Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department
Specialist in dispute resolution
- Property and real estate ownership
- Landlord and tenant
- Business partnerships
- Farming partnerships
- Commercial and business contracts
- Probate and inheritance
- Professional negligence
- Building and construction
- Mediation and arbitration
- High Court, County Court and Court of Protection litigation
About John
John has a wealth of experience and a tenacious, pragmatic approach to resolving disputes that has made him a highly sought-after litigation solicitor.
A believer in a collaborative approach, John works closely with his clients to ensure he fully understands their goals and priorities. He is also a keen advocate of more cost-effective, pragmatic Alternative Dispute Resolutions, such as mediation, arbitration and neutral evaluation, which are often highly successful in resolving complex and long-running disputes.
That said, John’s determined nature and wide-ranging experience ensure he’s not shy of bringing and defending all manner of cases in the High Court, County Court and Court of Protection, if he considers litigation to be in his clients’ best interests.
John is the firm’s Money Laundering Reporting Officer, Data Protection Officer and Risk & Compliance Partner.
John’s career
A long and distinguished career, John has been a partner at Horsey Lightly since 2002. Before this, John was partner in a London firm of solicitors – having joined the firm on qualifying as a solicitor in 1980, quickly becoming a partner in 1983.
John relocated from our London office to Newbury in 2016 to head up the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team which, under his direction, has gained a reputation for success both in and out of the courtroom.
Some of John’s work highlights
- Successfully defending court proceedings brought by the partner of a wealthy deceased client which, had it succeeded, would have substantially reduced the rightful inheritance of the client’s children.
- Resolving a protracted contractual disagreement between two companies, both engaged in the business of renewable energy, to the satisfaction of the client company which, under the terms of the settlement, received substantial damages.
- Bringing an end to a long-running dispute involving a number of partners, concerning the ownership of farmland and two farms that included a number of buildings. This included holding off injunction proceedings brought by two of the partners.
- Successfully acting for a client in bitterly fought proceedings. The client had been promised that he would inherit his father’s farm, which it was later discovered the father had gifted elsewhere in his will. The result: our client inherited the farm as originally promised.
- Obtaining vacant possession of a parade of shops, let on protected business tenancies, on behalf of a client who wished to redevelop the properties.
- Recovering substantial damages, on behalf of the owner of a multimillion-pound property in a prestigious London square, for negligent building works.
“Dear John – I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the calm and competent way in which you dealt with this matter“
G
“Dear John… I should like to say a massive thank you for all your services”
Mrs B
“Thank you for your sterling efforts and support throughout this very difficult time”
Mrs A
“We are immensely grateful to you for all the hard work you have put into our case”
Mr H
Life beyond the office
John’s life outside of the office is almost as busy as it is when he’s at work. He enjoys sailing, skiing, running, going to the gym, watching rugby and, when he’s taking a breather, spending time in the company of his friends and family.