John Flint

John helps people and businesses resolve disputes

John is a Partner in the commercial & private client litigation team specialising in complex high profile commercial litigation disputes in particular director, shareholder and partnership disputes; professional advisor claims; defamation; contractual disputes, injunctions and asset recovery.

John’s expertise includes working with Owners, Directors and Shareholders of PLCs, medium and small businesses and major Financial Institutions across retail, banking and finance, renewable energy, sport and technology sectors.

John joined Clarke Willmott in 2016 after working at Ford and Warren (now Weightmans LLP) Leeds from 1996 – 2014 (becoming a Partner in 2000) and Linder Myers LLP Manchester from 2014 – 2016.

John is a member of the Institute of Directors, Professional Negligence Lawyers Association, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Pro-Manchester.

“It was unfortunate that my wife and l found ourselves burdened with commercial litigation. However we are fortunate to have been represented by John Flint during this emotional and stressful time. Having no experience in the world of commercial litigation, John has been a great communicator guiding us through a difficult period. We find him approachable on all matters at any time. He has been supportive in helping to explain legal challenges in a manner we can understand. His advice has been clear and unequivocal whilst reassuring us of our prospects of success. John has always provided us with a clear guide both on time and costs.
He has always remained focused and never lost sight of the true argument regardless of distraction from the other side.
John has great technical knowledge and an excellent grasp of the commercial realities of our business and we are grateful for his advice and guidance during this difficult period.
I certainly would not hesitate in recommending him.” – Client

It has been a great pleasure working with John, Tina and the rest of the commercial litigation team in Manchester over the last three years. John has dealt with this case with enormous skill, dedication and determination throughout. – Chris Kitchen, NUM

Experience

• Successfully acted for a former founder and CEO (Martin Penny) of a world renowned hair styling brand (ghd) in an unfair prejudice petition brought against Montagu Private Equity following his ousting from the company after a board room coup. The case proceeded to a 15 week trial in Manchester and settled in 2012;
• A high profile defamation case (Levi v Bates 2008) where he acted for the former Director of a premiership football club, who had been publicly defamed by the new owner. The case proceeded to a 2 week trial in the RCJ and the client recovered substantial damages;
• Acted for a Turkish and German mega-yacht builder in both an Admiralty Arbitration and High Court defamation case in 2013 – 2014. The arbitration case involved a complex series of interlocking contracts for the building of 4 luxury mega-yachts, and damages for breach of contract were claimed at in excess of £10m. He was also acted in an associated defamation action in the High Court which included a claim for special damages in excess of €135m. The case proceeded to a 3 day mediation in London in 2014;
• Acted for NUM in a contractual dispute with their former high profile general secretary, Arthur Scargill. The matter proceeded to a mediation in 2013 and received national media coverage;
• Acted for a national food manufacturer in a claim brought by a competitor alleging theft of trade secrets and confidential information and breach of restrictive covenants. Further alleged breaches of undertaking led to High Court committal proceedings;
• Lead a dedicated team for 10 years instructed by the captive finance house of a world renowned luxury car manufacturer to deliver a wide range of asset protection, recovery and collection services;
• Acted for a global haulage company in a dispute with a South African oil tanker manufacturer and the Department of Transport over a defective fleet of oil tankers.
• Represented NUM in successful case brought against IEMO (represented by Arthur Scargill)

Articles written by John

• Manchester Dispute Pilot “Could Be A Game Changer”
• Smaller companies must be able to fight commercial disputes
• Shifting attitudes to the duty of good faith