Civil and Commercial Litigation 

Paul maintains a busy civil litigation practice which includes fast and multi track claims relating to business and commercial law, pesonal injury, general contractual disputes, property (landlord and tenant), debt recovery and consumer credit. He also accepts instructions in the areas of credit hire, road traffic accidents and holiday sickness claims and claims relating to aircraft and aviation.

Unusually for a direct access barrister, Pauls is qualified to provide litigation services for lay clients in appropriate cases, meaning that he can fulfil the roles of both solicitor and barrister in one. Paul regularly provides drafting and advisory services to solicitors and lay clients who routinely instruct him to attend hearings in the High Court and the County Court including:

• Letters of Claim (pre-action protocol letters)
• Pre-Action Disclosure applications
• The full range of interim applications
• CCMCs
• Disposal hearings
• Trials including liability, causation and LVI / alleged fraud
• Costs hearings
• Appeals

Paul has accrued extensive experience of the law surrounding discrimination, equality of opportunities, and equal treatment at work from his employment practice. He is equally happy to advise and represent clients in relation to civil discrimination claims heard in the County Court as in the Employment Tribunal.

Paul also deals with professional regulatory/disciplinary matters, primarily in the sporting, legal and healthcare sectors, and maintains a busy civil litigation practice which includes acting in property, contract and business disputes as well as personal injury.

Notable/reported cases

Whitbourn, Atherton, Neto -v- Key People Limited (1) Just Recruit Group Limited (2): Paul represented three Claimants on a direct access basis from day one through to a successful conclusion after a fully contested trial. The Tribunal found that all three Claimants were unfairly dismissed and Miss Whitbourn was discriminated against on the grounds of sex. The total award was in excess of £200,000 and the case was also reported in the national media. Both Respondents were legally represented by expensive London solicitors who repeatedly threatened Paul's clients with costs.

Phillips -v- Pontcanna Pub Company Limited: Paul was instructed by local solicitors and represented a young female bartender who was violently choked by a colleague at a work Christmas Party. The Claimant complained to management who turned a blind eye to the perpetrator’s conduct and sought to downplay the incident, even making jokes about it. The Claimant resigned and brought a claim of constructive unfair dismissal. Her claim was successful following a trial where the Respondent was represented by solicitors and counsel who threatened to make an application for costs if the claim was not successful. The case was widely reported in the media.

Professor T Ahmed -v- United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust: The Claimant instructed Paul directly and he represented him at a 10 day hearing before the Nottingham Employment Tribunal. The Claimant’s claims of unfair dismissal, direct discrimination (race) and victimisation were upheld following a botched disciplinary hearing. The Respondent NHS Trust fought the claim vigorously and sought to discredit the Claimant’s evidence at trial but the Tribunal were highly critical of the Respondent’s procedure in their judgment. The case was reported in the media and a remedy hearing will be listed to determine compensation which is likely to be significant.   

Ahmed -v- Medexpress Limited: Paul represented the Respondents on a direct access basis and successfully defended multiple claims including constructive dismissal, discrimination on the grounds of race and sex as well as whistleblowing detriment during the course of a ten day trial. The case was reported in the national media and the judgment was circulated to the parties recently and is due to be published the near future.