Shoosmiths professional negligence team acts for a range of clients, from financial services institutions, investors, and corporates to individuals, to recover losses suffered as a result of negligent advice from professional advisors.
Losses may be a result of defective, reckless or negligent advice concerning business or fund structuring (including cross-jurisdictional tax issues), property of company valuations, of breaches of fiduciary duties. Pursuing a professional negligence claim can be a beneficial way to recover those losses from the professional (and their insurers), particularly when a recovery against a debtor, guarantor, or secured asset is not possible, or this avenue has been exhausted.
Our professional negligence team are experts in advising on market leading, high-value, complex commercial, corporate and investment professional negligence disputes. We have a particular focus on financial services providers and support throughout the UK and internationally. When financial services providers rely on incorrect advice, the consequences can be significant, ultimately leading to impairments and losses. We engage our clients early in the disputes process, ensuring that commercial, pragmatic outcomes can be explored to maximise the potential for mitigation and recovery, in a way that preserves commercial relationships and allows parties to continue to do business together.
We regularly act for commercial banks, private banks, specialist, bridging and mezzanine lenders, venture capital funds and real estate and private equity funds and have a track record of recovering high value losses suffered as a result of negligent advice from professional advisors.
Our team has successfully resolved high-value and complex professional negligence disputes for financial firms, institutions and other businesses. Examples of our expertise include:
- multiple claims on behalf of several funds involving negligent tax structuring advice provided to them
- a claim in respect of a multi-million pound overvaluation of several marinas by a national RICS firm
- a claim against a leading national firm of solicitors in respect of defective security over a rental deposit account, which allowed a borrower to disperse millions of pounds upon enforcement
- a claim against a global law firm relating to negligently served break clauses resulting in millions of pounds of additional liability for our global banking client
- a claim against a global valuation firm for a negligent multi million pound overvaluation of a private members club in London involving novel issues of reliance, and allegations of contributory negligence
- a multi-million pound overvaluation claim against a national firm of valuers in respect of negligently overvalued residential developments
- multi-million pound overvaluation claims against a global valuation firm for a negligently overvalued group of hotels
- a several million pound claim against a specialist valuation firm in respect of a negligently overvalued care home
- a claim on behalf of a private bank in relation to a villa on the south coast of France. The claim involved questions as to the applicable law and jurisdiction as well as complex issues as to causation, with a settlement significantly above the client's bottom line achieved at mediation
- advising clients in respect of directors duties, often leading to claims against negligent auditors. For example, advising a large national hotel chain regarding financial impropriety and breaches of directors’ duties by an exited director
