James Stephenson

James is a Partner in the Litigation Team and has over 15 years experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution dealing with complex and high value cases. James is based in our Liverpool office having worked in the city for the whole of his career.

James acts for a wide variety of clients across a range of sectors from owner managed businesses to large corporates and high-net worth individuals.

James' practice area focuses on all aspects of commercial litigation including contractual disputes, high value warranty and indemnity claims, shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, professional negligence claims and claims involving urgent injunctive relief.

He has extensive experience in dealing with cases in all court forums including the County Court through to specialist divisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. James is highly experienced in alternative dispute resolution and has resolved many claims at mediation, extricating his clients from litigation on beneficial terms.

James takes a commercial approach when providing his advice with his clients' wider interests and aims at the heart of his overall advice.

Experience and notable cases:

• Advised an individual on the defence of a £14M warranty claim following the sale of his company which included a £2M counterclaim linked to non-payment of Earn-Out and mismanagement during the Earn-Out period.

• Advised Sellers following the sale of a foreign exchange business in relation to various warranty and indemnity claims pursued by their Buyer. Successfully applied for an injunction to restrain the Buyer from appointing an Independent Accountant pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement to determine disputes concerning draft Completion Accounts.

• Acted for a limited company in its claim for breach of an Agency Agreement and unpaid commission valued at over £5M.

• Acted for a limited company in the defence of High Court proceedings brough against it by a PLC. Claim valued at £4M and beneficial settlement achieved prior to trial.

• Advised an owner managed business in relation to claims against their former Finance Director for approximately £500,000 based on breach of directors' duties.

• Successfully acted for two individuals in relation to a dispute with a French Bank following the bank's application to register a French Notarial Deed as a Judgment for over 500,000 Euro. The dispute involved complex proceedings in the Court of Appeal and the instruction of an independent French lawyer to provide an expert opinion on various issues of French law.

• Acted for a limited company in relation to suspected £400,000 commercial fraud which had been committed by one of its de facto directors.