Focus On… Professional Liability

The Professional Liability Team did particularly well in this year’s Legal 500.

• Hardwicke is stated to be: “an exciting, forward-thinking, solutions-focused set with a huge amount of commercial expertise” which is: “excellent from top to bottom” and “continues to impress.   Solicitors also note how chambers continues to go from strength to strength – its profile in the professional negligence and insurance spheres being raised hugely in recent years.”
• The Professional Liability is seen as “going from strength to strength“.  As well as being recommended for Professional Liability as a set, we currently have 3 silks and 8 juniors recommended with eight of those members going up a band in the rankings.

You can see all Hardwicke’s recommendations here.

We publish regular articles not only on our own website but also for third parties such as Practical Law and LexisNexis.  Below are some of our recent posts:

• Completion and the risks it poses to conveyancers
• SAAMCO revisited: information, advice and assumption of responsibility
• Comment on a important appeal from NHS Wales touching on consent to treatment, departing from NICE guidelines, joint replacement surgery, the approach to appeals on findings of fact and also the adequacy of judicial reasons.
• Loss of chance claims and trials within trials – Perry v Raleys Solicitors
• Causation in construction related professional negligence claims against design professionals – a look at Russell v PSP [2019]
• How effective is front-loading cases as regards costs?  Simon Kerry investigates.

Alongside our regular articles and posts, we have started:

• a new podcast series.  These short podcasts give a slightly more informal view on topical legal issues.  You can access these via our website where they appear on the home page, Latest Thinking page and on the profile pages and practice area pages relevant to the practice area/s involved.  Watch out for the forthcoming podcast from James Hall and Tom Bell on the impact of changes in FOS jurisdiction on financial services and professional negligence claims.
• making the slides of our seminars available in video form.
  • For example, click here to see the slides used in Sarah McCann and Ebony Alleyne’s recent seminar on professional negligence claims associated with adjudications.
  • And here to see the slides on James Hall and Tom Bell’s seminar on the impact of changes in FOS jurisdiction.

The Professional Liability team have given regular seminars over the last few months, some of which include cross-over practice area talks. Below are the recent events with which the professional liability team have been involved:

• 12 Feb 2019 – A changing landscape: the impact of changes in the FOS jurisdiction on FS and professional negligence claims
• 20 March 2019 – Insolvency Issues in Professional Negligence Claims
• 16 April 2019 – An introduction to Professional Negligence claims arising out of Personal Injury claims
• 03 July 2019 – Adjudication of construction professional negligence claims
• Colm Nugent and Jasmine Murphy took place in Legal 500’s roundtable discussion of the situation relating to litigants in person and, in particular McKenzie friends, and the impact on the court system.  This followed Colm’s involvement in the important Wright v Troy Lucas case.

There are also a number of events planned for the next few months.  We set out the first below and details of this and the rest of the programme will be published shortly.

• 11th December 2019 – a commercial litigator’s guide to financial services claims

Hardwicke also runs a comprehensive junior lawyer seminar programme across all its practice areas.

If you are interested in attending our events, wish to joining our mailing list, would like a copy of the slides and/or would like us to organise for us to do a training session for you, please email Events.

• Earlier this year the Professional Liability welcomed a new member, Lauren Godfrey.
• Gemma Witherington was appointed not only a Deputy District Judge but also a Civil Recorder, Midland Circuit
• The Hardwicke team were at MIPIM 2019 and will be back for more at MIPIM 2020 too so please do get in touch if you are also thinking of going.

The areas of Professional Liability we cover are:

• Clinical Negligence & Personal Injury
• Financial Professionals, Insolvency Professionals, Directors & Officers
• Legal Professionals
• Property & Construction Professionals