Crown Office Chambers advises on professional negligence cases across a broad range of sectors including legal, insurance, IT and financial services. The set has members involved in the Grenfell Tower civil litigation, Andrew Rigney KC leads the team representing Rydon, the main design and build contractor, in relation to several claims, alongside Michael Harper and Toby Chandler. Ivor Collett acts for the defendant solicitors in Kagbara and others v Leigh Day, a case in which Nigerians who secured damages from Shell in an English court after leaks from an oil pipeline allege that the proceeds of their settlement were mishandled by the solicitors. Carlo Taczalski represents the defendant brokers in CPH Holdings v Generali v Aon UK Limited, a high value claim that centres around the arrangement of appropriate insurance cover. Henk Soede joined from Deka Chambers in 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Mentions
Profile
Position
Michael’s practice centres on professional negligence, insurance, property damage, product liability, commercial disputes and related (or overlapping) areas.
Michael regularly advises or acts at all stages of litigation and in a variety of hearings, including as sole counsel in the High Court. Alongside this, Michael prides himself on working effectively as part of a larger team. Examples include a £300m professional negligence dispute (one of the Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2019).
Career
Before joining Chambers, Michael was the Judicial Assistant to Lady Justice Gloster, worked on what became the Insurance Act 2015 at the Law Commission and tutored in Commercial Law at the University of Oxford. During practice Michael has also spent a period on secondment with a specialist insurance firm.
This background has provided direct experience of what solicitors and clients but also judges want from counsel.
Memberships
COMBAR, PNBA
Education
BPTC; BCL (University of Oxford; with faculty scholarship); BA Jurisprudence (University of Oxford).
Content supplied by Crown Office Chambers