About

Provided by Freeths LLP

The Yorkshire Dispute Resolution team continues to grow revenue and headcount. During the 2020/21 financial year, the team maintained its average annual growth rate of over 10% (average over 5 year period). This growth is again set to continue with the recruitment that both offices have made, despite the challenges presented by Covid-19 and national lockdowns throughout 2021.

The team was pleased to improve its ranking in Chambers and Partners to Band 3 and to maintain its Legal 500 ranking for both Leeds (Tier 3) and Sheffield (Tier 2).

The Yorkshire-wide team now comprises 10 qualified lawyers, plus 4 other legal assistants/trainee solicitors.  These numbers comprise pure commercial litigation lawyers, and exclude real estate litigation, insurance litigation, corporate defence, contentious trusts and probate and construction litigation lawyers who form part of the wider Leeds office disputes group.

The team continues to attract high quality, complex and specialist work, including:

  • Technology disputes
  • Group actions
  • Competition litigation
  • International arbitration and cross-border disputes
  • Aviation industry disputes
  • Shareholder, partnership and trust disputes
  • Professional negligence claims
  • Pensions disputes
  • Banking, financial services and PFI disputes
  • Procurement and other public sector disputes

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Litigation - Yorkshire

2
Band 2

What the Team is Known For

Freeths has a notable team assisting with a variety of commercial disputes, including litigation relating to shareholder and commercial disagreements, trust disputes and IT-related disputes. It acts for a varied client roster including companies in professional services, hospitality and retail.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

James Berry
3
James Berry
3
Band 3

James Berry is head of dispute resolution at Freeths in Sheffield. He is well-regarded for his commercial disputes practice and acts in a variety of matters, including shareholder disputes and breach of contract claims.

James provides a proactive service and full understanding of technical matters and commercial impacts.

James is very client-centric. He is confident yet always measured in his delivery of advice.

James Hartley
4
James Hartley
4
Band 4

James Hartley is a highly skilled litigation partner with in-depth knowledge of high-stakes cases. He is well versed in a broad variety of matters, including breach of commercial agreements and joint venture and shareholder disputes.

James Hartley is an incredibly safe pair of hands.

Ciaran Dearden
U
Ciaran Dearden
U
Up and Coming

Ciaran Dearden is a solid up-and-coming partner in the litigation team with experience in a wide range of cases involving such matters as breach of contract, unfair prejudice claims and shareholder disputes.

Ciaran Dearden exhibits tenacity, fair play and expert legal knowledge, with a good customer interface.

Ranked Lawyers at
Freeths LLP

Provided by Chambers
Filter by
Band

Yorkshire

Litigation

James Berry
3
James Berry
3
Band 3
James Hartley
4
James Hartley
4
Band 4
Ciaran Dearden
U
Ciaran Dearden
U
Up and Coming

Members

Provided by Freeths LLP