Cathy is an associate in the commercial and private client litigation team and joined Clarke Willmott in September 2014.
Cathy qualified as a solicitor in April 2012, specialising in civil and commercial litigation disputes. Cathy has experience of acting for individuals and companies in a range of disputes, and has been involved in actions in the County Court and High Court, Commercial and Admiralty Court and the Chancery Division of the High Court. She has particular experience of acting in high value, complex litigation and benefits from some six years of experience as a paralegal prior to her qualification as a solicitor which included managing a caseload of property disputes and working in house at a local authority.
Experience
Professional negligence: property – Cathy has acted for a first time buyer in an action against his conveyancing solicitor who failed to properly advise him on the effect of the absence of a certificate confirming that the property, which was of non-traditional construction, had been the subject of an approved refurbishment scheme. The client purchased the property which was in fact not refurbished to a mortgageable standard, and was unable to deal with the property following purchase. Following the issuing of court proceedings, and the obtaining of expert evidence, a settlement was negotiated in favour of the client sufficient to fund the necessary repairs to sell or remortgage the property in the future.
Professional negligence: finance and tax – Cathy has been involved in a high value claim against financial consultants who encouraged four individuals to invest in a film finance partnership scheme on the understanding that a considerable tax saving could be achieved. The scheme was later investigated by HMRC who rejected the claim for tax relief. Cathy attended conferences with counsel, instructed experts and assisted in the court proceedings. Cathy is currently representing trustees of a life settlement trust in respect of a potential claim against a tax advisor in respect of inheritance tax mitigation advice which has resulted in a substantial charge to the trust.
Cathy has acted for a number of individuals and companies in a wide range of commercial disputes, including providing restrictive covenant advice to self employed contractors, acting for agents and service providers in service contract disputes, pursuing and defending contractual disputes involving goods and services, and representing a member of an LLP in an unfair prejudice petition.
In addition to her commercial dispute experience, Cathy has experience of handling civil disputes and has acted for individuals and companies, as well as insurers in subrogated property damage claims. Cases include defective product liability claims, fire and water damage claims involving both contractual and tortious aspects, and defamation claims.
Cathy has experience of debt recovery, including enforcement action in the UK and more recently in Europe, when she acted for a client who required advice about the effect of a European Order for Payment obtained against its company in the Italian courts.
