Jodie Coles

Jodie specialises in civil and regulatory litigation, agricultural property litigation as well as contentious Wills, trusts and probate.

Jodie is an Associate in the Commercial and Private Client Litigation Team specialising in civil and regulatory litigation, agricultural property litigation as well as contentious Wills, trusts and probate. She is based in the Taunton office.

Jodie trained and qualified at Clarke Willmott in 2017. She was highly commended by the Law Society for her achievements during her training contract.

Jodie advises private clients, agricultural clients and businesses on a wide range of contentious matters and is one of three lawyers in the crime and regulatory disputes team which is ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 for its “thoughtful, pro-active and very high quality” work.

Jodie is a Member of the Agricultural Law Association and a Member of the Property Litigation Association.

How Jodie can help you

Criminal / regulatory matters

Jodie’s practice in this area includes advising and representing individuals, businesses, and local government bodies in a wide range of criminal and regulatory matters, including in the following areas:

• Environmental and pollution;
• Agricultural regulatory matters;
• Animal welfare;
• Health and safety;
• Trading standards;
• Food standard/quality cases;
• Planning law breaches and enforcement;
• Fraud;
• Traffic and motoring; and
• Offences against the person.

Jodie is experienced in helping clients at all stages of the regulatory and criminal process and can provide advice on compliance issues, assist clients in interviews and during investigations.

Agricultural property litigation

Jodie advises clients operating in the commercial and agricultural sectors on contentious property matters relating to:

• Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancies and Farm Business Tenancies (including notices to quit, succession and breaches of covenant);
• Land drainage and flooding;
• Boundaries;
• Adverse possession;
• Trespass;
• Nuisance;
• Easements – including rights of way;
• Farming partnerships;
• Proprietary estoppel; and
• Co-owner property disputes including declarations as to ownership and/or claims for occupation rent.

Contentious trusts Wills and probate

Jodie also defends and brings claims:

• Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975;
• Contesting the validity of Wills (due to lack of testamentary capacity and/or want of knowledge and approval);
• Against executors and trustees for breach of trust/maladministration; and
• Against solicitors in relation to Will drafting and the construction of Wills or mistakes in Wills.

Commercial / private client litigation

Jodie also advises businesses and individuals in all sectors, including the agriculture sector, on issues such as:

• Contractual disputes;
• Judicial review; and
• Professional negligence

Experience

• Acting for a group of milk producers and successfully defeating an application for an interim injunction brought against them by the processor who wanted to stop them from ceasing supply following termination of notice –Watson’s Dairies Ltd v AG Lambert [2020] 10 WLUK 45.
• Acting for claimants in obtaining prohibitive injunctions restraining trespass of persons known and unknown – e.g. representing successful applicant in obtaining injunctions against hunt saboteurs – Fitzwilliam Land Co v Cheesman [2018] EWHC 3139 (QB).
• Advising in relation to water and flooding related matters – e.g. acting for Claimants in ECHR Protocol 1 Article 1 Claim against the Environment Agency King & Ors v Environment Agency [2018] EWHC 65 (QB).