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England - London Bar
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Professional negligence

Nicola Rushton KC

Nicola Rushton KC

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Hailsham Chambers

Market leaders with a focus on professional negligence, Hailsham Chambers has extensive experience in an impressive range of cases across a variety of sectors. Simon Wilton KC was successful in defeating a claim concerning limitation and solicitor conduct in Kay v Martineau Johnson, a claim brought against solicitors in which the claimant, who has sat as a magistrate, alleged that she received negligent advice on a divorce settlement. Nicholas Pilsbury acted for the defendant in Riedweg v HCC International Insurance Plc and Forsters and Victoria Johns, Joshua Munro represented the claimant. The case concerned the law of contribution, establishing that an insurer’s liability under its policy is distinct from an insured’s liability to a claimant. Nicola Rushton KC acts for the claimants Manolete Partners Plc v MSR Partners LLP, an audit negligence claim which covers issues on scope of duty and fraud. Michael Pooles KC and Derek Holwill retired in 2025.
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020 7643 5000
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[email protected]
Profile
hailshamchambers.com

Profile

Position

Nicola specialises in professional negligence and commercial claims, especially those with a property or finance dimension. Her areas of expertise include: professional negligence of surveyors, solicitors and accountants; lender claims and all issues connected with secured lending; all types of claim arising from commercial contracts; director and officer (D&O) claims; insolvency, individual and corporate; freezing orders, fraud, tracing and constructive trusts. She has a niche specialism in enforcement of legal aid regulations and legal aid costs.

Clients instruct Nicola because of her collaborative and practical approach to problems. She is engaging and robust and enjoys getting her teeth into complex commercial disputes. She is adept at dealing with numerical and financial data, and has a knack for making complicated issues or concepts easy for her clients and others to understand. She communicates clearly and has a keen awareness of commercial realities. She prides herself on being accessible, friendly and prompt with her advice.

Nicola also sits part-time as a Fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in London.

Career

Called 1993; Gray’s Inn.

Education

Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls; St John’s College, Cambridge University (1991 BA Law 2(1)); Dalhousie University, Canada (1992 LLM).

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Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The clerks room is very helpful and promptly responds to queries. James Defries in particular is a reliable contact.'
  • 'Stephen Smith leads an excellent group of clerks. The culture of chambers to problem solve runs through and the clerks are always looking for ways to assist and make life easier.'
  • 'Stephen Smith leads from the front and is one of the most experienced (if not the most experienced) clerks in this field.'
  • 'The clerks provide an outstanding service. They are commercial, down to earth and always there to provide a solution when it is needed the most.'
  • 'Hailsham Chambers are an excellent set with a wide range of reliable counsel.'
  • 'One of the go-to sets. Competitively priced, good clerking team and a high-quality selection of advocates.'
  • 'Excellent from the clerking, which is the best, to the strength in depth throughout. They are the first choice chambers for professional negligence work.'
  • 'Top notch set for claims against lawyers and coverage. They are bringing through new talent all the time.'