Specialist Team Places Muckle LLP at Forefront of Litigation Services

Headed by partner Stewart Irvine, the team comprises a number of highly experienced partners, all with expertise in specialist areas of dispute resolution and handling of contentious matters. Stewart has been with Muckle LLP since 1996 and has a wealth of experience in commercial dispute resolution, contentious insolvency, alternative dispute resolution and professional negligence claims.

He said: “The current economic climate has meant that there has been an increase in dispute work, particularly in a professional negligence capacity involving issues around businesses being provided with the wrong advice by other firms.

“Our litigation team members are experts at handling these types of cases and the subsequent negotiations and this is recognised in our success. We have virtually doubled this part of the business over the past few years. The depth and breadth of skill and heavyweight experience within our team allows us to provide legal business solutions for our clients which are second to none.”

Also working within Muckle specialist litigation team are construction and engineering experts Rob Langley and Tim Craig.

Rob Langley, who joined the Muckle team this year as a partner, is a national figurehead in construction law, with over 30 years of experience. Highly experienced in commercial dispute resolution and the handling of construction contracts, Rob is a leading mediator, and has handled over 140 mediation cases, specialising in contractual analysis, arbitration, adjudication, conciliation and technical, commercial and construction litigation.

He said: “In addition to this, I am also a member of the Chartered institute of Arbitrators prestigious panel of specialist construction adjudicators and am currently sitting on a case between three parties one English, one Bulgarian and one Panamanian. Last year, I also acted as legal counsel for the Japanese design and build contractor, Takuma, on the £85m Lakeside Energy from Waste Ltd plant at Heathrow.”

Tim Craig, partner, also has a considerable amount of expertise in the resolution of construction and engineering disputes, court proceedings, adjudication and alternative dispute resolution in both the public and private sectors. He specialises in advising on engineering and construction procurement and funding issues, but also the negotiation of building and engineering contracts in sectors including commercial, leisure, retail, health, education, residential development and oil and gas projects.

Susan Howe, who has just joined Muckle LLP as a partner, is an expert in commercial dispute resolution, dealing with all forms of commercial or contractual disputes including intellectual property, copyright, shareholder disputes, partner disputes and contractual issues.

Partner, Jonathan Dunkley, has been with Muckle LLP for 25 years and is a specialist in the areas of Business Protection and Health and Safety. With over 30 years of experience in regulatory matters, Jonathan advises on the implementation of all private prosecution guidelines and alternatives to court proceedings in areas including trading standards, corporate manslaughter, food safety, corporate due diligence, crisis management and emergency response.

Partner and employment law specialist, Tony McPhillips, is one of the region leading employment lawyers specialising in High Court employment claims. Recognised nationally for his expertise in advising clients over the protection of trade secrets and confidential information, Tony is regularly instructed by organisations seeking injuncture relief in order to protect their proprietary interests and to see off threats posed by ex-employees and competitors. He has been involved in some of the largest cases of this nature in the region and is regarded as the first port of call for work of this nature.

Kevin Turnbull, partner, is widely recognised as a leader in the field of commercial litigation, leading cases such as contractual disputes, fraud and asset recovery, shareholder disputes and partnership disputes. His experience includes working on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the Shipman Inquiry and he has recently acted for a consortium of 18 law firms in the region, which had tendered unsuccessfully for family legal aid contracts and wanted to overturn the decision.

Kevin said: “We challenged this ruling by saying the criteria wasn’t fair as it reduced access to justice. The review was successful and the decision was quashed the firms now have a continuation of the pre-existing arrangement.”

Stewart continued: “Muckle LLP is an outstanding provider of legal business solutions and our nationally recognised team has the breadth and depth of expertise to give our clients the best chance of winning complex disputes. Our service excellence ethos, along with our experience, now makes us the first choice in the region for resolving business litigation disputes.”

For more information on how Muckle can help your business, please contact Stewart Irvine, call 0191 211 7935 or email [email protected].