Ranked in 2 Practice Areas
2

Band 2

Professional Negligence

North West

8 Years Ranked

3

Band 3

Litigation

North West

9 Years Ranked

About

Provided by Kit Sorrell

UK

Practice Areas

Litigation

Professional Negligence

Career

Kit is personally ranked as a Leader in the Field in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence in Chambers & Partners. He is also recognised in Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ as a Leading Individual in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence. He is the only lawyer in the entire North West to be ranked by Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ in the field of Professional Negligence and in Commercial Litigation (elsewhere in the North West).

With well over 30 years’ experience, Kit Sorrell is a highly renowned litigation specialist. He acts in complex high value commercial matters such as contract disputes, minority shareholder claims, property disputes and also acts for both high net worth individuals and corporate entities in complex and high value professional negligence claims against, by way of example, tax advisers, accountants, solicitors, property professionals and independent financial advisers. Kit is nationally recognised as a Leader in the Field and is recommended in both Chambers UK Guide and Legal 500 where he is described as a “highly experienced commercial litigator.”, “one of the best commercial litigators in the region” noting in particular his “gravitas, tough negotiation skills and dogged determination”.

Kit is also widely known for leading the way in Professional Negligence claims against financial and tax advisers in particular claims involving tax avoidance and mitigation schemes. Kit was amongst the very first lawyers to be instructed on the high profile Film Scheme Tax Partnership cases and to issue the first High Court proceedings against advisers who recommended such schemes. Kit has become known as the ‘go-to’ lawyer for well-known sports and media personalities in this field. Kit has been interviewed by the Financial Times on a number of occasions and quoted in numerous articles in the FT, The Mail on Sunday, FT Adviser, Money Marketing and IFA Online.

Client testimonials:

“Kit Sorrell is really a living legend in dispute resolution – pleasure and an honour to work with him. His experience and knowledge really show when he gives strategic advice. He is unfailingly pleasant to work with”

“Kit Sorrell is very much the grand old man of Manchester litigation; a fearsome opponent who takes no prisoners”

“Kit Sorrell is a leading, senior practitioner known by all as having a robust and confident approach to litigation”

"Kit Sorrell’s experience and knowledge of the law is second to none and his ability to being original and creative thinking to the case opens new avenues for resolution."

"Kit Sorrell – one of the most experienced litigators in the NW, brilliant tactical nous and can still get stuck into excellent drafting when needed."

"Kit Sorrell provides full commitment to, and understanding of, a client’s needs and objectives. He is one of the best negotiators I have worked with in complex mediations."

“Kit Sorrell is hugely experienced, and undoubtedly one of the recognised leaders in the field, and together with Julia Norris they make a formidable team”

“Kit is an extremely experienced commercial litigator. He’s very forceful, effective and doesn’t take any nonsense.”

“Kit has a breadth of knowledge and deep experience as well as a cool head in a crisis.”

“He’s got a very good sense of strategy and tactics.”

Kit’s practice spans almost the whole range of high value commercial dispute resolution. By way of example only, includes acting in warranty claims, shareholder disputes, commercial contractual disputes of all kinds, asset tracing & recovery and bringing & defending applications for injunctions.

Work Highlights

Notable cases

Halsall v Champion Consulting Ltd [2017] EWHC 1079 (QB)

Represented the claimants in a £6M claim arising out of tax avoidance schemes. This widely reported case is believed to be one of the first claims of this type to reach the courts.

Knights & Others v Townsend Harrison Ltd 2021 EWHC 2563 (QB)

Represented the Claimants in a seven-figure claim against accountants in relation to alleged negligent advice concerning investment into a foreign exchange investment scheme which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and also in relation to a variety of tax mitigation schemes.

Instructed by shareholders in a shareholders dispute in which the value of the assets involved is some £80M.

Financial Conduct Authority v Steel & Foster – Acting for the Defendants in a ground breaking claim in which the FCA is seeking to redefine the liability of directors and officers in independent financial advice businesses; the allegation being that Mr Steel and Ms Foster are responsible for negligently advising approximately 500 clients, the value of the claim being in excess of £7M.

Acting for a group of high net worth individuals in a £5M claim against an international law practice arising out of negligent conduct of litigation initially brought against their accountants and tax advisers.

Acting for a client in a seven-figure professional negligence claim against Gibraltar based IFA company arising out of the clients’ investment into a £50M failed investment scheme.

Acting for the Claimants in a £16M claim against the promotors of a failed tax mitigation scheme.

Acting for minority shareholder in a shareholder dispute in relation to his holding in a highly successful engineering company. Action resolved with an order for the purchase of his shares on very satisfactory terms.

Acting for a national property/property development company in Judicial Review proceedings challenging enforcement orders made by the Authority which threatened a regeneration scheme the value of which ran to many hundreds of millions of pounds.

Acting for a sports management company in a dispute over the ‘ownership’ of a very high profile premier league professional footballer.

Acting for Morris Homes Group, the country’s largest privately owned house builder, in a number of complex seven-figure claims against various property professionals.

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North West

Litigation

Kit Sorrell
3
Kit Sorrell
3
Band 3
Julia Norris
4
Julia Norris
4
Band 4
Professional Negligence

Julia Norris
1
Julia Norris
1
Band 1
Kit Sorrell
2
Kit Sorrell
2
Band 2