03333 231 580
Contact usOur focus is you
Our negligence solicitors have a strong reputation and extensive experience in resolving professional negligence claims for both claimants and defendants.
What our professional negligence solicitors do
These days, more and more businesses and individuals seek advice from professionals. In some cases the advice can be inadequate and mistakes made. Where this happens, our professional negligence solicitors can provide fast and reliable advice in relation to negligence claims against a wide range of professionals, including:
- Solicitors
- Accountants
- Financial Advisers
- Surveyors
- Architects
- Technology Professionals
Professional negligence claims can often be complex. Our lawyers can guide you through the complexities of suing a professional advisor, the compensation you might be entitled to and explain matters in simple terms.
Our lawyers will work with you, and other experts as required, to identify whether you have a legitimate claim or defence to a claim, depending on whether we are working with a potential claimant or defendant. We also advise financial institutions on negligent advice or services on lending transactions, whether against solicitors, valuers, surveyors (including IMS), accountants or other advisers.
We have offices based in London and across the South-east including Gatwick and Crawley, Hassocks, Horsham, Brighton and Guildford.
Please note that visits to our office is by appointment only. If you require legal advice please contact one of our professional negligence solicitors via our online enquiry form.
Your questions answered
Professional negligence is where a professional fails to perform their responsibilities to the required standard to be expected of a reasonably competent practitioner in their field and this poor conduct results in foreseeable financial loss or harm for the client.
All professions can be subject to a claim. There is no definitive list but here are some examples:
- Legal professionals – solicitors, legal executives, trade mark attorneys, barristers, licenced conveyancers or notaries.
- Finance sector professionals – accountants, auditors, tax advisors, stockbrokers, insurance brokers, actuaries or financial advisors/IFAs.
- Property professionals – surveyors, architects, quantity surveyors or builders
- Other professionals – IT consultants or engineers.
Our professional negligence solicitors can help advise you on whether you can sue a professional and bring a claim for compensation. For more information get in touch with one of our negligence claims experts today.
If you have been let down by your professional advisor, you will wish to seek legal advice to consider whether you have a claim and can sue for compensation.
Whilst this is dependent on the facts of your claim a successful claim in professional negligence must satisfy three basic requirements proved on the civil standard of balance of probabilities. It must be shown that:
(1) you were owed a duty of care by the professional;
(2) the professional breached this duty by what they did or did not do;
(3) you suffered loss or damage as a result of the breach and you would not have suffered the loss had the breach not occurred;
If you think you professional advisor has let you down, you should always act as quickly as possible to explore your legal options and gather evidence to support your professional negligence claim. You should seek legal advice on both the limitation period and the merits of your claim and take appropriate action to seek the compensation you deserve.
The basic rule is that you must have settled or issued your claim in court within the relevant limitation period; 6 years of the date of loss, otherwise the claim is statute barred. This period can be extended where the negligence only becomes apparent at a later stage. In those cases, the relevant limitation period is three years from the date of knowledge of the facts which might give rise to a claim (subject to a long stop date of 15 years).
A claim starts by following the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol, which is a framework to be followed and encourages an exchange of information and a sets timetable with which the parties must comply. If the claim is not settled under the protocol you can then commence court proceedings.
Your losses are generally assessed from the date of the breach. The usual principle is that you should be put back in the position you would have been in had the breach by the professional not occurred. The loss must have been caused as a direct result of the negligence and it must have been reasonably foreseeable.
You can still make a claim for compensation even if you believe you contributed to the loss you suffered. The losses claimed may be reduced by a court having regard to your share in the responsibility.
If you have a claim you cannot sit back and claim all your losses. You are under a duty to minimise any loss and avoid steps that could increase the loss. If you fail to do so you may be unable to recover damages for losses which could have been avoided by taking reasonable steps.
It is important to establish the professional has adequate insurance at the start of your claim.
Professionals are required to have professional indemnity insurance to ensure any compensation claim can be satisfied. If your claim is successful, the insurance company will usually pay the sum awarded to you on behalf of the professional. However, in rare cases a policy may be avoided or its terms not sufficiently wide to cover your claim or the insurer may become insolvent.
You will not recover your losses and you will usually be ordered to pay the professionals costs (in addition to your own).
It is possible to obtain an insurance policy “after the event’ to protect against the risk of having to pay your opponent’s legal cost and expenses if you lose your claim. Please refer to our litigation funding and insurance options page for more information on legal expenses insurance.
The usual rule is that the loser pays all or part of the winner’s costs (in addition to their own costs). If you are successful, the professional will ordinarily be ordered to pay about 70% of your costs.
Apart from funding the claim from your own resources you may be able to enter into a risk-sharing arrangement. We are willing to offer “no win no fee” type funding arrangements such as conditional fee agreements and Damages Based Agreements on a case-by-case basis. For more information on funding arrangements generally, please refer to our litigation funding and insurance options page.
Stay connected, sign up for updates
Stay connected
Meet the professional negligence team
Recent work
Sectors
High value director dispute
Acting for a luxury IT system and creative design company in a dispute involving the forced removal of a director and 50% shareholder for breach of fiduciary duties and shareholders’ agreement. The shareholder is aiming to recover its shares through a share buyback. The dispute, ongoing for over two years, has severely impacted our client’s business growth and development, complicated by the absence of a shareholders’ agreement and threats of unfair prejudice claims and attempts to wind-up the company.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
Defending complex enforcement action
Acting for a property construction and development company facing enforcement action over two loans totalling approximately £3.9m, secured by property and subject to multiple assignments. In response to the lender’s actions, we challenged the loans on various grounds, including regulatory compliance under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, asserting that they constitute unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and disputing the validity of receiver appointments and default interest provisions, arguing that they are unenforceable as a penalty.
Construction and Engineering
Multi-angled shareholder dispute
Acting for a large care home group embroiled in a dispute with a departing employee/director who is also a shareholder and involved in competing businesses. The case involves complex issues of constructive dismissal, unfair prejudice, and refusal to relinquish shares, compounded by allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation and discussions around rescission of shareholder agreements. We are actively engaging in negotiations to force share buybacks and defend against expected High Court claims, which have disrupted the group’s growth plans, resulting in loss of management time and potential revenue.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
High value enforcement action
Representing an offshore lender involved in a joint loan of approximately £12m to two companies for land development in the North West of England, secured by legal charges and personal guarantees. After the companies defaulted, we assisted in various enforcement actions, including appointing receivers, and addressing issues with UN1 registrations from potential buyers. We are currently pursuing the directors under their personal guarantees to mitigate a substantial shortfall of over £6m for the lender.
Banking and Finance
International Shareholder Dispute
Acting for a 50% shareholder in a complex dispute, alleging unfair prejudice stemming from management practices and competition concerns involving directors and a newly incorporated company. We are spearheading High Court proceedings to support the petitioner’s pursuit of the petition – success in this dispute is crucial for preserving the client’s core business focus, protecting brand reputation, and ensuring continued growth within the sector.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
Complex unfair prejudice petition
Acting for a business support company, in an unfair prejudice petition filed by a shareholder against a firm which traces PPI (the Defendant). The Defendant faces allegations of unlawfully diverting business and intellectual property rights claims. The case, which proceeded to trial in the High Court in Spring 2023, involves multiple Respondents, and stems from a shareholder dispute within the regulated legal business (the value of the claim is around £30m). The claims have been further complicated through legal actions against owners and directors, highlighting broader regulatory implications within the legal industry.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
High value shareholder dispute
Acting for a construction company in a shareholder dispute and facing an unfair prejudice petition under the Companies Act 2006 (our clients are two of seven Respondents). The case is complex and involves valuation disagreements, contractual disputes, director issues, and aviation regulations, complicated further by the involvement of multiple litigants in person. The claim value is significant, involving share capital worth up to £40m.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
Complex charity trust advice
Assisting a development company by advising trustees on matters concerning a charity’s current status, particularly focusing on complications arising from the charity’s premises and a potential joint venture. The matter involved challenges relating to issues around the renewal of a lease, resulting in the trustees taking out a substantial loan.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
High value risk mitigation
Assisting a national PLC with an ongoing project to address a myriad of financial and regulatory issues. We have worked with this client to identify and rectify these issues so as to achieve the client’s objectives in a cost-effective manner whilst successfully managing what could have been significant potential reputational risk for our client.
Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Lawyers
Overseas Asset Protection
We defended our client against the misuse of their trademark and breaches of their franchise agreement overseas for who franchised a range of international casual and fine dining restaurant brands.
Insights
Insights
If in doubt, stick to the core principle: make it clear when AI is being used in a way that could mislead people.
29/06/2026
Insights
DMH Stallard advises Carbon Responsible Limited on the sale to sustainability solutions provider Simply Sustainable.
25/06/2026
Resources
See details of how we approach dispute resolution work, alongside a selection of cases our litigation experts have undertaken for our clients across a range of disputes in FY2025-26.
22/06/2026
Insights
From 19 June 2026, all organisations must have a clear and accessible process for handling data protection complaints.
18/06/2026
