Biography

Richard undertakes all types and most levels of commercial disputes, from those involving several million pounds down to consumer disputes.

Recent work includes:

• Acting for a Yemini government agency in a £5m dispute over the price of a cargo of oil.
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• ARC v Gunvor [2019] EWHC 3555 (Comm) - Richard acted for an Ecuadorian lawyer in protracted High Court committal proceedings, in which case he defeated most of the allegations, and his costs were less than 10% of the other side’s.
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• Schwartz v VGV and others  [2020] EWHC 2227 (Ch).
  

Richard has also appeared in several reported cases concerning the construction of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Act 1977 including Hodges v Aegis [2014] EWCA Civ 1449.

As part of a wider commercial practice, Richard also advises and represents clients in relation to bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings.

Property, landlord & tenant and trusts

Richard acts on various types of land and trust disputes, recently appearing in a High Court matter which was a family dispute over ownership of valuable development land on the North Circular Road Intermedia v Ashia Centre and others [2020] EWHC 473 (Ch)

The case of Winter v TCC [2006] EWCA Civ 1740 in which he appeared in the High Court and Court of Appeal for the successful developer was important in establishing the extent to which restrictive covenants can be varied.

He acted in Laskar v Laskar which has become the leading case on the joint acquisition of property by family members.

Writing

Has written in many legal journals including The New Law Journal, The Solicitors Journal, The Journal of Personal Injury Litigation, Rent Review & Lease Renewal and Litigation.   

Is the author of Residential Tenancies now in its fifth edition.

Has written several hundred columns for The Guardian on personal finance law.

Has written occasionally for The Guardian and other newspapers on football and travel.

A full length article in Wisden 1998 on cricket and the law “Court on the Boundary”.

Personal Interests

Travel - aiming to go to every country in the world.

Post Soviet pseudo-states (is doing advanced research on Transnistria at Buckingham University).

Sport, particularly playing tennis and following Watford FC.