Professional Negligence
Teacher Stern has significant experience acting for Claimants and Defendants in professional liability matters involving:-
- Barristers and Solicitors;
- Accountants/Auditors;
- Engineers;
- Financial Services Providers;
- Bankers;
- Insurance Brokers; and
- Construction and Property Professionals (including surveyors, architects, engineers and planners).
We adopt an incisive approach to identifying whether a professional has failed to exercise reasonable care and skill and whether the error was one that a reasonably competent professional working in the same filed would not have made. We work closely with a number of highly regarded experts from different disciplines to establish early in the course of dispute whether there is likely to have been a breach of duty.
Our property litigation team has particular expertise in claims brought on behalf of lenders against surveyors in respect of negligent portfolio valuations. We have settled significant claims on behalf of both lenders and surveyors at mediation.
In defending claims, we place emphasis on protecting the reputation of our professional clients who are faced with potential claims. Our approach is to robustly defend our clients and to provide proportionate and cost effective solutions to the disputes.
We also have significant knowledge of regulatory and procedural regimes affecting professionals and we regularly deal with bodies including the ACCA, RIBA and Financial Ombudsman Service.
Representative Professional Negligence Work
Examples of our team’s professional negligence experience include:
- Advised a client in relation to a significant claim for damages against a firm of City solicitors and a commercial silk arising out of the negligent conduct of a high court trial.
- Advised several clients in claims taken against major High Street lenders arising from the provision of negligent advice that led to the sale of Interest Rate Hedging Products.
- Advised a client in relation to a claim brought against an accountant for a failure to identify overpayments in corporation tax.
- Advised the claimant in the Court of Appeal case of DN v LB Greenwich, which held that the claimant was not given appropriate education for his autistic condition and that the education provider was professionally negligent.
- Advised solicitors defending a claim brought by professional indemnity insurers for £430,000 relating to an alleged failure to notify the correct insurers of a claim, when the Claimant insurer had paid for the cost of defending a multi-party litigation against the solicitors’ firm and paid more than £250,000 by way of settlement and legal costs.
- Advised on a £6.4m professional negligence action brought by our client bank against a national chain of surveyors, involving complex cross collateralised buy to let loans, settled at mediation shortly before trial.
Key contacts:
Biography
Clare’s expertise spans a broad range of commercial litigation but with a focus on complex shareholder / commercial disputes and IP often involving issues that traverse multiple jurisdictions.
She has led on a number of high value multi-faceted disputes involving commodities, fraud, corruption/conspiracy, breach of contract, fraudulent mis-representation, lending, mis-selling, HPAs, intellectual property rights, professional negligence and company/director/shareholder/JV issues for clients based both in the UK and overseas ranging from SMEs to ultra-high net worth individuals, international banks and other global institutions.
As well as matters brought in all divisions of the High Court and Commercial Court, Clare has experience of cases which have gone to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. She also has experience of international arbitration particularly of those conducted in the International Chamber of Commerce and International Dispute Resolution Centre and extensively of mediation where she has led many successful settlement negotiations.
Clare is also regularly instructed on global enforcement matters involving obtaining worldwide freezing orders and overseeing recovery proceedings in a variety of foreign jurisdictions including the BVI, Turks and Caicos and Cayman Islands.
Clare’s IP practice focuses predominantly on the protection of the rights of Teacher Stern’s restaurant, retail and tech clients in relation to which she has successfully staved off many potentially infringing competitors.
Clare is listed as a recommended lawyer in the Legal 500 2021 and 2024 rankings.
Representative Experience
Clare has:
- Recently successfully defended a business and associated professionals in a complex high court action which spanned 2.5 years and included trial set down for 20 days concerning allegations of fraud and conspiracy regarding the acquisition of a national security and surveillance company.
- Acted in an ultra-high value conspiracy dispute between Russian oligarchs.
- Represented a distributor in a $50M corruption case in the Commercial Court involving the distribution of oil additives to Iraq.
- Advised borrowers and guarantors in relation to facilities of $500M entered into with a collapsed Icelandic Bank.
- Represented a Canadian metals billionaire and philanthropist in an international arbitration concerning a million US$ charter agreement.
- Acted in a dispute relating to a multimillion pound property fraud including obtaining world-wide freezing injunctions and enforcement action.
- Advised in connection with a $60M breach of contract dispute involving a celebrity chef.
- Advised on a breach of contract/mis-representation claim concerning a multi-million dollar film contract.
- Represented a European water supply company and various UK restaurant chains in connection with the protection of their IP rights
Testimonials
Legal 500
“Clare Toomer is very accessible, responsive and sensitive to a wide range of client needs.’
“The reason we work with Teacher Stern. Robust in her dealings with the other side and tells you exactly what is and is not possible, and why.”
Clients
“Clare is a first-rate litigator. She has excellent legal skills and a demonstrated ability to manage every type of case from large commercial claims to smaller disputes requiring a more personal touch. Clare combines a friendly and approachable manner with a tough and determined approach to getting the best result for her clients.” Max Mallin KC, Wilberforce Chambers
“Clare Toomer is a star in the making at Teacher Stern LLP; combining a sharp intellect with great judgement, she knows which points to take and which not. A pleasure to work with and in any litigation you would want her on your side.” Peter Featherman of Ed’s Easy Diner.
Year qualified
Solicitor, 2010
Career History
Partner, Teacher Stern
Solicitor, Teacher Stern
Trainee Solicitor, Teacher Stern
