Experience

I’m a solicitor in the Dispute Resolution & Litigation team at Bates Wells. I work with charities, campaigning organisations, and for-profit companies of all kinds who find themselves facing actual or threatened court action, or who are required to use the legal system to defend their own rights.

Highlights
  • Working with a political party facing discrimination allegations in relation to gender-critical beliefs I worked with a national political party sued by one of its members and former spokespeople in one of the many recent discrimination claims involving gender-critical beliefs. The judgment covered new ground and established important principles on the rights and freedoms of political parties to associate as they see fit, and how courts must balance these rights against the rights of party members not to be discriminated against for holding protected philosophical beliefs.
  • Helping a borough councillor avoid disqualification I recently advised a councillor on difficult electoral law issues relating to his electoral registration, residency, and qualification to hold office, helping him to overturn a provisional decision to remove him from the electoral register and disqualify him as a councillor.
  • Resolving a constitutional dispute between members of a religious organisation I acted for the managing committee of a Sikh gurdwara caught up in a claim brought by a member of their community alleging that they had improperly run an internal election. When the member took the gurdwara to court over claimed breaches of a prior settlement agreement, I worked with both parties in the court foyer to reach a further settlement and avoid a full trial.
  • Complex shareholder and trust litigation I act for one of the parties in a major complex ongoing shareholder dispute worth several million pounds and engaging issues of corporate, trust and insolvency law.
  • Advising a trade body on dealing with a problematic director I recently advised a national manufacturing trade body on disciplinary issues involving one of its directors. Our advice helped to secure the director’s voluntary resignation and avoid a damaging and expensive public fight over his proposed removal.
  • Advising charities on relationships with their local branches and associations I have advised national high street charities and regional organisations on their legal relationships with their local branches, helping to ensure that their disciplinary and constitutional arrangements are rational, clear, consistent, and as free of legal risk as possible.