How can Capsticks help?
- Commercial litigation
We have extensive experience helping our clients to resolve disputes quickly and cost-effectively. We offer value-for-money at all stages of a dispute. We will tailor our services to your requirements and work with you to deliver your preferred outcome.
Our team of lawyers advise on a wide range of commercial disputes including contract disputes (including PFI and outsourcing matters), provider/commissioner disputes, procurement challenges, service standard disputes, recovery of overpayments and debts, bribery and fraud, defamation and reputation management (including responding to YouTube videos, Twitter and Facebook postings), and intellectual property.
Our in-depth knowledge of the health, social care and housing sectors enables us to advise not only on the law, but on the operational, reputational and commercial consequences of your dispute.
- Construction disputes
We act almost exclusively for the client/employer but our team’s past experience in advising contractors makes us ideally placed to assist in response to defect claims, extension of time requests, pay less notices and final account disputes in particular. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have increased the volume of contractor insolvencies and force majeure claims, and the number of contractors seeking a quick win at adjudication. We have been closely involved in responding to such activity.
Since 2017 and the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, providers of housing have focussed even more keenly on fire safety, including the requirement to remove cladding (not just ACM) with inadequate fire stopping capability. A key element of our service involves advice on access to public funding schemes in relation to replacement costs and the opportunity to recover from contractors, professional teams and where appropriate, leasehold owners.
- Procurement challenges
Our team of procurement dispute lawyers are experienced and responsive, acting on high-profile High Court cases for public sector bodies. For bidders, we have the legal and practical knowledge to maximise your prospects of successfully challenging a procurement. For contracting authorities, we can help you to spot issues early in your procurement process, and manage a challenge if it does arise.
Our focus on healthcare, housing and emergency services means we apply our expertise to the unique operational, reputational and financial risks associated with procurement disputes in these sectors.
- Property disputes
Our clients collectively have vast holdings of varied estate, whether as their core business (Housing Associations) or ancillary to it (NHS organisations). In both cases, alongside our real estate, development and leasehold specialist teams, we support clients facing: boundary disputes; breach of covenant, including insolvency and dilapidation; break rights and contested lease renewal; leasehold extension and enfranchisement; trespass, and squatter evictions; residential possession and commercial forfeiture; and large scale decanting of key-worker accommodation.
We remain acutely aware of the long term relationship between landlord and tenant and we adjust our approach to the dispute resolution to preserve that relationship where possible.
- Health and safety/criminal investigations
This is unfamiliar territory for clients across all sectors with the potential for adverse publicity and sanctions from service commissioners, residents and other regulators adding greatly to the burden of an organisation undergoing investigation and prosecution.
We advise at every step, from initial incident, via reporting processes, interviews under caution and all the way to trial following issue of a criminal summons. The size of penalty imposed even for relatively trivial health and safety breaches (for example, a £400,000 fine relating to a single dermatitis case) and the resulting publicity highlight the need for expert support to avoid prosecution/accept less stringent enforcement, to defend it successfully or plead guilty and minimise the sentence imposed.
- Defamation and reputation management
We advise on defamation law and privacy issues involving social media platforms, the print media and other forms of publication. We regularly assist with the resolution of disputes over online content which has the potential to cause reputational damage to our clients. In addition, we advise on harassment issues including providing practical support to clients, making applications to the High Court for injunctions and liaising with the police, if necessary.