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BLM

PLANTATION PLACE, 30 FENCHURCH STREET, LONDON, EC3M 3BL, ENGLAND
Tel:
Work 020 7638 2811
Fax:
Fax 020 7920 0361
DX:
14302 MANCHESTER1
Web:
www.blmlaw.com
Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derry, Dublin and 8 more
BLM, Michael Harvey, London EC3M, ENGLAND

Lawyer rankings

Michael Harvey

Tel:
Work 020 7457 3574
Email:
BLM

Position

Michael trained at Henmans in Oxford. He qualified in 1999 and became an associate in 2004 before joining BLM in 2009. Michael became a partner in 2011. He is experienced in handling most types of professional indemnity claims, and all types of product liability claims. Michael’s professional indemnity practice includes acting for insurers on behalf of a wide range of professionals, specialising in particular in defending claims against solicitors, accountants, auditors and surveyors. His work defending solicitors covers most solicitors’ practice areas. Michael acted in both the TAG and CLE (‘son of TAG’) cases. His work defending accountants and auditors includes failures to properly draw up and file accounts and/or properly to audit, tax and tax advice-related claims, commercial/business advice, and claims arising from financial advice and finance management. Michael’s practice also includes advising major professional indemnity insurers on policy coverage matters. He is regularly instructed to advise on issues such as scope of notification, aggregation of claims, and the impact of non-disclosure, and suspected dishonesty; including a successful arbitration of a multi-million pound dispute between major professional indemnity insurers over the purported notification of a laundry list of claims. Michael’s product liability practice includes acting for insurers on behalf retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Recently handled product liability claims include those with an international element, including acting for Italian and German insurers and manufacturers, a global drinks distributor, a claim involving allegedly defective industrial gas valves distributed worldwide. Other claims include those where significant losses have been claimed arising from allegedly defective biomass fuel, industrial storage tanker coating, pressure reducing (water) valves, and various claims arising from different contaminated food products. His products practice also includes advising on recalls, and pursuing recovery and contribution claims, including claims against manufacturers in other jurisdictions, including Italy, Greece, Malaysia and Egypt. Michael also advises on policy coverage matters on product liability and recall policies. Michael is experienced at achieving successful outcomes for clients through different routes, including the use of mediation, arbitration, and taking cases to trial where appropriate. Key clients include Zurich Professional, Zurich Global Corporate Allianz and CNA.

Career

Trained Henmans, Oxford; qualified 1999; associate 2004-09; Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP 2009 to date; associate 2010; partner 2011.

Member

Forum of Insurance Lawyers.

Education

Willink School, Berkshire; University of Liverpool (1994 LLB Law 2(1)); Nottingham Law School (1996 LPC).

Leisure

Football, tennis, skiing, reading, walking, spending time with family.

London: Insurance

Product liability: defendant

Within: Product liability: defendant

BLM's practice is headed by Jim Sherwood, who ‘builds a good team for the case in hand'. Michael Harvey leads on matters for a food and drinks conglomerate client, and Carys Oatham advises large insurers including QBE. The practice’s clients also include consumer products multinationals and an Asian IT software and technology giant. Suppliers and manufacturers also instruct the firm in everything from cross-border disputes to recall claims. RSA and Globachem have retained the firm in a multimillion-euro claim relating to crops that were allegedly damaged, and the group continues to represent Sunseeker and QBE in claims relating to a fire, which allegedly originated from a vessel that was manufactured by the insured.

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Professional negligence

Within: Professional negligence

The team at BLM is made up of ‘true specialists in professional negligence’, handling disputes in the property, public, construction, education, legal and financial sectors, among others. It is also noted for claims involving trade unions and regulatory bodies; team head Elliot Pound is advising UNISON and Zurich on a claim concerning employment law advice given in relation to difficulties experienced by Leicestershire County Council relating to the 2015 general election count. Pound is also advising the University of East London and RSA on a claim brought by an international student. Michael Harvey is representing an international insurer which was the victim of a large-scale fraud concerning its involvement in a scheme for solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance. Richard Wilkins defended solicitors accused of making a will which was argued to be invalid for want of capacity, and acted for the Bar Standards Board in a claim by a practising QC disputing its handling of a complaint from another barrister. Martin Jensen is a ‘brilliant, instinctive lawyer’, who shows ‘courage, a very high degree of intelligence and calmness in difficult circumstances’, and Alex Traill is ‘sensitive to the requirements of all stakeholders, while being technically very thorough’. Keith Lonsdale and Michael Salau specialise in construction sector mandates. Ross Baker is also recommended, as are associates Geneviève Rich, Andrew Layton-Morris and Katherine Heath. Peter Stockill joined Penningtons Manches LLP in 2018, and Charlotte Capstick left the firm.

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