The UK Commercial Property Litigation and Disputes Forum: 2nd Annual

Anne Waltham identifies and minimises the impact of risks or vulnerabilities in real estate transactions, ensuring that clients are made aware of any potential dangers.

She also helps clients to manage disputes commercially and cost-effectively, including by alternative dispute resolution.

Real estate litigation moves with the health of the property market. So the emphasis can range from development-related disputes through to insolvency matters. Whatever the circumstances, with over 30 years' experience in real estate litigation under her belt, Anne can provide insightful, practical and commercial advice across the whole spectrum of issues.

Anne has been listed over consecutive years in the Legal 500 "Hall of Fame" and as a "Senior Statesperson" in Chambers.

Bryan is a partner and head of the Property Litigation team, working alongside developers, commercial and residential landowners, landlords, tenants, insolvency practitioners and government and other public bodies. He deals with all aspects of property litigation and liaises extensively with colleagues across the firm, including in transactional real estate, construction, insolvency, corporate and finance in order to ensure that real estate litigation is an integral part of the wide Dentons client offering. Bryan is a "go-to" person in respect of all contentious and advisory real estate issues.

Bryan is experienced in dealing with all of the unique aspects of real estate litigation, including the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, tenant default, party walls, easement and covenant disputes, neighbourly disputes, service charge disputes, dilapidations disputes, professional negligence in the property context (including legal and surveying professional negligence, negligence and nuisance). Bryan has considerable expertise in dealing with complex rights of light issues and has devised mitigation strategies for important development sites. Healso advises on the construction of documents and provides both strategic advice and updates on developments in the law in a contentious and non-contentious context for the Real Estate department and external clients.

He has written numerous articles and has given various talks to industry bodies (e.g. RICS, the Property Bar Association, the Property Managers' Association and the British Property Federation), as well as clients and general counsel. Bryan has delivered many internal and external seminars and regularly contributes articles for the professional press.

Bryan is the immediate past chair of the Property Litigation Association (PLA), having served various committees of the industry body for real estate litigation for many years, including the Law Reform Committee and the Executive Committee. Bryan was an extremely active chair of the PLA and overhauled its financial and administrative functions, as well as overseeing strong growth in the Association and diversification of its activities and classes of membership.

As well as being a highly respected property litigator, Bryan is a trusted real estate advisor to the firm and its clients.

Rashpal has over 20 years experience in all aspects of contentious property matters with a particular focus on issues that commonly arise out of development, including rights of light claims, development constraints such as restrictive covenants or easements, and vacant possession strategies. Her particular specialism is in the area of rights of light where she regularly advises on strategy, risk mitigation measures such as placing agreed conduct insurance policies or implementing s203, and dealing with litigation.

Rashpal is ranked individually in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a recommended and "up and coming" practitioner. She is part of the Real Estate Disputes team at Eversheds Sutherland which is ranked Number 1 in the directories.

Greg Barden has broad experience in dispute resolution across all levels of the civil judicial hierarchy in the United Kingdom with a particular focus on real estate, including regulatory and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues, aviation, and insurance recovery.

Greg has acted for corporates and high net worth individuals in relation to range of high-value commercial disputes. Greg's real estate experience includes joint venture disputes, overage claims, the enforcement of sales contracts (and deposit disputes), tenant insolvency and guarantor enforcement, landlord and tenant disputes, lease renewals, dilapidation claims, and trusts of land. He has worked with various property developers across the United Kingdom to provide advice on rights of light matters and obtaining vacant possession and has assisted clients with disputes concerning recently constructed buildings (including the Building Safety Act, cladding, and fire stopping).

In relation to aviation, Greg has assisted manufacturers and users of aircraft in a variety of disputes, including the enforcement of sales contracts, disputes with lenders, and disputes with agents.

More broadly, Greg routinely assists corporates with contractual disputes and governance issues with particular experience in joint venture fall-outs and/or disputes between shareholders/owners and management. He also has experience in interim injunctive relief claims, including freezing orders, delivery up orders, and bespoke injunctions.

Greg has recently assisted DB Symmetry in a successful claim in the Supreme Court on a point of national importance in relation to the limits of what planning conditions can lawfully require.

Scott trained in the City and spent seventeen years in practice in Top 100 firms. Latterly he headed up the Property Disputes Team of a leading Thames Valley firm. Drawing on this experience, Scott is able to bring a wide range of technical knowhow and commercial nous to bear on any property dispute, be it commercial or residential. He is building up a following of developer and high net worth clients.

Landlord and tenant work is of particular interest to Scott.  On the commercial side, he has developed an expertise dealing with cases involving the applicability of the criteria for opposing a new business tenancy on the grounds of redevelopment (ground (f)).  With residential tenancies, Scott has represented landlords and tenants of long leases in connection with enfranchisement claims, service charge disputes and disputes between tenant directors of freehold companies.  He acted for the successful landlord in a Court of Appeal case concerning waiver of the right to forfeit a long residential lease.

Scott has had articles and comment published in the Financial Times, Property Week, Prime Resi, News on the Block, the Property Law Journal, LexisNexis and The Daily Beast.  He regularly gives talks to professionals and clients alike and in February 2018 presented two one hour seminars to an audience of several hundred surveyors and other property professionals at the Five Counties Conference in High Wycombe.

Scott has an MA in Social and Political Sciences from Girton College, Cambridge. He is also a member of the Education and Training Committee of the Property Litigation Association.

Qualified 2002, joined 

Gary has built (from a standing start) and heads the highly-rated real estate litigation team in London. He helps developer and investor clients manage risk, and has been ranked as a leading lawyer in London by the legal directories for over a decade.   

His main focus is in urban dynamics, with a particular focus on the regeneration sector.  He is regularly instructed by domestic and international household names involved in the future of living (including build to rent developers / operators, housebuilders and student developers and operators), the future of work (including office developers and occupiers) and urban mobility (logistical developers and operators).  

Gary troubleshoots complex legal issues to ensure consented schemes are fully delivered (having successfully defended countless injunction threats and claims) and operated optimally. He is regularly recommended for his rights to light expertise in the legal directories. He has successfully de-risked many schemes with a gross development value in the aggregate of billions of pounds over the last decade. He also has an excellent working knowledge of the contaminated land regime (having won a scholarship to undertake an LLM, by research, on this topic) and the electronic communications code (having been seconded to Vodafone's radio base station team for six months). 

Gary is a former Chair of the Property Litigation Association, and a current member of Sweet & Maxwell's editorial board of The Landlord and Tenant Reports.  

Since 1995 Paul has been seeking to solve people’s property disputes. He brings a professional, energetic but most of all sensible approach to his clients' concerns, whether it is a neighbour dispute or a Supreme Court case.

Paul advises businesses, charities and individuals on all aspects of property disputes and their avoidance. Paul’s work covers enforcement of lease terms, recovery of money, real estate property disputes, and he has particular interests in business tenancy law, restrictive covenants and rights of light.

Paul joined Russell-Cooke in 2002 and was appointed partner in 2005

Ed is an experienced real estate disputes lawyer with particular expertise dealing with developers in relation to building defects as well as the hotel and hospitality industry. He often acts on multimillion-pound disputes for clients including developers, investors, landlords, tenants and funders, as well as insolvency practitioners.

Ed acted for the developer and landlord in the leading fire-safety building defects case in the High Court in relation to liability for defective cladding and insulation.

In the hospitality sector, Ed is recognised as an industry expert and has acted for or against almost every global hospitality brand.

Anna is a Partner in the Real Estate Disputes team. Technical and well liked for her straight-talking commercial advice, she advises on a wide range of contentious real estate matters. Anna ensures that the legal framework is best deployed to further her clients' commercial goals.

Anna acts for a variety of clients including institutional landlords, developers, asset managers, property funds and a large hotel chain. Her practice covers the full spectrum of property disputes including complex and high-value litigation; rent reviews; independent expert determinations; business lease renewals; service charge disputes; tenant insolvency; strategic break options; tenant default and complex dilapidations settlements as well advising on the vacant possession strategy for major development sites.

She has a particular interest in the hotels and student accommodation sectors as well as a subject specialism in rent reviews. She is an honorary member of Arbrix (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ forum for arbitrators) and is a regular speaker at their conferences. Anna is also a member of the Property Litigation Association.

Chhavie is a Partner in the Real Estate department specialising in real estate disputes. She has particular experience in advising developers on avoiding disputes and, where issues do occur, how to mitigate against them in order keep the development on track. This includes advising clients on minimising the potential of rights of light related claims.

Chhavie has also successfully acted in connection with planning judicial reviews and has defended clients from applications to register development land as town and village greens. She also has extensive experience of acting for developers on rights of light strategies including the use of insurance policies and section 203 Housing and Planning Act 2016 to mitigate risks.

She advises both landlords and tenants on all aspects of their relationship, including business lease renewals (both unopposed and opposed), dilapidations, tenant insolvency, recovery of arrears, service charge disputes, consents, rent review and issues relating to quiet enjoyment.

Chhavie is ranked as a Leader in her Field in Chambers 2024, which says she "has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the area of rights to light which few can equal". Sources label her 'a very experienced property litigator' who is 'very thorough and extremely on the ball'.

Legal 500 2024 rank her as a Leading Individual and have previously said that Chhavie has "excellent technical knowledge" and is a "joy to work with".

Professor Graham F. Chase Dip Est Man FRICS FCIArb C.Arb FRSA FInstCPD Chartered Surveyor, Chartered Arbitrator, RICS Registered Valuer, Commercial Property Company Chairman of the Year 2021 (CEO Monthly), UK Commercial Property Business Leader of the Year 2022 (CEO Magazine)

Professor Graham F Chase is the Chairman of Chase and Partners LLP, Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Town Planners, based in central London. He is a Fellow & Past President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Chartered Arbitrator, Past President and current Chairman of the Association of Town & City Management, a Freeman of the City of London, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, Member of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, Past Chairman of the Covent Garden Area Trust, the Honorary Surveyor to the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and Chairman of the Commonwealth Housing Trust.

In his 44-year career he has advised the private sector on the letting and funding of retail and leisure schemes with a combined value of over £10billion, advised on the development of some 150 shopping centres, leisure centres, retail parks and other commercial property products and advised central Government and over 40 Local authorities on policy and other property based issues.

In the past 10 years he has advised on a wide cross section of property sectors in most areas of business and looks after a select cadre of retained clients in respect of their property portfolios and activities including retail, leisure, offices, industrial/logistics and residential land. He also sits as an arbitrator on a variety of property disputes, is an Independent Expert and appears as an Expert Witness in the High Court, Property Tribunals and Planning Public Inquiries.

He has produced an annual retail, leisure, and restaurant market report since 1983 covering both the in town and out of town sectors and this year, on 1st June 2020, Chase & Partners celebrates its 25th year of trading with a 25th edition of the Spring Report.

Jonathan’s cases invariably involve land and property but span commercial, company, fraud, trust and insolvency law disputes and related professional negligence.

Jonathan is recognised as a leading senior junior having been providing advice and advocacy on these issues for almost twenty years.  He has appeared in courts and tribunals at all levels, including the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal (on many occasions without a leader). He is equally happy acting in large, complex litigation as part of a team as he is representing an individual landowner, developer, or leaseholder.  Jonathan frequently appears against silks as sole counsel.  He also acts in mediations and arbitrations.    

Jonathan is acknowledged as a leading practitioner in the fields of restrictive covenants, rights to light and other easements, leasehold enfranchisement, tenants’ rights of first refusal, right to manage and service charges. Jonathan is particularly experienced on matters relating to mixed-use developments. His cases regularly involve large group litigation. 

He is frequently instructed in relation to joint ventures, overage, contracts for sale, options, injunctions, specific performance, and orders for sale.

Jonathan has particular experience of cases involving fraudulent dispositions, sham transactions and allegations of dishonesty.

His trusts work encompasses co-ownership disputes and applications for orders for sale/TOLATA claims.

Jonathan has been ranked in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 for many years. He is “the perfect package for complex and hard-fought property litigation. Jonathan is both technically brilliant and a creative advocate.” He “combines a sharp mind, deep knowledge, experience and seasoned advocacy with consummate client-handling skills”; he is “very cerebral, persuasive towards judges, prompt and easy to deal with”; and “a good all-round property barrister with both residential and commercial expertise”.

Chris specialises in both property litigation and the regulatory/disciplinary aspects of sports law.

Chris undertakes work in all aspects of property litigation encompassing real property, and both residential and commercial landlord and tenant work.

In the field of real property Chris has developed a particular specialism in the law relating to canals and water, which work often involves consideration of difficult issues relating to riparian rights and ancient title documentation as well as the understanding and application of aged private Acts of Parliament.  Chris has acted extensively for British Waterways and its statutory successor the Canal & River Trust, and also for other public authorities as well as for private individuals on canal and water based matters. 

Chris also regularly advises and litigates on registration, option, easement and covenant issues. As a corollary of his work relating to waterways, Chris also has expertise in advising on Human Rights issues relating to property interests.

In the field of landlord & tenant Chris has particular expertise in service charge disputes (especially in the context of representative actions for large numbers of tenants) as well as extensive experience of matters such as the 1954 Act,  dilapidations claims, options and the construction and enforcement of tenant covenants.

In sports law Chris has many years of experience in appearing before various tribunals, from domestic disciplinary hearings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland as well as in High Court litigation.

Chris is particularly well respected for his work in relation to selection issues and Paralympic classification issues. 

Chris has acted for numerous governing bodies in sports as diverse as football, swimming, diving, cricket, tennis, rugby and boxing and as well as prosecuting (or defending) regulatory and disciplinary matters. Chris has been appointed to chair numerous disciplinary panels.

David is a partner at DCCH Experts LLP, a firm specialised in the provision of expert fire safety advice in relation to fire incident investigation, building defects and challenging engineering problems.

He has extensive experience in the field of fire safety, having been involved in a wide range of large scale experimental work, testing, inspections and fire investigations, particularly with respect to new developments in the built environment.

He specialises in investigating fire development, the performance of fire protection measures and systems during real fire incidents, and the regulatory aspects of performance in these areas. He is a Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering Council by the Institution of Fire Engineers and holds a PhD in the impact of fire chemistry in fatal fires, examined via the investigation, reconstruction and hazard analysis of real fires.

Major fire investigations he has worked on include the Atherstone on Stour warehouse fire, Royal Marsden Hospital, the Cutty Sark, Lakanal House and the Grenfell Tower fire. He is one of the authors of the Code of Practice for Investigators of Fire and Explosions for the Criminal Justice Systems in the UK, as well as being one of the technical authors of PAS 9980, the Code of Practice for Fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats.

Martin is a Chartered Surveyor with 37 years of experience in the property industry having spent the last 25 years as a specialist telecoms consultant working on both operator and site provider sides.

He has been providing Expert opinion and evidence in telecoms disputes for over 20 years in Arbitrations, Court proceedings and Lands Tribunal cases and is a subject matter expert on the Electronic Communications Code. He is also RICS trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Conflict Avoidance as well as training for the RICS Telecoms ADR Service.

A specialist property litigator with over 15 years' experience, Sophie helps clients navigate the complexities of property law and resolve disputes quickly and cost-effectively. She advises property investors, developers, lenders, corporate occupiers and individuals on every manner of property dispute. Sophie has particular expertise in rights of light and disputes relating to property development.

She is renowned for her legal knowledge and ability to get to the bottom of a tricky issue.  Sources quoted in Chambers UK have praised her "phenomenal" knowledge (2015) and described her as a "walking brain" (2014) that is "able to tie the opposition up in knots" (2011).

Sophie regularly acts on a wide range of landlord and tenant disputes, representing both landlords and tenants, including lease renewals, forfeiture, dilapidations, service charge and agreement for lease disputes.

She also has extensive experience in the development sphere, advising both developers and neighbours on claims (including injunctions) relating to nuisance, rights of light, trespass and party wall matters, restrictive covenants and easements. She is equally at home using her experience to help developers navigate and pre-empt claims as assisting neighbours assert their rights.

Other experience includes adverse possession, boundaries, easements, insolvency-related issues, joint ventures, leasehold enfranchisement, professional negligence, residential property and sale and purchase disputes.

Sophie gives practical advice which goes straight to the heart of an issue. She deploys her expertise in the law and strategy to secure the best result for her client at the earliest possible stage.  Clients express their appreciation of having her in their corner to fight their side.  She has a track record of achieving excellent results.  She aims to resolve disputes without court proceedings wherever possible.  Often straightforward 'without prejudice negotiations' are most effective but she also has experience of mediation, arbitration and expert determination.

Kate Andrews is widely recognised as one of London’s leading property litigators and has extensive experience in an advisory and dispute resolution role, as well as a litigious one.

Kate is a Partner and Head of the Real Estate Disputes team at Hamlins where she acts on high profile real estate disputes for clients including high net worth individuals, property funds and developers. She deals with various breaches of leasehold covenants, including dilapidations, service charges, applications for consent to assign/underlet/alter, rent reviews and other landlord and tenant issues. Kate also advises on contractual and development disputes, including specific performance claims, injunctions, rights to light, restrictive covenant issues and joint venture disputes; and she particularly enjoys advising on the redevelopment of business premises.

Kate is a keen advocate of alternative dispute resolution and has been able to settle a number of complex legal disputes at mediation or by without prejudice discussions.

Kate is ranked in Chambers 2025 for real estate litigation and is a Legal 500 2025 Leading Individual.

Kate attends 6 levels of Court and Tribunals on a regular basis each month as well as attending on average one mediation a month.

Kate is the Vice-President of the Property Litigation Association Education Committee. She is a member of the Steering Committee for Property Litigation for Lexis Nexis and the expert litigator for Lexis Nexis Q&A.

Kate is recognised by Chambers and Partners as a Ranked Lawyer for real estate litigation and by Legal 500 as a Leading Individual for real estate litigation.

Julia is a seasoned litigator specialising in real estate disputes, with a particular focus on commercial real estate. Her practice covers both development and investment disputes, particularly those concerning trophy assets and valuable portfolios. She has significant litigation experience, including lengthy and high-profile trials. Julia also has many years’ experience advising on alternatives to litigation, such as negotiation, mediation and early risk identification/mitigation. She is a qualified Solicitor Advocate with rights of audience in the higher courts.

Her core areas of expertise include advising developers on a range of contentious matters such as rights to light, vacant possession strategies/site assembly, trespass, restrictive covenants, easements and overage agreements. Julia is also an expert in commercial landlord and tenant issues including business lease renewals, break notices, tenant arrears/insolvency, landlord consents, dilapidations and service charge disputes. She advises in the areas of enfranchisement, pre-emption rights, party walls and Land Compensation Act issues, and also handles disputes concerning professional negligence and breach of contract arising in the property sector.

She is recognised in the leading legal directories – most recently she has been commended by The Legal 500 as a 'Next Generation Partner' having previously been ranked as both a ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Next Generation Lawyer’. She has also been ranked in Chambers UK: “She was soon on top of absolutely every element. I can’t speak highly enough of her.” Julia is a regular commentator and has written various blogs and articles. She also presents to clients and their advisors on technical issues and the latest legal developments.

Julia joined Forsters in March 2022 from Herbert Smith Freehills.

Douglas specialises in service charges and leasehold management, development disputes, land transaction disputes and commercial and residential landlord and tenant.  He is described in the Legal 500 as "an exceptional lawyer, happy to get immersed in the detail and willing to go the extra mile to get a result."

In recent years Douglas has advised extensively on building safety-related aspects of service charges and leasehold management in the social housing and private residential leasehold sector.  He was the only lawyer on the Government's Working Group on what became section 133 of the Building Safety Act 2022 relating to service charges for remediation works.  He recently contributed to a collection of articles published by the London School of Economics on the Future of High-Rise Housing.

Paul Raeburn is a highly experienced professional with over 25 years as a Chartered Surveyor (General Practice) and nearly two decades as a Chartered Arbitrator (FCIArb). As an RICS Accredited Mediator for close to 10 years, Paul has cultivated a robust skill set in dispute resolution. His extensive experience as an Expert Witness, particularly in cases involving “Diminution in Value” (Sections 18 and 65) and Part II Lease Renewals, has earned him a strong reputation for delivering meticulous, Part 35-compliant reports. Paul is particularly noted for his composure and effectiveness under rigorous cross-examination in cases covering all genres of commercial and leisure properties.

Paul is also the creator of Dilapps, a pioneering application for dilapidations, available on both the Google Play Store and the App Store. A regular speaker at RICS and CPD seminars and webinars, Paul frequently shares his expertise on dilapidations and property life cycles. His insights have been featured at events such as Retail Reboot and Dilapsolution’s Property Life Cycle series.