Philip Newman

I qualified as a barrister in 1977, and have practised both as a barrister and solicitor. That gives me a distinct advantage when advising my clients, since I have the expertise of counsel but also hands-on, practical experience of guiding clients through their legal problems.

I advise on a wide range of contract and commercial disputes. These include anything from simple breaches of contract to breach of restraint of trade clauses and wrongful interference with trade, to commercial commission an agency disputes, to economic duress claims and director/shareholder and partnership disputes.

I take on cases both large and small, and have represented clients in all types of tribunal and at all court levels up to the Court of Appeal. I have a commercial approach to disputes between businesses, to make sure (if it is within my power) that whatever the outcome of the dispute, my client's commercial interests do not suffer adversely.

My approach

With nearly four decades of practice under my belt, I offer my clients a wealth of experience. I will always offer practical advice and help my clients to find the right solution to their legal problem. I am dynamic and forward-thinking.

I respond promptly to instructions. I am very approachable and establish a good rapport with my clients which then forms a foundation to our professional relationship. I am told by many clients that I take the stress out of legal problems, since I always focus on finding a pragmatic solution that will be in my client's best interests.

Costs: After the initial consultation, I will be able to let you know what my charges will be for taking on your case. I am efficient and do not waste time unnecessarily and so I am confident that you will receive good value from me as your counsel.

About me

I have practised both as a barrister and as a solicitor. I am also an arbitrator and mediator. I have all-round practical experience of dispute resolution, and, in my time, have advised on many thousands of disputes.

Notable cases

I have successfully represented clients across the board. Here are some examples of successful cases that I have handled:

• I represented my corporate client, Tennero Limited, in a case brought against it by a litigant, which involved a complex procedural issue concerning an attempted appeal against a Court decision that had been favourable to my client. On behalf of my Tennero, I argued that the proposed appeal by the litigant amounted to an abuse of the Court's process, and the appeal judge upheld my argument. The decision has been used as a leading authority in other cases on the question of abuse of process in civil litigation.
• In 2012, I successfully represented the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in a case against a well-known arbitrator for his failure to deliver an arbitral award within four years of hearing the arbitration. The result was that the arbitrator, who was also a well known Scottish Leading Counsel, was struck off as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
• I successfully helped protect the interests of my client, Ms Sheikh, in a property to which she claimed ownership. This was part of some highly complex property and conveyancing litigation, in which a company, Red River (UK), attempted to force Ms Sheikh to remove or withdraw restrictions against a sale taking place that had been previously registered at HM Land Registry and which she wished to keep in full force and effect to protect her legitimate interests. She did not stand to gain from lifting the restrictions and the Court found that she was within her rights to maintain her position as I had argued.
• I represented my corporate client, Tennero Limited, in a case brought against it by a litigant, which involved a complex procedural issue concerning an attempted appeal against a Court decision that had been favourable to my client. On behalf of my Tennero, I argued that the proposed appeal by the litigant amounted to an abuse of the Court's process, and the appeal judge upheld my argument. The decision has been used as a leading authority in other cases on the question of abuse of process in civil litigation.
• In 2012, I successfully represented the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in a case against a well-known arbitrator for his failure to deliver an arbitral award within four years of hearing the arbitration. The result was that the arbitrator, who was also a well known Scottish Leading Counsel, was struck off as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
• I successfully helped protect the interests of my client, Ms Sheikh, in a property to which she claimed ownership. This was part of some highly complex property and conveyancing litigation, in which a company, Red River (UK), attempted to force Ms Sheikh to remove or withdraw restrictions against a sale taking place that had been previously registered at HM Land Registry and which she wished to keep in full force and effect to protect her legitimate interests. She did not stand to gain from lifting the restrictions and the Court found that she was within her rights to maintain her position as I had argued.

I have much experience of advising clients on complex conveyancing and property law disputes and have undertaken many cases (usually in the Chancery Division or County Court), including:

• cases involving hotly contested disputes over property ownership and boundaries.
• cases involving difficult questions over easements (such as rights of way and rights of light) between neighbouring properties (both residential and commercial).
• cases involving "adverse possession" claims and their effect on property ownership.
• cases concerning allegations of forged and fabricated documents such as Wills and Codicils, property transfers, assignments of rights and Powers of Attorney (sometimes in the context of contested ownership claims after the death of a individual).
• nuisance claims, in which I have acted both for claimants and defendants.

Case study I successfully helped protect the interests of my client, Ms Sheikh, in a property to which she claimed ownership. This was part of some highly complex property and conveyancing litigation, in which a company, Red River (UK), attempted to force Ms Sheikh to remove or withdraw restrictions against a sale taking place that had been previously registered at HM Land Registry and which she wished to keep in full force and effect to protect her legitimate interests. She did not stand to gain from lifting the restrictions and the Court found that she was within her rights to maintain her position as I had argued.

Professional & academic

Professional Negligence Bar Association

Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Accredited Mediator with The Academy of Experts and the ADR Group

LLB (Lond) Hons 1976

LLM (Lond) (1978)

University of London Convocation Prize winner for best performance in the LLM for 1978

Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in addition to that of England & Wales