18 St John Street Chambers

Commercial and chancery.

David acts in all types of contract litigation including sale of goods and services, domestic construction, professional negligence of lawyers, accountants and other professionals, insurance and banking contracts. This has recently included business interruption insurance arising out of the pandemic. He has also acted for clients in company and partnership disputes, including obtaining and defending urgent injunctions, and commercial wrongs such as passing off and breach of confidence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trust. He is especially strong in cases of legal complexity, including areas such as restitution, breach of fiduciary duty and complex corporate and trust matters. He is also skilled at mobilising clients quickly to bring or defend urgent injunction applications.

David also undertakes drafting commercial contracts including standard terms of business, substantial and bespoke property contracts, shareholders agreements and other corporate documentation, leases, conveyances and property contracts. Drafting standard terms of business has included advising on provisions required to comply with consumer protection and similar legislation, in some cases dealing with challenges from trading standards.

David can advise on a wide range of succession matters, including regularly advising on Inheritance Act cases and family provision, wills and probate, capacity, undue influence and issues arising with estate property. As well as litigation, David frequently acts to help parties to settle disputes at mediation and has acted as arbitrator in estate matters.

David is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has acted as an arbitrator, as well as published on arbitration law. Recent arbitrations include landlord and tenant, commercial contracts and estate and will issues.  David is also an accredited mediator (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) and a member of the Association of Northern Mediators. He is an experienced advocate in both mediation and arbitration with a strong record of settling cases. Both for mediation and arbitration, David welcomes creative approaches to ADR, including paper-only arbitration, and conducting ADR at fixed rates for modest-value claims.

David is also accredited to take public access clients.

Called 1997; Lincoln’s Inn.

Northern Business and Property Bar Association (committee member) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Association of Northern Mediators Society of Legal Scholars European Circuit

Manchester Grammar School; University College Oxford (BA law first class 1993) (BCL1994); Inns of Court School of Law; College Scholarship.