Andrew is a Partner in our commercial disputes team.
With over 23 years’ experience of resolving high value and complex commercial disputes, including 12 years of providing litigation funding solutions and alternative fee arrangements for clients, the Legal 500 has described Andrew as one of the “forerunners in the use of third-party funding”.
He specialises in multi-party actions, court applications to freeze assets, breach of trust and fraud claims, claims against other professionals and directors’ misfeasance claims. Andrew helps claimants find greater access to justice through litigation finance and other contingent fee arrangements.
Andrew focuses on shaping potential claims and their cost budgets into viable litigation funding opportunities, securing the most competitive terms for his clients, and managing their claims to a successful conclusion whether through the courts or other commercial means.
Andrew often advises litigation financiers and other solicitors on aspects of litigation funding, alternative fee arrangements for their clients, and how to structure their litigation management, funding, insurance and fee agreements.
Through ‘outsourced’ underwriting arrangements, Andrew has also advised litigation funders on the merits of funding applications made by other law firms and has assisted funders to monitor and manage those cases to successful conclusion. Andrew has spoken about litigation funding at the Legal 500 Commercial Litigation Conference, provides training on litigation funding and alternative fee arrangements, and has published material in this area in Financier Worldwide, In-House Lawyer magazine and Huffington Post.
Expertise
- Commercial Disputes
- Recovery & Insolvency
- Financial litigation
- Business ownership disputes
- Urgent injunction work (particularly in employment related claims)
- Breach of director’s duties claims
- Corporate fraud
- Property and construction disputes
- Professional negligence
- Advice on policy coverage and subrogated recoveries for insurers
- Insolvency
- Directors’ duties and misfeasance claims
- Personal insolvency and bankruptcy
- Contested insolvency proceedings
- Liquidator’s reporting duties
- S.236 applications
- Insurance policy disputes
Recent work
ATE insurance arrangement
Negotiating and formulating a competitive ATE insurance portfolio arrangement for a funder.
Structuring multi-million pound class actions for a US firm
Hired by a US firm and former City firm lawyers to structure their £multi-million class actions and to ensure that all their legal documentation complied with English law. Drafting documents for them which included draft CFAs, DBAs, litigation management agreements, drafting rules for the Litigation Committee to whom each claimant in the action delegated authority, and plain English explanatory notes for the claimants.
Litigation funding for a £50million breach of trust claim
Arranging litigation funding for, running, and winning a £50million breach of trust claim against a rogue director of a corporate trustee company who stripped the Trust of its assets.
£17.5 million claim on a unregulated collective investment scheme
Arranging funding and insurance terms and managing a class action for over 170 claimants (most of whom are based outside the UK) in respect of a £17.5million claim based on an unregulated collective investment scheme. We have already obtained an interim freezing injunction to secure the opponents’ assets.
Obtaining litigation funding for a £24 million breach of contract claim
Negotiating and obtaining litigation funding to pursue a US based telecoms company in respect of a £24million breach of contract claim. I also advised how to exit – at no cost – what was an unenforceable DBA with their previous lawyers.
Sourcing litigation funding for a £19.5 million claim for insolvency practitioners
Sourcing and negotiating competitive litigation funding terms to pursue a £19.5million claim for insolvency practitioners against rogue directors running a ‘Ponzi’ scheme to defraud hundreds of creditors. We secured freezing injunctions against the directors, which forced a favourable settlement, and successfully obtained s.236 Insolvency Act disclosure orders against the company’s (negligent) auditors, who are also now being sued using litigation funding.
Fraudulent investment scheme £7.5 million claim
Running a £7.5million claim for over 50 investors who have fallen victim to a fraudulent investment scheme involving care homes.
Obtaining litigation funding for £8 million fraud case
Acting for a group of Geneva based investors who had fallen victim to a £8million fraud. Obtaining suitable litigation funding and insurance terms to pursue the claim and drafting all key documentation.
Recovering £14 million from HMRC
Acting for a corporate trustee to recover over £14million from HMRC in a proprietary and equitable tracing claim (concerning the extent of HMRC’s duties to third parties who weren’t the original ‘taxpayer’).
£4.5 million breach of contract claim
Obtaining litigation funding (including taking the adverse cost risk) to successfully pursue a £4.5million breach of contract and undisclosed commission claim on behalf of a training company against the Government.
£82 million professional negligence claim
Acting for an Administrator of a company in a £82million professional negligence claim against an accountant and auditor who failed to detect a ‘Ponzi’ scheme being run through the company’s accounts.
Restoring £5.8 million to a trust
Arranging competitive funding and insurance terms and running a claim for a pensions trustee to restore over £5.8million to the Trust.
£28 million multi-faceted trusts and property dispute
Acting for a bank in a £28million multi-faceted trusts and property dispute involving former Government properties. Arranging litigation funding so that the bank could offset the risks associated with funding its own claim.
£38 million professional negligence claim
Arranging litigation funding for a mining company in a £38million professional negligence claim against a City law firm.
Insurance syndicate multi-million pound claim
Acting for an insurance syndicate on contingent terms (part funded by a litigation funder) in a £multi-million claim, brought out of the jurisdiction, for negligence and breach of contract against multiple defendants for losses arising from an event cancellation due to a fire.
Tax dispute with HMRC
Representing a Trustee in a complex tax dispute with HMRC where they were looking to tax the Trust on £42million.