Lesley Anderson QC

Practice:

Chancery and commercial litigation
Insolvency – corporate and individual
Commercial contracts including joint ventures, distribution and agency contracts and share and asset sale warranty claims
Company law – especially shareholder disputes and breach of trust/fiduciary duty claims
Directors’ disqualification and directors’ and employee duties (including breach of restrictive covenants)
Partnership (especially professionals such as solicitors and medical practitioners)
Banking (especially secured and unsecured recoveries and guarantees)
Commercial property
Commercial landlord and tenant
Professional negligence (especially solicitors and chartered surveyors)
Sale of goods and services
Mediation 

Profile:

Lesley is a silk specialising in chancery and commercial dispute resolution with particular emphasis on general commercial litigation, corporate and personal insolvency and commercial property.  She was among ten of the most junior practitioners to take silk in 2006.  Her practice is predominantly contentious and clients include banks, multinationals and major public companies as well as a number of smaller manufacturing and other companies and professional firms.  Much of her experience as trial counsel emanates from urgent, interim applications.

She acts regularly for the government including on directors’ disqualification matters, public interest winding up and recently, in a number of cases for DEFRA arising from the foot and mouth crisis in 2001.  Prior to taking silk she was a member of the Attorney General’s Provincial Panel of Counsel.

Lesley is a former academic and training manager for the national Norton Rose M5 Group of legal practices.  She contributes regularly to legal and professional conferences on legal and professional practice matters and regularly undertakes training for solicitors on an in-house basis.  She has a number of publications in academic and professional books and journals. 

She has accepted nominations to act as a Court appointed examiner for taking evidence abroad and in relation to Joint Tribunal of the Bar Council/Law Society on a dispute on fees.

She became a Recorder in 2006.

Mediation:

Lesley became a CEDR accredited mediator in 2000 and is an enthusiastic supporter of mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution in appropriate disputes.  She acts regularly as a mediator.

 Lesley has undertaken mediations in the following types of dispute:

*              rent and service charges under commercial leases

*              professional partnerships

*              dealership agreement in telecommunications industry

*              construction

*              restrictive covenants and competition

*              disputed title to property

*              rights of way/adverse possession

*              shareholder disputes

*              unpaid commission in agency/distribution agreement

*              commercial fraud

She describes her style as “fairly robust and at the evaluative end of the scale where necessary”.  Most of the disputes mediated by her have settled at (or in one case shortly following) mediation.

Significant cases:

Secretary of State for Trade & Industry v Bloxham (20 September 2006) – first decision on section 453C Companies Act 1985 – committal for contempt in context of company investigations

Strahan v Wilcock [2006] EWCA Civ 13, CA – meaning of quasi-partnership in context of section 459 CA 1985

Holaw (470) Limited v Stockton Estates Limited (2001) 81 P & CR 29 – implied easements and standard conditions of sale

Medforth v Blake [2000] Ch 86, CA – duties of agricultural receivers

Liverpool City Council v Rosemary Chavasse (1999) CPLR 802 – one of the earliest decisions on costs under the CPR 1998

Chohan Clothing Company (Manchester) Limited v Fox Brooks Marshall (a firm), The Times, 9 December 1997, CA – service of writ on partnership

Nationwide Anglia Building Society v Ahmed and Balakrishnan (1996) 70 P & CR 381, Court of Appeal – vendors’ lien and overriding interests

Recommendations:

Since being in practice Lesley has received consistent recommendations in Chambers Guide and the Legal 500:

Chambers UK 2008:

"The 'articulate' and 'broad-minded' Lesley Anderson QC is greatly respected for her 'calm and measured leadership'.  Sources speak highly of her 'firm yet conciliatory' approach to disputes and her 'ability to apprecite the financial concerns of all parties involved.'  She approaches her cases with a 'mediating tone'...." (Insolvency / Corporate Recovery)

"Very measured and extremely good on her feet... the subject of extended praise..'has a very broad practice and she's good at everything she does, meaning that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." (Chancery)

"A tenacious barrister who is thorough, dilligent and prepares fantastically well for conferences." (Commercial Dispute Resolution)

Chambers Guide 2007:

“an excellent Chancery lawyer, with wonderful attention to detail” (Chancery).

“A star as a junior, sources anticipate great things from new silk Lesley Anderson QC.  She receives a healthy supply of high profile instructions from around the country. Instructing solicitors and clients alike praised her “tenacious advocacy and amiable demeanour” (Commercial litigation).

“recommended as “an absolutely superb advocate”” (insolvency/corporate recovery)

Legal 500 2008

"Kings Chambers' top rated silks include Lesley Anderson QC...."

Legal 500 2007:

“ ”absolutely outstanding, top ten nationwide” at commercial work” 

Memberships:

Chancery Bar Association
Northern Chancery Bar Association
Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association
Northern and North Eastern Circuit

Career and Education:

University: 

University of Manchester

Degree:   LLB (Hons)

Year of Call:   

1989 (Middle Temple)

Mediator: Became a CEDR accredited Mediator in 2000

Deputy High Court Judge:

Recorder:

2008
2006

Year of Silk: 2006

Other Career Information:

 

 

 

1984 – 1989:  Lecturer in law at the University of Manchester

 teaching Remedies, Torts, Contract, Equity and Trusts and Commercial Law

1989 – 1991:  Training Manager for the Norton Rose M5 Group of solicitors’ practices

with responsibility for training and education within the Group.

Lesley Anderson QC

Year of Call: 1989

Mediator: 2000

Year of Silk: 2006

Recorder: 2006 

Deputy High Court
Judge: 2008 

Specialises In:
Chancery & Commercial & Mediation

Clerked by:
 Colin Griffin

 

 

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