Profiles

Advocacy

• Junior Counsel in the Court of Appeal, led by Simon Hughes QC.
• Advocate at trial for the Defendant, a major UK homebuilder. Following cross-examination of the Claimant’s witness and submissions on the law, the court dismissed the claim of the opposing party in its entirety.
• Advocate on behalf of a football club. Tom successfully resisted an application by the opposing party to amend its statement of case to include allegations of defamation against the football club.  Following a strongly fought application, Tom secured strike out of the application together with an order for costs to be payable to his client forthwith.  Subsequent to the hearing, the opposing party promptly settled the claims.
• Advocate at a Pre-Trial Review for a trial listed for 4 days. Tom successfully resisted an application by the opposing party to amend their counterclaim.  At the same hearing Tom successfully pursued a strongly contested application of his own client for further information under the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 18.  Having succeeded on all aspects of the applications at the hearing, Tom secured an order for costs payable forthwith and on account.  Subsequent to this hearing, the opposing party promptly sought to settle the claim on terms favourable to Tom’s client.
• Advocate at a mediation in relation to a professional negligence claim in the High Court (London TCC). Tom presented oral submissions to the opposing party, their legal team, insurers and expert witnesses.  The mediation demanded examination and scrutiny of expert witnesses and detailed evaluation of offers of settlement from the opposing party.

Construction and Engineering

• Drafted the Respondent’s Notice and Skeleton Argument for an appeal in the Court of Appeal relating to amendments after the expiry of the primary limitation period.
• Junior Counsel in an ICC Arbitration concerning an offshore wind farm project.
• Junior Counsel in an ICC Arbitration concerning a residential, office and hotel project in Dubai.
• Advised on the effectiveness of a non-assignment clause under an Engineer-Procure-Construct contract for an offshore drilling rig.
• Advised on the effectiveness of liquidated damages clauses under a construction contract for an energy-from-waste facility, whether the clauses were penal, their effect upon sectional completion and the effect of the “prevention principle” upon recoverability of liquidated damages.
• Advised on the effectiveness of a net contribution clause, in particular the effect of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
• Advised and drafted statements of case in relation to a claim in restitution for unjust enrichment relating to the supply of steel reinforcement.

Commercial

• Counsel in a claim in the Commercial Court under a guarantee.
• Instructed by a football club to advise on and to resist an application by the opposing party to amend its statement of case to include causes of action in defamation.  Following an oral hearing the application was struck out.
• Advised on the legal effect of a retention of title clause under a supply contract for construction materials.
• Advised on the legal effect of un-disclosed agents.
• Advised on economic torts, including conspiracy to injure, unlawful means conspiracy and malicious falsehood in relation to an international exclusive distribution agreement.
• Advised in relation to the rights and remedies available under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

Arbitration

• Advised on challenges to arbitral awards under the Arbitration Act 1996: section 67 (lack of substantive jurisdiction), section 68 (serious irregularity causing substantial injustice) and section 69 (appeal on a point of law).
• Advised on stays to arbitration under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
• Advised on the effectiveness of an arbitration clause in a consumer contract and the effect of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

Professional Negligence

• Junior Counsel in a professional negligence claim in the London TCC by a property developer against geotechnical engineers.
• Advised on non-delegable duties of care in tort, in particular in relation to fire cases.
• Advised on the scope of a duty of care in tort for economic loss in relation to negligent misstatement.
• Advised on the measure of damages for “loss of a chance” arising from an architect’s negligence and on the recoverability of damages for loss of amenity and for distress and inconvenience.

Insurance

• Advised on the subrogated rights of an insured as against a co-insured of a joint names insurance policy on a dispute concerning damage to a hospital.
• Advised on the recoverability under an insurance policy for subsidence damage.
• Advised on breach of statutory duty and remedies through the Financial Ombudsman relating to insurance disputes, in particular the ICOBS rules and under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Private International Law (conflicts of law)

• Assisted in advising an overseas client on the effectiveness under English law of sale and distribution agreements for satellite antennae and the effect of private international law and the laws of the European Union on the agreements.
• Assisted in advising on the validity of a Kuwaiti contract of guarantee.
• Advised on the Brussels I Regulations, Rome Convention, Rome I Regulations and Rome II Regulations.

Information Technology

• Drafted statements of case in a dispute relating to the updating of the website of a leading advertising agency. 

Utilities

• Appeared as advocate and advised upon Disputes concerning damage to apparatus owned by utility companies, in negligence and under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.