Disputes Yearbook 2019 Sponsored firm profile: Ashfords

About our dispute resolution team

Our dispute resolution team is a cadre of specialist litigators. We work with our in-house legal teams to find the most effective route to resolving the disputes that inevitably arise during the course of business. Our aim is to help quantify and manage risk, and offer solutions-driven advice. We actively work with our clients on litigation avoidance strategies. We appreciate how competitive the market place is for you and the challenging decisions that are having to be made as a consequence. We can help in pre-empting issues that might arise from those decisions.

Our philosophy is to place ourselves between our client and the problem, and we never lose sight of the fundamental issue in each case that we take – what outcome does our client need to achieve? – and that directs everything we do and how we do it.

We work with in-house counsel at national and international clients, ranging from business start-ups to multinationals, major banks, public sector bodies and utilities. Our litigators have the scope and flexibility to provide specific resourcing to our clients, including placement of teams to work alongside in-house teams on short and medium-term secondment.

About Ashfords

Ashfords is a national provider of legal, regulatory and professional services with principle offices in Bristol, London and Exeter.

We are as ambitious as our clients and thrive on being a part of their success. Our clear direction and strong leadership ensures they always receive the service they deserve and expect.

Our litigators are specialists and deliver insightful and commercial solutions tailored to our clients’ industries. We have a clear understanding of our markets with significant experience and depth of knowledge in the retail, real estate, energy, technology and sport sectors. Our in-house clients tell us that we genuinely understand their challenges and their sectors – and our focus is on finding solutions and getting the results our clients want.

We have a far-reaching international presence with extensive experience of working with overseas clients. As a leading member of the ADVOC network of independent law firms, Ashfords can co-ordinate the delivery of legal advice from over 100 jurisdictions worldwide.

Meet the team

KEY CONTACT: Rory Mac Neice
Partner and head of dispute resolution
r.macneice@ashfords.co.uk
07834 665 320
A former professional national hunt jockey, Rory Mac Neice is a partner and head of our dispute resolution team. He specialises in advising on disputes in the tech, data and sports sectors.

In the tech sector, Mac Neice’s work includes advising in-house clients on disputes relating to IT infrastructure, cloud technology and e-commerce, including trading platform design and implementation. He regularly advises in-house teams on data breach prevention and assists teams on managing significant data breaches.

Within the sports sector, Mac Neice advises clubs and team sponsors, on issues arising both on and off the field of play, and has appeared as advocate in over 400 cases before sports regulatory tribunals. Mac Neice has advised in relation to regulatory matters arising in many jurisdictions, including the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, North America, Dubai and India.

Andrew Perkins
Partner
a.perkins@ashfords.co.uk
07850 645227
Andrew Perkins is a partner in the dispute resolution department. He advises in-house clients – typically shareholders, directors, investors and financiers – in relation to shareholder litigation and disputes relating to commercial contracts, particularly business and share sale, finance, joint ventures and franchising. He regularly advises directors in relation to statutory and fiduciary duties.

James Crighton
Partner
j.crighton@ashfords.co.uk
07738 106028
James Crighton is a partner in the dispute resolution team in London. His litigation experience focuses on complex, high-value and multi-jurisdictional cases. Crighton is an expert in contractual disputes, debt recovery and asset-tracing, fraud, insolvency, company/partnership matters and directors’ duties.

Jason Squire
Partner
j.squire@ashfords.co.uk
07725 790233
Jason Squire is a partner in the dispute resolution team. He has recently acted for a number of clients in relation to disputes concerning warranties and additional consideration and earn-out provisions in commercial contracts. Squire was appointed deputy district judge in March 2019.

Chris Freeman
Senior associate
c.freeman@ashfords.co.uk
07885 804117
Chris Freeman is a senior associate in the dispute resolution team. He has extensive experience in advising in-house teams in large clearing banks on professional negligence claims and has a particular specialism in advising lenders on those types of claim, primarily against solicitors, valuers and project monitors. Having specialised in this area for a number of years now, he has built up a wealth of expertise in this sector. Freeman has recently had articles featured in the Mortgage Finance Gazette on this topic. He is also about to be seconded in a general counsel role in the renewable energy sector.

Claire Boucher
Senior associate
c.boucher@ashfords.co.uk
07590 779234
Claire Boucher is a senior associate in our dispute resolution team. She is experienced in advising in-house clients in relation to a variety of commercial disputes, including pursuing and defending all types of contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, claims concerning professional negligence, company restorations, debt recovery and enforcement action. Boucher has previously completed a secondment to the Post Office litigation team in London.

Liam Tolen
Associate
l.tolen@ashfords.co.uk
07974 246472
Liam Tolen is an experienced associate in the dispute resolution team and advises on business disputes focusing on contractual disputes, including in relation to franchising and restrictive covenants in commercial contracts. Tolen also has significant experience in resolving shareholder disputes.

Joanne Saye
Associate
j.saye@ashfords.co.uk
07702 540025
Joanne Saye is an associate in the dispute resolution team. She has expertise in advising in-house clients from the banking, commercial, agricultural, equestrian and public sectors, on all stages of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including defending complex, multi-party claims.

Gruffydd Davies
Solicitor
g.davies@ashfords.co.uk
07712 523745
Gruffydd Davies is a solicitor in the dispute resolution team. He has advised and acted on behalf of a full range of clients in breach of contract claims, Sale of Goods Act/Consumer Rights Act disputes, enforcement of restrictive (post-termination) covenants, misuse of confidential information disputes and professional negligence claims. He has also managed debt collection services for several corporate clients.

James Morrison
Solicitor
j.morrison@ashfords.co.uk
07741 659188
James Morrison is a solicitor in the dispute resolution team. Morrison advises companies and individuals on a range of commercial disputes, with a particular emphasis on regulatory claims, product liability issues and IT disputes. He is currently working very closely with an in-house team dealing with a complex multi-party IT dispute.

Bunmi Akande
Trainee legal executive
b.akande@ashfords.co.uk
07969 755261
Bunmi Akande is a trainee legal executive in the commercial litigation team within dispute resolution. She advises clients on a wide range of civil and commercial litigation matters, and contractual disputes for companies including property litigation, contract law and debt bankruptcy.