Paul Walsh

Practice Areas

Paul is a partner in and head of the award winning commercial litigation team with wide ranging commercial dispute resolution experience - acting for corporate clients in relation to complex high value litigation both in the UK and internationally.

Working with clients to proactively manage legal risk, Paul helps them tackle disputes effectively, whether through traditional means such as litigation or arbitration, or alternative methods including mediation and expert determination. He has particular experience advising clients in respect of claims for breach of contract and arising on termination of contracts, IT, outsourcing, technology and telecoms disputes, professional negligence claims, warranty claims, shareholder disputes, competition law claims and sports disciplinary matters. Paul has acted as supervising solicitor on search orders and advises on dawn raids.

Career

Trainee Solicitor, DLA Piper, 2003-2005

Associate, DLA Piper, 2005-2009

Senior Associate, DLA Piper 2009-2015

Senior Legal Consultant, (DLA Piper Middle East, 2012)

Partner, Hill Dickinson LLP, 2015 – present

Professional Memberships

Member of the Law Society

Member of the Society of Computers and Law

Appointed member of England Boxing’s Subcommittee on HR, Legal and Compliance

Appointed Chair/Panel Member of England Boxing’s National Disciplinary Panel

Publications

Paul has had articles published and given media commentary in a number of publications including:

“English Court refuses to find that Vatican financier Mincione acted in “good faith””;

“Cyber Incident Response Planning: Is Your Business Ready?” – Lexology;

“Cybersecurity tips” – Lexology;

“Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024: Protecting Your Business from Cyberfraud” – Lexology;

“Google under attack: class action may exceed $1bn” – Forbes Russia;

“Google accusé d'avoir espionné les iPhone des Britanniques” – Les Echos;

“IT Contracts: Getting It Right At The Outset” – IT Pro Portal;

“Becoming GDPR Compliant: ten top tips” – Lexology;

£14bn Consumer Class Action Blocked” – The Times;

“New Guidance for Retailers on Pricing Practices” – The Retailer;

“Retailers left feeling MIF-fed after Commercial Court rejects £450m claim – Lexology;

“Interchange Fee litigation” – Lexology;

“Alliance Contracting: Breaking With Tradition”, Alliance Contracting; No Blame, No Fault”; “Painshare and Gainshare Provisions in Alliance Contracts: The Benefits of Pulling Together”; Alliance Contracting: The Way Forward?” – Practical Law Construction Blog;

Personal

Paul loves to spend his time outside of work with his two young children. He enjoys sports including hiking (having completed a number of long distance hikes in recent years such as the West Highland Way, Arran Coastal Path and Speyside Way). Paul is a Liverpool FC supporter and a big boxing fan having travelled overseas to follow British fighters for example. Paul also enjoys music, plays the guitar, and likes reading and poetry.

Awards

Clients

Clients include:

The Secretariat of State of the Holy See;

The Hut Group;

Elitetele.com PLC;

Terra Solutions Limited;

Kuehne + Nagel;

Work Highlights

• Acting for the Vatican government in its successful defence of a claim for declaratory relief in high profile proceedings in the Commercial Court relating to extensive fraud allegations connected to fund and property investments valued at over £350m.

• Advising a major specialist geotechnical construction group in relation to a dispute valued in excess of £50m concerning the design and construction of diaphragm walls at a site in the UK.

• Acting as part of a Dubai based team to advise Indian clients in their defence in an international arbitration of a US$1 billion contractual claim in the London Court of International Arbitration branch in New Delhi.

• Advising a Jersey registered subsidiary to a listed UK company with business interests in Sub-Saharan Africa on the successful defence at trial of an English law US$12m debt claim issued in the Royal Court of Jersey.

• Advising a government entity in respect of an arbitration claim valued at over £700m relating to the failed development/deployment of a major IT system in the UK.

• Acting for a Dutch BV in the prosecution of a multi-million pound product liability claim under English law concerning the supply of freezer systems to fleets of ocean trawlers.

• Acting in the High Court and Court of Appeal for a Premiership football club in its successful defence of a claim concerning policing charges for football matches.

• Acting for a major IT outsourcing company in respect of a number of separate multi-million pound disputes concerning the supply of outsourced IT services both in the UK and India.

Industry Sector Expertise

IT/Telecoms: Paul has extensive experience advising customers and suppliers in connection with IT and outsourcing disputes , dealing for example with numerous disputes concerning software developments and challenging IT system projects and on a number of high value complex contract and termination disputes in relation to business process outsourcing and provision of call centre and telecommunications services.

Sport: Paul heads the firm’s sports group and advises on contract disputes and disciplinary matters in the sporting arena.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Paul is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales; He spent time working in Dubai on a major dispute subject to English and Indian law with an arbitration seat in Delhi; He also advised on a major contract dispute relating to an infrastructure project in sub-Saharan Africa which was subject to English law and Jersey jurisdiction.

Languages Spoken

English

French

Experience

Paul has over 20 years’ experience as a lawyer and 10 years’ experience as a partner at Hill Dickinson. Paul leads the Liverpool Commercial Litigation Team. He is vastly experienced in a wide spread of commercial litigation and arbitration matters (both domestic and international) across a number of sectors acting for a variety of individual and corporate clients. IT/Outsourcing and Sport are two specific areas in which Paul has extensive experience spanning the length of his career.

Education