Commercial Dispute Resolution

• Banking Litigation
• Regulatory

THE CHALLENGE

The challenge for us is to bring order out of chaos quickly so that we can offer you a practical strategy and timetable to deal with your dispute. Our timing and responsiveness is critical and we understand the importance of providing straight forward commercial and accurate advice. In such a dynamic environment we take a flexible approach predicting and responding to changes as they occur.

THE RESPONSE

Often the key to successful dispute resolution is our ability to think strategically as it is not a formulaic process. We are interested in achieving the best solution for your business and part of this process is ensuring that we understand your business and it’s commercial objectives.

All the Partners are involved daily in full time client work and business development. We believe our success is built on the twin pillars of full partner involvement and the allocation of the day to day work to a fee-earner at an appropriate level to ensure maximum cost effectiveness.

THE EXPERIENCE

With three partners and a team of 18 fee-earners we operate one of the busiest and largest dispute resolution teams in the area. The CDR team in the last year alone acted on claims with a combined value of well in excess of £100 million. This work has been generated from an enviable client base which includes HBOS, Caterpillar, Waste Recycling Group, Danoptra, Kalon, GWR Radio, Christy Towels, CALA Homes, Persimmon, Barratt, Brown & Jackson, Cattles and Rosebys.

Through our practical and commercial approach, it is possible in the vast majority of cases for your objectives to be achieved through negotiation using our experience in all forms of alternative dispute resolution. Of course, there are disputes which cannot be resolved and where the ability and nerve to advise and then stand by that advice to trial are essential. Our expertise as trial lawyers is second to none. All the partners in the team have substantial trial experience and the team can boast numerous successes at arbitration and in the High Court, as well as the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. The team boasts a qualified mediator, arbitrator and barrister. Moreover, Walker Morris is one of a small number of UK law firms who are accredited by CPR, the international alternative dispute resolution forum.

As a consequence whatever the nature of the dispute and whatever your commercial objectives, we believe we are ideally placed to give you the best advice to obtain the results you want based on a coherent, straight forward and practical strategy.

Walker Morris is committed to early dispute resolution and is a member of The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR). The CPR Institute is a membership-based non profit organisation that promotes excellence and innovation in public and private dispute resolution, serving as a primary multinational resource for avoidance, management and resolution of business-related disputes.

Recent examples of our CDR teamwork include:

• acting for a national house builder in a breach of contract claim with an estimated value of £10 million against a former joint venture partner
• recovering a substantial settlement payment for Gamestec in a £3 million claim against Stanley Leisure
• acting for a New York Stock Exchange quoted pharmaceutical company in a claim for the recovery of substantial sums paid by mistake and in a related claim against a national firm of quantity surveyors for negligence
• representing Leisure Connection at a public inquiry and acting in relation to its 15 year agreement with Hackney BC to run the ill-fated Clissold Leisure Centre, which closed months after opening
• acting for a global client in a £20 million claim arising out of the insolvency of MG Rover Group
• acting for a property development company in its successful defence of a claim for damages for alleged breach of a profit-sharing agreement relating to the purchase of a site earmarked for social housing and its subsequent resale to a housing association based in east London
• achieving indemnity recovery from insurers on a third party costs application in respect of a claim in which fraud was alleged against a solicitor and his practice.

AREAS OF ADVICE

• Acquisition disputes
• Banking disputes
• Commercial disputes
• Environmental disputes
• Partnership disputes
• Shareholder disputes
• Technology disputes