Focus on financial services litigation at Clarke Willmott
Our dedicated teams work hard to look after clients, whatever their legal needs. Our broad expertise across the firm means that our clients receive the best holistic legal advice.
In this series, we are speaking with our legal experts to learn more about their areas of expertise, what they enjoy most about their work, and how they work together to provide exceptional legal service to our clients. This time we spoke to specialist financial services litigation and disputes partners Darren Kidd and Laura Robinson to hear more about the work they have been involved in and their plans for the future.
Tell us a little a bit about the Financial Services Litigation and Disputes team at Clarke Willmott
The team is led by Darren and Laura and is aided by a support team of 9, including senior associate Mamunul Wahid and chartered legal executive (associate) Meg Kirkwood.
The team are specialists in advising individuals and businesses on a range of disputes in the financial services sector. Our cases typically include allegations of breach of contract, negligence and fraud, involving banks, wealth managers, and other types of financial institutions and intermediaries. A lot of the work the team does concerns mis-selling claims involving substantial sums of money
– Darren
Darren previously worked at two leading disputes firms in London before joining Clarke Willmott in September 2023. His expertise includes advising clients, typically high net worth individuals, on complex and high-value claims, including group litigation.
Laura has been with Clarke Willmott for 15 years and joined the Financial Services Litigation and Disputes team upon qualifying in 2011. She is a dual-qualified solicitor and financial adviser and . specialises in high-value professional negligence claims concerning investments, pensions and tax mitigation schemes, as well as consumer credit claims regarding equity release (including shared appreciation mortgages).
Both Darren and Laura are listed as recommended lawyers in The Legal 500 2024 guide.
What type of work has the team been involved in?
Some examples of previous cases the team have been involved with include:
- Recovering more than £50 million for over 1,000 steelworkers affected by the British Steel Pension Scheme mis-selling scandal.
- Acting for over 450 clients in relation to a multi-million-pound cross-border dispute concerning a Ponzi scheme.
- Advising on a £30 million claim against one of the ‘Big 4’ accountants in relation to tax-efficient investment vehicles focused on films.
What is the team working on at the moment?
Currently, one of Laura’s main focuses is advising a number of clients who took out Shared Appreciation Mortgages (SAMs).
In 1998, Barclays designed an equity-release product that allowed them to significantly benefit from foreseen increases in house price values. Homeowners wouldn’t pay interest or make repayments, but when their mortgages came to an end, they had to pay 75% of the increase in value to Barclays, which was extremely expensive
– Laura
Laura also notes that many of these claims are only now surfacing as borrowers’ mortgages are concluding or they are moving into care homes and they or their relatives are only now realising the impact of shared appreciation mortgages.
She is encouraging anyone who believes they may have a claim against Barclays to get in touch with the team promptly, “legal advice should be taken sooner rather than later as there are time limits within which claims must be made.”
Darren is working on a number of other matters, including claims concerning:
- Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud
- Liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies in relation to pension schemes
- Tax-mitigation vehicles
- Foreign Exchange (FX) derivatives
- Investment frauds
Why should a prospective client instruct Clarke Willmott?
The team are highly qualified and experienced in providing disputes advice on financial services matters. For example, Laura holds the CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, the benchmark qualification for financial advisers. Further, Darren has many years of experience working on high-profile and challenging cases.
Laura has been described by her clients as “performing extraordinarily well under all sorts of pressure” and have congratulated her on her “calm handling of so many difficult corners”.
The team offers clients exceptional service and support, with a client recognising this by saying:
Thank you for your incredible commitment to us and the success you have achieved. I don’t think in my whole lifetime I have come across such dedicated trustworthy people with such great patience and professional manner
– Client
The team was shortlisted at the 2023 Bristol Law Society Awards for Team of the Year, with Mamunul Wahid winning Junior Lawyer of the Year, recognising his hard work supporting British Steel pensioners.
What are the teams plans for the future?
Following Darren’s arrival and recent promotions, the team is aiming to continue to grow.
We have an excellent platform from which to build as we work on an increasing number of high-value and complex cases for clients
– Darren
How can potential clients get in touch with Clarke Willmott?
If you would like to find out more about how our financial services litigation and disputes solicitors can support you, please contact one of our lawyers directly, call us on 0800 652 8205 or request a consultation.
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