Skip to content

Nick Booth

Partner

Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance

Nick is the head of Harrison Drury’s Business Services Division but his practice area specialism is commercial dispute resolution & avoidance. He read biology at the University of Nottingham before completing the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course. Nick is identified as a Recommended Lawyer in the Legal 500 and acts for a wide variety of clients including shareholders and partners, large commercial organisations as well as SME’s and owner managed businesses.

Nick has substantial experience in advising clients in a variety of sectors in relation to a broad range of legal and commercial issues including:

  • Shareholder and director disputes: acting for shareholders, including bringing and defending claims relating to unfair prejudice and breach of directors’ duties.
  • Partnership disputes relating to both traditional partnerships and LLPs.
  • Protection of reputation: bringing and defending claims in relation to libel and malicious falsehood, including applications for injunctive relief and assisting clients in responding to the publication of damaging statements.
  • Claims against professionals: particularly relating to claims against professional advisors, including solicitors, barristers and accountants where their services have been provided negligently.
  • Claims arising out of business sales:  including claims for breach of warranty and those relating to completion accounts.
  • Applications for injunctive relief: applications for interim and final injunctions, including freezing injunctions.
  • Contractual disputes: including those relating to sale of goods and supply of services, shareholders’ agreements and breach of restrictive covenants.
  • Civil fraud claims: involving multiple defendants and allegations of misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, deceit and unlawful means conspiracy.
  • Dispute avoidance: assisting clients in managing risks to their business and providing commercial advice to assist clients in limiting the impact of disputes or avoiding them altogether wherever possible.

Nick has been involved in a number of substantial, complex claims, a number of which have been the subject of national and international press attention. He always aims to offer clients clear and practical legal advice and is keen to utilise dispute resolution strategies to assist them in achieving their commercial objectives in a cost-effective fashion.

Some recent cases include

  • Acting for a client in connection with a £15m banking claim where Claimant alleges that the bank reneged on a promise to maintain his facility, causing catastrophic business losses Broomhead v National Westminster Bank plc and The Royal Bank of Scotland [2020] EWHC 1005 (Ch).
  • Acting in patent entitlement proceedings to recover the benefit of patents for the company against claims made by a former director and shareholder as to their ownership Kwix UK Limited v Matthew Murphy and Ann Nilsson and Patrick Lannagon as Joint Trustees of the Bankruptcy Estate of Matthew Murphy [2020] BL O/563/20.
  • Acting for minority shareholders in bringing a derivative claim relating to breaches of contract and duty by a director and shareholder in connection with patents in a novel therapeutic drug. Glew & Denton and Company Trustees Ltd et al v Matossian-Rogers and Amro Biotech Plc  et al [2019] EWHC 3183 (Ch)
  • Acting for a company in connection with a claim against a former director and shareholder for breach of duty and the recovery of sums misappropriated. Autocal Holdings Limited v Jeffrey [2017] EWHC 907 (Ch).
  • Acting for a majority shareholder in a multi-million pound shareholder dispute, responding to a petition alleging unfair prejudice. Andrew Graham Thurstan and Others v Ashdown Investors Limited and Others Case No: 2856 of 2014

Outside of work you can find me…

In his free time, Nick enjoys keeping fit and plays football and squash. He also enjoys watching sport, though unfortunately this is becoming an increasingly armchair based pursuit.

 

Nick Booth

Awards and Rankings

A great duo!

Legal 500

Nick Booth – very calm and unflappable who is a real fighter with a case. Great attention to detail but never loses sight of the big picture. Sean Gibbs – clear thinker and strategist who can see the route through disputes and litigation from then outset and plans the strategies accordingly.

Nick Booth is a highly experienced litigator with particular experience of company disputes.

Legal 500

Nick Booth is a very safe pair of hands in complex commercial and technical disputes.

Legal 500

He keeps calm when others may let panic or emotions impair their performance. He listens to advice and weighs up the merits of conflicting advice calmly and logically. Hence he has just about impeccable judgment. Nick is responsive when needed.

HD exceeded our expectations!

Legal 500

The team is approachable, hardworking, and run by an intellectual powerhouse, Nick Booth. I was referred to the team by another Harrison Drury director, and my expectations were met and exceeded. From my perspective, the success of a dispute resolution team hinges on its ability to secure instructions, successfully execute them (hopefully to a positive outcome), and then, in spite of the inevitable anguish and exhaustion, be the clients first choice solicitor thereafter.

The strength of the team was epitomised by Nick Booth.

Legal 500

He has an innate ability to delegate, whilst maintaining complete oversight of his very capable team members without micro-managing them. Nick was quickly able to absorb and synthesize information, provide a clear and concise legal opinion and thereafter advice upon which we could initiate our next steps. At no point did I feel out of the loop, nor unclear about our future actions and the intended consequences of these.

Nick Booth is very good indeed.

Legal 500

Nick Booth was first rate.

Legal 500

Nick Booth and Kerry Southworth have been fantastic to work with.

Legal 500

They answer any question we have in a manner in which we understand and best suits us. They are both friendly and very easy to approach.

Nick Booth and Kerry Southworth have been fantastic to work with.

Legal 500

They answer any question we have in a manner in which we understand and best suits us. They are both friendly and very easy to approach.

Nick Booth is always able to handle complex and difficult problems, grasping issues with ease

Legal 500

Harrison Drury is ranked by leading independent guide to the UK’s top legal firms and solicitors, Legal 500.

The guide highlights the solicitors who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to clients and we are ranked across our range of practice areas and people.

Works alongside

Sean Gibbs

Partner Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 429024
m: 07719 797775

Paul Brook

Consultant Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
m: 07900 169370

Martin Stafford

Consultant Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01524 954240
m: 07425 254923

Helen Griffin

Senior Associate Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 395187
m: 07585 447937

Jessica Casson-Grave

Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 954641
m: 07551 444884

Hannah Pinder

Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 429332
m: 07425 114099

Grace McGarvey

Apprentice Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01524 952722

Koko Taylor

Apprentice Solicitor Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 925459

Jessica McBride

Paralegal Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 374327

Lubnaa Patel

Paralegal Commercial Dispute Resolution & Avoidance
t: 01772 374603