerald Metals. Consultant Mark Aspinall is the main contact for trade finance, though he is backed by a strong group of commodities specialists including Fred Konynenburg, Paul Sinnott and litigator Andrew Buchmann. Associate Olga Newman, who joined from Reed Smith LLP, is also active in commodity trading and trade finance matters. One client remarks that the team is 'practical and commercial, and they are able to hand-hold and guide clients'.

Equity capital markets - low-mid cap Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP's practice operates nationally between the London and Manchester offices and has developed a growing reputation in the ECM arena. The team, which has been growing significantly at partner level since 2016, was recently bolstered by the arrival of Shantanu Sinha from Mishcon de Reya LLP. Michael Bennett heads up the group, which is active in the full range of ECM transactions connected with NEX, AIM and the Main Market. It is particularly strong in the pharmaceuticals and life sciences, medical cannabis and energy and natural resources sectors.

M&A: smaller deals, up to £50m Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP has seen significant team growth in recent years with Shantanu Sinha becoming the latest to join the practice from Mishcon de Reya LLP. The team operates within a network of foreign law firms to advise on cross-border deals, and many fee-earners within the group are dual qualified. Key sectors for the department include the pharmaceuticals, life sciences and medical cannabis industries; the team also has notable experience advising  AIM-listed companies. Michael Bennett leads the commercial department and is particularly experienced in the energy and natural resources sectors.

Life sciences and healthcare Tier 4

Hill Dickinson LLP combines its first-rate public healthcare practice with its broader life sciences, biotech, and health tech expertise. James Lawford Davies,  who is a life sciences regulatory lawyer and litigator, is considered 'unparalleled in the field of reproductive medicine law' and has a specialism in human tissue and cell-based therapies and research. Jamie Foster's commercial work includes collaborations and licensing in addition to regulatory regimes for clients such as cell and gene therapy companies. Michael Corcoran assists private and smaller listed companies with fund raisings and joint ventures.

Personal injury: defendant Tier 4

Hill Dickinson LLP fields a team of specialist personal injury lawyers dealing with crew and passenger accidents, sexual assault, class actions and fatalities throughout the marine sector, from oil majors to container ships, bulk carriers, yachts and fishing vessels. The firm is also instructed on the vast majority of industrial disease claims brought in the marine and port industry, and practice head John Caddies has 'exceptional knowledge of asbestos-related matters'.

Derivatives and structured products Tier 5

Hill Dickinson LLP joins the ranking for its expertise in commodity derivatives. Jeff Isaacs leads the broader commodities practice, in which both the physical and derivatives teams sit. Their work spans sale contracts, bills of lading, charterparties, contracts of affreightment, trade finance, letters of credit, derivatives, economic sanctions and marine cargo insurance issues. on behalf of major trading houses, oil giants, insurers, investment funds, brokers and shipowners. The arrival in 2019 of Mark Aspinall and Paul Sinnott from Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP brought widely acknowledged experience, particularly in the oil and metals markets.

Administrative and public law Tier 6

Hill Dickinson LLP’s administrative and public law practice focuses on the healthcare sector; NHS Trusts, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and regulatory bodies retain co heads Emma Stockwell (who’s based in Liverpool) and Kiran Bhogal for advice on governance structures, CCG mergers, statutory duties and policy guidance. The team defends judicial review challenges into service reconfigurations, and also handles clients’ interests in high-profile public inquiries. The promotion of David Hill, who is an expert in commissioning policy, reinforced the partnership.

Transport finance and leasing Tier 6

Although it has recently been increasingly active financing other transportation assets, including corporate jets, Hill Dickinson LLP remains best known for its shipping finance offering for operators and lenders. Panos Pourgourides is one of the foremost practitioners in the country in the superyacht space and co-heads the overarching team with Roderick Palmer, who has a focus on more traditional commercial shipping matters.

Travel

At Hill Dickinson LLP, the travel and leisure team acts across a number of different areas encompassing defendant personal injury work, brand protection issues, regulatory and commercial matters, international tax mandates, asset management work and finance issues. With specialist knowledge of the shipping and cruise sectors in particular, the team advises on domestic package travel and EU travel regulation frameworks and personal injury claims, which often involve fatality investigations. The team, which is led by personal injury and disease specialist John Caddies, frequently acts for industry bodies, cruise and ferry operators, tour operators, hotels, ports and terminals. Another name to note is Javed Ali, who is a 'travel specialist with significant experience in the travel and personal injury sector in both the UK and EU'; he focuses on commercial, regulatory and non-contentious mandates including contractual matters, booking terms and conditions, conditions of carriage, website compliance work and consumer protection regulatory issues.

Commercial litigation: Liverpool Tier 1

The team at Hill Dickinson LLP, which is ‘always available and ready to assist', is jointly led by the ‘commercial’ and ‘personable’ Fiona Parry and Manchester-based Christopher Tyrrell. The team is well-regarded for high-value shareholder and partnership disputes and breach of contract claims, often acting on matters spanning multiple jurisdictions.  Paul Walsh is 'thorough at client-focused' while at the junior end, legal director Nina Ferris is well-versed in partnership disputes relating to retirement, expulsion and the enforcement of restrictive covenants. Beyond commercial litigation, the contentious offering also includes tax, defamation, professional negligence, product liability, probate and competition-related disputes.

Corporate and commercial: Liverpool Tier 1

The practice at Hill Dickinson LLP is made up of a team of ‘dedicated and real experts’. Mark Fitzgibbon jointly heads the practice with Craig Scott, a lawyer with extensive experience of private equity deals and corporate transactions. The team also include Jonathan Brown, who handles negotiations in the transport and aviation sectors, as well as Matt Noon, whose track record includes various high-value national investments, sales and acquisitions. Mike Jones, particularly active in the retail, logistics, leisure and property sectors, provides M&A expertise alongside Sue Russell. Also of note at the junior end are Michael Murphy and Graeme Alder; they respectively specialise in corporate deals in the property investment sector and commercial contracts. Cross-border matters are a core strength with further industry strengths including health, local government and higher education.

Debt recovery Tier 1

Hill Dickinson LLP provides a notably broad range of debt recovery services; examples include recoveries for commercial clients, restitution claims for public sector clients, the enforcement of judgments and costs orders in addition to acting on charging orders and orders for sales. Sharon Williamson leads the department, which is also well-versed in pursuing debtors based outside of England and Wales.

Employment Tier 1

Jeff Middleton heads Hill Dickinson LLP’s employment practice, which has an enviable track record advising public healthcare organisations such as NHS foundation trusts and Health Education England on discrimination, whistleblowing, reorganisations and tribunal matters. Michael Wright, in particular, is a key figure for healthcare matters. The team also specialises in education, including collective agreements for teachers and support staff. Liverpool-based legal director Caroline Prosser is largely responsible for the team's growing reputation in investigations, with independent disciplinary and grievance investigations for in-house legal and HR teams a more common strand of work. Liverpool-based national head of schools Luke Green is another name to note.

Health Tier 1

Hill Dickinson LLP offers a wide range of services including representation at inquests, mental health advisory work, Court of Protection matters, healthcare governance, property advice, commercial advice and transactions, procurement and healthcare commercial litigation. The department also has a niche in acting for healthcare providers in prisons and advises NHS England in respect of independent homicide investigation reports. Andrew Craggs manages the firm’s health team; Joanna Trewin heads the Manchester practice. Amanda Hurst leads the property healthcare team. Legal director Paul Allerston is noted for his 'huge experience'.

Personal tax, trusts and probate Tier 1

Hill Dickinson LLP has a strong track record in advising high-net-worth individuals on succession planning issues, with a particular focus on the tax implications of estates. Clients include business owners, professionals, landowners and sports and media personalities. Headed up by the 'technically astute' Fionnuala Kenny, the team also includes legal director Susan Sherry, who focuses on the protection of vulnerable clients. Paul Baker is also singled out and specialises in offshore tax planning work and advising on domicile and residence issues, as well as offshore trusts and alternative structures.

Property litigation Tier 1

Transport Tier 1

Hill Dickinson LLP's cargo and logistics team focuses on the marine insurance, cargo, logistics and warehousing industries. Key areas of work include insurance and subrogated recovery, marine policy coverage issues, charterparty and bill of lading disputes, salvage and general average, freight recovery and liens, customs & excise issues and disputes, and risk and crisis management. Adrian Marsh heads the team and handles litigation arising from logistics, shipping and marine insurance coverage disputes in England and overseas. Caroline Bridge has significant expertise in drafting and advising upon service level agreements and standard trading conditions. Richard Allingham is also recommended.

Banking and finance Tier 2

The highly regarded Richard Capper leads the banking and finance practice at Hill Dickinson LLP. He has a broad range of experience acting on property finance, project finance and acquisition finance for both public and private companies, and divides his time between Liverpool, Manchester and London. Chris Johnston and Alasdair Mackinnon are in charge of the Manchester office; Mackinnon has developed connections with national banks and alternative lenders. Johnston is prominent on property finance work, representing major banks. Senior associate Emma Howard is active in both Liverpool and Manchester and has experience on major finance transactions.

Commercial litigation: Manchester Tier 2

The commercial litigation team at Hill Dickinson LLP handles a range of disputes, with particular experience in the health and life sciences, education and IT sectors. Procurement disputes expert Christopher Tyrrell heads up the practice following Geraldine Ryan's departure to CMS. Other names to note include banking litigator Sharon Williamson and Iain Campbell, who acts in breach of contract and professional negligence disputes with a particular focus on the higher education sector. Legal director Moya Clifford is highlighted for her arbitration and shareholder disputes experience, while senior associate Andrew Little specialises in contentious IP, GDPR and reputation management matters.

Commercial property: Liverpool Tier 2

Hill Dickinson LLP has a 'very capable team' of lawyers who display expertise across range of sectors including healthcare, retail and logistics. Alex McCann leads the practice and works on property development matters. He is supported by David Swaffield who has a 'vast knowledge of transaction-based commercial business' with particular experience in the logistics sector. Martyn McDonald leads on retail related work for the firm. Amanda Hurst leads the healthcare property team, counting NHS trusts among her key clients.

Education Tier 2

Hill Dickinson LLP acts for schools in both the maintained and non-maintained sectors. The practice provides a full range of services, handling academy conversions, employment and trade union matters, guidance on parental issues, advice on admissions and exclusions, governance and data protection issues. Luke Green heads the schools group and has particular experience in safeguarding, governance, equality issues and all aspects of legal compliance.

Family Tier 2

Joanne Raisbeck leads the family team at Hill Dickinson LLP, which specialises in relationship breakdowns, relationship agreements, private children issues, and injunction work. It has a strong track record in acting for some of the region’s most high-profile individuals from the world of business, media and sport, and is seeing increased levels of instructions from international clients. Sarah McCarthy was promoted to senior chartered legal executive in 2019.

Health Tier 2

The Leeds-based Robert McGough heads up the national commercial health team at Hill Dickinson LLP, which includes lawyers spread across London, Manchester and Liverpool. The Leeds office offers the full range of healthcare legal specialisms, handling commercial, governance, regulatory, employment and property matters The team has a large national and local client base, including national NHS bodies such as NHS England and NHS Resolution and has worked with NHS Resolution on the development of the new clinical negligence scheme for GPs.

Health and safety Tier 2

Led by 'shrewd tactician' Philip Moy, the Liverpool-based team at Hill Dickinson LLP advises on the full gambit of health and safety matters, but is particularly active on investigations relating to corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fire safety breaches, and environmental issues. The firm's key clients include corporations in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, logistics, and energy sectors. Stephen Barnfield, promoted to legal director in 2019, is a name to note.

Pensions Tier 2

Headed by Barry Gibb, the team at Hill Dickinson LLP handles a broad range of pensions work for both corporates and trustees, with considerable experience in scheme mergers, redesigns and restructurings. The team has seen an increased flow of instructions in pensions litigation, as well as buy-ins, buy-outs. Gibb most notably advised Swissport Group in relation to the merger of three pension schemes into a newly created, sectionalised scheme. Paula Warnock is a key team member.

Banking litigation Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP's finance litigation team is singled out for its asset-based lending expertise and has particular experience in invoice discounting and receivables finance disputes. Practice head Sharon Williamson handles a range of contentious matters in the banking space and has been increasingly active in fraud-related matters, including employee fraud claims and phishing attack issues.

Charities and not-for-profit Tier 3

At Hill Dickinson LLP, charities, not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises of varying sizes are acted for on a range of matters including commercial issues, group structuring work, insolvencies, property mandates, constitutional and governance issues, employment matters and compliance work. Mark Fitzgibbon leads on most of the firm’s charity-related matters.

Commercial property: Manchester Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP is active across several sectors, including logistics and retail, acting for local authorities, property developers and banks. Jim Purves leads the team; he acts on property development matters in relation to logistics and industrial property, with notable clients including DHL. Former head of the Manchester property team Michael Blakey is well regarded, with decades of experience acting on commercial property issues. Senior associate Alistair Wallworth is 'quick at grasping issues and works hard in his client's interests.'

Construction Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP's team demonstrates 'a considerable level of expertise in the field of construction'. Team head Alan Pugh is active in both contentious and non- contentious construction and engineering work, and he is particularly prominent in projects in the energy, oil and gas and industrial sectors. David Chinn is highly experienced in all types of construction matters, particularly disputes, where he is active in litigation and arbitration. Also notable is that he is an accredited mediator. Another key name is Tricia Morrison, who represents clients in litigation and adjudications.

Corporate and commercial: Manchester Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP’s mid-market focused North West corporate team is best known for its equity capital markets, private equity and M&A work. Jointly led by Ian Gillis and Mark Fitzgibbon, the practice prides itself on its reputation for commerciality and successfully closing transactions. Key client sectors include logistics, health, manufacturing, education, retail, leisure, tech and local government. Other key partners include the 'brilliant' Ian Riggs, Jonathan Gillow and David Mkhitarian.

Insolvency and corporate recovery Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP is praised for its 'sound technical advice' which it combines with 'commerciality' across a range of areas including corporate restructuring, pension-related insolvencies and property-related insolvencies. As head of the team, Paul Spence possesses a 'broad depth of experience' in distressed real estate matters; he is active in both Liverpool and Manchester. Gavin Jones 'provides an excellent service' in contentious work, while Julie Agnew, who joined from DWF in 2019, primarily acts on non-contentious insolvency and restructuring mandates.

IT and telecoms Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP's team has specific expertise of smart grids, digital infrastructure and telecoms-related matters, advising on legal strategy, compliance and commercial contracts. Practice head Tracey Sheehan is an expert in telecoms convergence with other industries and European telecoms regulation. She also holds expertise in structuring national and international high-value projects which bridge digital and critical infrastructure.

Local government Tier 3

The local government team at Hill Dickinson LLP advises on public procurement, property and regeneration projects, governance, pensions, dispute resolution and telecoms, and also takes on education, health and social contract commission work. Practice head Mark Fitzgibbon undertakes a broad range of procurement and governance work; Tracy Sheehan leads the telecoms team.

Planning and environment Tier 3

Hill Dickinson LLP, whose practice is led by Grant Anderson, acts for clients in sectors such as housing, energy and infrastructure, commercial and retail. It provides a comprehensive service on a full range of planning matters, including planning applications and appeals, section 106 agreements, compulsory purchase orders and highways agreements. In addition, environmental work is another mainstay of the practice.

Sport Tier 4

The practice at Hill Dickinson LLP is jointly led by Graeme Alder, Sue Russell and Louise Millington-Roberts, who serves as a consultant in London. Its services include breach of contract disputes, ticketing matters, global rights and brand management issues, defamation and reputation management along with a range sponsorship agreement. A further key component of the offering is disciplinary and regulatory-related work with clubs, promoters and athletes, both retired and current, forming the client base.

Intellectual property Tier 5

Hill Dickinson LLP specialises in brand protection and exploitation, regularly advising on sponsorship and personal endorsement deals, licenses and IPR assignments. Patent application before the UK IPO and EPO, asset purchase agreements, research and development collaboration contracts and the full range of contentious issues are also core strengths. The London-based Mark Weston heads the department alongside Mark Fitzgibbon, who operates from Manchester.

Clinical negligence and personal injury: defendant

The health litigation team at Hill Dickinson LLP is led by Joanne Hughes and Andrew Craggs from Leeds and Liverpool. The Leeds practitioners, which include senior associate Amy Lewis Clark, has a specialism in the niche area of dental clinical negligence claims. NHS Resolution is Hill Dickinson’s largest client; the firm was recently appointed to its new GP Indemnity Panel and assists in managing claims brought against those in general practice. The firm is also one of only two firms on the national panel of the Medical Protection Society.

Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant

Hill Dickinson LLP’s health litigation group holds places on a range of major healthcare panels. The team also works for private healthcare providers, handling claims arising within the prison service and walk-in centres. Andrew Craggs heads the group and specialises in complex clinical negligence, stress and bullying and assault claims involving the NHS. David Locke is recommended for complex catastrophic injury claims for NHS and private clients. Joanne Hughes has significant experience in GP and dental claims. Senior associate Claire Christopholus  is noted for her knowledge of commissioning claims and non-delegable duty of care claims.