Profile description
C
hris has a particular interest in Chancery and Commercial Litigation, Family (primarily Financial Remedies and Private Client), employment, Property, Housing and Landlord and Tenant work, and Company and Insolvency law. More details can be found below.
Family and Private Client (Download Specialist CV)
- Financial Remedies (previously known as Ancillary Relief)
Chris is Head of Chambers’ Family Group. He has experience in acting for clients at all levels of court, from the County Court to the Supreme Court, and is regularly instructed in complex cases with high asset values or where there are company structures, using his detailed knowledge of other areas of law to benefit his clients. However he is equally at home advising on cases with limited assets, and is prepared to consider fixed fees at competitive rates for such work.
Chris has also been involved both in the drafting of Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements and litigation arising out of disputes over such Agreements.
- Trusts of Land and co-ownership disputes
Chris acts regularly in TLATA disputes and has a reputation for an unrivalled knowledge of the law. He has lectured widely on the various developments in the law of co-ownership in recent years and his Masters degree also included the study of advanced trusts and equity. He has a particular interest in secret and half-secret trusts.
- Wills and Probate
Chris has acted in numerous contentious probate cases and disputes over wills, including allegations of lack of capacity, undue influence and want of knowledge and approval. He has been instructed on a number of occasions in High Court actions arising out of contested wills. He has also been instructed on numerous occasions in respect of mediations arising out of disputes over wills. He also has a particular interest in secret and half-secret trusts.
- Private Law Children
Chris regularly acts in private law children cases, including applications for leave to remove from the jurisdiction and child abduction cases. As Head of the Chambers Family Group, he is acutely aware of the effect that the cuts in public funding have had on access to expertise and is prepared to consider appropriate fixed fees in cases where funding is an issue.
Property, Housing and Landlord and Tenant (Download Specialist CV)
Chris is also the Secretary to the Chambers Civil Group. He has wide-ranging expertise in contractual and commercial disputes, issues relating to real property, trespass, nuisance, disputes under the Occupiers’ Liability Acts, civil and commercial leases and disputes involving the Land Registry. He is regularly instructed to advise and act on complex commercial cases.
Chris deals with disputes arising out of residential and commercial tenancies and has lectured widely on such matters. He has experience of the public, private and commercial sectors and has regularly been instructed in multi-day trials. He also has significant experience of leasehold enfranchisement and service charge disputes.
Employment (Download Specialist CV)
Chris has significant experience of Employment work and has appeared regularly in the Employment Appeals Tribunal, as well as in the Court of Appeal. Chris has been involved in a number of appeals which have amended or clarified the law, and many of his reported cases are cited in leading practitioner works. Chris also writes extensively on employment law. He has dealt with cases of unfair and constructive unfair dismissal, wage and holiday pay claims; all forms of discrimination, and, memorably, for 20 truck drivers, who he established were employees rather than self-employed. He acts for both employer and employee. He is also the author (with Michael Salter), of the book Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (Jordan Publishing, 2015).
Commercial, Insolvency and General Civil Litigation (Download Specialist CV)
Chris has a niche company law and insolvency practice, having undertaken a Masters degree in corporate insolvency work. He is often asked to advise or act in cases such as those involving unfair prejudice to minority shareholders and has acted on several occasions in respect of the cross-border merger of companies within the European Union. He also has significant experience in respect of both personal bankruptcy and corporate insolvency
Chris has experience and accepts instructions in other areas of work, notably tortious disputes including negligence and nuisance, Personal Injury and Professional Negligence. He also has an academic and professional interest in cases arising out of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
