Tim has long been recognised by the leading directories and his clients as one of the leading commercial dispute lawyers in the North East.
As such, Tim has played a crucial part in helping to build a practice recognised on two occasions in recent years (Legal 500) as the best commercial litigation practice outside London.
Tim has huge experience and is ranked in the directories as a Leading Individual in the areas of:
Insurance;
IT disputes;
professional negligence; and
commercial disputes.
Tim regularly acts for both Claimants and Defendants, Insured and Insurers, and businesses in both the private and public sectors.
Although Tim has extensive trial experience, he is a firm believer and experienced in negotiating settlements, mediation, and other methods of commercial resolution, such as expert determination.
Tim is also an accredited Mediator, described as having ‘an easy grasp of the commercial issues’ with a ‘positive, calm and assured manner.’
Experience
Work undertaken by Tim includes:
Insurance
Acting against Insurers on policy construction and coverage issues including: non-disclosure, materiality, breach of warranty/conditions precedent, claims notification/behaviour terms, and alleged fraud; plus follow-on claims against insurance brokers and other professionals
Acting for an entrepreneur in a high value claim against his insurance broker following a catastrophic fire, which destroyed his waste recycling business.
IT disputes
Acting for a large NHS Trust in a dispute relating to the implementation of a new patient administration and bed management system.
Advising a major provider of outsourcing services on alleged contract breaches, the exercise of step-in rights, and threatened termination of a contract dealing with the provision of services to a major financial institution.
A Dutch-based IT service provider on claims arising following a pilot study prior to a company-wide roll-out by a multi-national food producer
More generally, acting for both international IT companies, NHS Trusts, public authorities and Insurers in a variety of IT disputes ranging from multi-million implementation disputes to relatively low value licensing disputes.
Commercial/Professional Negligence
Acting for Newcastle Airport in a leading case on the authority of directors and need for employment lawyers to recognise who is their client when advising on contracts, which released executive directors from restrictive covenants and entitled them to receive substantial executive bonuses Newcastle Airport v Eversheds 2013.
Advising a leading provider of packaging services in a major tri-partite dispute with a Govt agency and logistics supplier about the proper performance of contractual obligations.
Acting for two City councils in dispute with a major provider of waste recycling services in highly contentious negotiations about the interpretation of respective obligations under a long-term contract.
Acting for a mining company in claims arising after the failure of a drilling platform in the Irish Sea.
Acting for a leading entrepreneur in a high value claim against accountants, stockbrokers and financial advisers relating to negligent advice on tax planning arrangements.