Overview

Focusing on outcome and not just process, our litigation lawyers take responsibility for helping you arrive at the right solution to your issue, minimising impact and maximising success.

We focus on outcomes, not just process

Our constant focus is outcome and not just process. However complex your challenge, we never lose sight of our role as problem solvers, finding answers to your disputes through the most appropriate, effective and efficient means.

We give you direct access to the people who lead our business

With our partners at the forefront of dispute resolution law, we place our greatest expertise where it has greatest influence. That gives you continued access to our most senior people and the multi-skilled team they lead, benefiting from their professional, personal support.

We treat your challenges as our own

You want your disputes resolved – and resolved quickly. We act with pragmatism and flexibility to move issues from your desk to ours, and then on to resolution, in the most practical and expedient manner possible.

We look with more depth, think with more breadth

We look far beyond the surface of your case, identifying the wider context, underlying causes and contributing factors to the dispute before proceeding towards an outcome.

We have the size and specialism to give you cross-border, multi-sector support

As our track record and client list demonstrate, our 100+ strong team has the ambition and ability to achieve results in the highest-profile cases, no matter how complex the work undertaken, how challenging the situation or how business-critical the potential outcome.

We make a positive difference

While our first responsibility is to you and your dispute, we also recognise our responsibility to the environment. Aiming to help the wider community flourish, we’re signatories of the Greener Litigation Pledge – a group of legal firms committed to reducing the environmental impact of dispute resolution and litigation through a range of sustainable initiatives.

Areas of focus

Our dispute resolution law expertise includes:

  • Complex disputes requiring specialist advice – helping clients with clear, practical analysis in the most complex cases. 
  • Multi-jurisdictional situations – working with our international partner firms to deliver cases involving multiple jurisdictions.
  • Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – although experienced trial lawyers, we look to resolve disputes cost effectively via mediation, adjudication and other forms of ADR.
  • Arbitration and specialist tribunals – our cases cross many different tribunals including a growing number of cases being referred to arbitration.
  • Reputation-critical investigations and inquiries – extensive specialist expertise in a wide range of criminal and regulatory investigations which present critical challenges to our clients' businesses.
  • Strategic situations and risk resolution – assisting clients to devise strategies to navigate developing situations and manage risk before they reach open dispute.
  • Urgent and emergency situations – our substantial resource allows us to field teams of lawyers to meet the most challenging of time constraints.
  • Project management – working with our in-house project managers and our bespoke litigation management tool to enhance efficiencies, delivery and communication in our cases. 
Experience

Advising the representative of the 30,000 members of the Fund regarding the Fund trustee’s proposed new contribution regime for recovery of a technical provisions deficit of £362 million. The judgment made new pensions and trusts law on whether trustees must act in the best interests of members/beneficiaries. The case also considers the important pensions law issue of whether enhanced revaluation of deferred benefits amounts to accrual for the purposes of pensions legislation on employer debts. Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund Trustee Ltd v Stena Line & Others.

Defending the National Crime Agency against compensation claims worth over £220 million under section 283 Proceeds of Crime Act. Our team was engaged to defend all aspects of the claims which are significant as being the first challenge under section 283. Mr I Perry and Others v National Crime Agency.

Acting for Victoria’s Secret UK Limited to appeal the High Court decision of Justice Birss in a trade mark challenge concerning the use of its PINK brand. Thomas Pink Limited v Victoria’s Secret UK Limited.

Representing a major European multi-national in successfully defending two claims for £225 million and Euro 450 million brought by way of arbitration references concerning international contracting arrangements. These claims also involved satellite litigation in other European countries and the USA.

Representing the Co-operative Bank in a claim concerning the valuation of a portfolio of 91 bank branches which stood as security for a £125 million loan facility advanced by a subsidiary of the Co-operative Bank. This was one of the largest professional negligence claims of the last few years, raising some new and important points of law, including the application of some long-standing principles to a portfolio valuation.

Representing the Ministry of Justice alongside the Government Legal Department (GLD) in a high profile case brought by Mitie relating to the procurement process for facilities management services across the HMCTS (Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) estate.

Advising First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd ('FTWC'), an Interested Party in the 2019 Rail Franchising Litigation, which involved a set of unsuccessful procurement challenges against the Secretary of State for Transport). It involved some of the world’s largest train operator companies (FirstGroup, Stagecoach, Virgin, SNCF, Govia and Arriva) and the procurement of three major rail franchises (West Coast, including HS2, East Midlands and South Eastern).

Acting for Gleeds UK and the Trustees of the Gleeds Group Pension Scheme in a multi-million pound High Court claim against their former advisers. This claim was one of the largest professional negligence cases before the courts in England.

Defending a German aircraft manufacturer in a multi-million Euro dispute with an Irish-based entity concerning the terms of a restructuring of a number of financial facilities and the repossession of 17 aircraft.

Defending an international coal trader against substantial claims brought by way of arbitration which arise from a series of coal exports from Russia disrupted by the pandemic and poor winter weather.

Meet the team
Andrew-Burnette---PGP_3989

Andrew Burnette Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Professional Negligence
  • Banking Disputes
Ann Metherall

Ann Metherall Partner

  • Head of Dispute Resolution
  • Head of Health and Safety
  • Transport
Chris Preston

Chris Preston Partner

  • Real Estate Disputes
  • Real Estate Development
  • Telecommunications
David Hall

David Hall Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Banking Disputes
  • Business Crime and Regulatory Investigations
Emily Roberts

Emily Roberts Partner

  • Intellectual Property and Media
  • Intellectual Property Disputes
  • Intellectual Property Portfolio Protection
Guy Bastable Corporate Image

Guy Bastable Partner

  • Corporate Crime & Regulatory Investigations
  • Dispute Resolution & Crisis Management
  • Internal Investigations & Corporate/Director Liability
 
Ian Tucker

Ian Tucker Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Procurement Disputes
  • Procurement and Subsidy Control
Kevin Kennedy

Kevin Kennedy Partner

  • Agricultural Disputes
  • Trust and Probate Disputes
  • Estates and Land
James Sutherland

James Sutherland Partner

  • Head of Real Estate Disputes
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Professional Negligence
Jeremy Dickerson

Jeremy Dickerson Partner

  • Head of International 
  • Head of Intellectual Property, Media and Sport
  • Defamation and Reputation Management
Justin Briggs

Justin Briggs Partner

  • Trust Disputes
  • Tax Negligence
  • Pension Disputes
Matthew Walker

Matthew Kaltsas-Walker Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Financial Services
  • Insurance
Michael Barlow

Michael Barlow Partner

  • Head of Environment
  • Head of Water
  • Head of ESG
Michael Ward

Michael Ward Partner

  • Shareholder disputes, partner disputes and LLP disputes
  • Director duty disputes
  • Material contract disputes
Richard Binns

Richard Binns Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Procurement Disputes
  • Procurement and Subsidy Control
Suzanne-Padmore---132A6872

Suzanne Padmore Partner

  • Pensions Disputes
  • Professional Negligence
  • Financial services Disputes and Enforcement 
Brian Wong

Brian Wong Partner

  • Rail
  • Highways and Road Transport
  • Judicial Review and Public Law

What others say...

Burges Salmon has a highly integrated team of experienced and extremely able lawyers who are not only very bright, but immensely hard-working, and highly attuned to the commercial objectives of their clients.
Legal 500 2022

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