Overview

The law surrounding duties owed by professionals to their clients is constantly evolving, making the need for high quality professional negligence advice essential.

Our team of professional negligence lawyers has a reputation for diligence and tenacity which leads to strong results for our clients. Our lawyers have many years of experience working with businesses, major financial institutions and individuals pursuing claims against a full spectrum of professionals. We also defend leading professionals against claims and advise them on risk and insurance-related issues, including professional indemnity and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

In addition, our team has market-leading experience of managing large portfolios of claims on behalf of financial institutions.

Areas of focus

Our expertise in professional negligence includes the following:

  • Claims against solicitors.
  • Claims against surveyors and valuers.
  • Claims against accountants and auditors.
  • Claims against pensions advisers and actuaries.
  • Claims against construction and engineering professionals.
  • Claims against IT consultants.
  • Professional indemnity insurance.
  • Directors’ and officers’ insurance.
Experience

Successfully representing a subsidiary of the Co-operative Bank in the Court of Appeal regarding the potential recovery of the costs of breaking an interest rate swap agreement from a negligent valuation surveyor.

Defending a firm of rail engineers in High Court proceedings relating to a derailment.

Advising a farming family on a successful claim against solicitors who negligently failed to secure overage on the sale of their farmland for residential development.

Managing a portfolio of hundreds of successful claims by Platform Home Loans against solicitors and surveyors arising from residential lending.

Defending a claim against a leading firm of auditors that it failed to identify a fraud being perpetrated by its client’s financial controller when undertaking an audit.

Pursuing numerous high value claims against negligent valuation surveyors on behalf of Nationwide arising from commercial lending.

Advising a construction company on its former solicitor’s failure to validly exercise the break of a lease of office premises.

Acting for a privately-owned telecoms company against a leading accountancy firm for negligent valuation of the company undertaken in a contested expert determination.

Acting for an educational institution against its pension scheme advisors in relation to the negligent drafting of trust documents over several years.

Advising the administrators of a stockbroking company on a negligence claim against its former auditors who failed to identify that its directors were not adequately safeguarding client money.

Acting for a bank to recover its investment in two failed biomass waste-to-energy projects from an EPC Contractor for negligent design and/or construction.

Meet the team
Andrew-Burnette---PGP_3989

Andrew Burnette Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Professional Negligence
  • Banking Disputes
Justin Briggs

Justin Briggs Partner

  • Trust Disputes
  • Tax Negligence
  • Pension Disputes
David Hall

David Hall Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Banking Disputes
  • Business Crime and Regulatory Investigations
Suzanne-Padmore---132A6872

Suzanne Padmore Partner

  • Pensions Disputes
  • Professional Negligence
  • Financial services Disputes and Enforcement 
Magnus Miller

Magnus Miller Partner

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Real Estate Disputes
  • Insolvency

What others say...

Burges Salmon are a leading player in the professional negligence field, having been involved in key cases over the years.

Legal 500 2024

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