Nick Sutton
Partner
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Nick is a commercial litigator who specialises in insurance law. He has almost 15 years’ experience in dispute resolution and spent over 10 years in a UK Top 20 and Legal 500 Tier 3 insurance litigation practice.
He joins Freeths to bolster the firm’s Dispute Resolution, commercial litigation and insurance practice.
Nick has acted for a wide range of businesses, from sole traders and SMEs, to growing national companies and global corporates, in both the private and public sectors.
For many years, he has worked with household business names such as the John Lewis Partnership in the retail sector and DHL Supply Chain in the warehousing and logistics sector, along with global composite commercial insurers such as Direct Line Group and Chubb Insurance Company.
In the public sector, he has acted on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and Department for Education in insurance related matters.
Having acted for both policyholders and insurers as claimant and defendant, Nick has a strategic insight and tactical advantage when litigating and conducting negotiations, and always seeks to achieve the most commercially favourable outcome.
He has taken countless cases to trial and won over the last 10 years, saving and recovering millions of pounds in damages and costs on behalf of his clients.
Nick provides advice and representation in the following types of dispute:
- ADR (including Arbitration & Mediation)
- Business interruption (‘BI’) insurance claims
- Directors & officers (‘D&O’) liability
- Construction disputes
- Coverage and indemnity (general insurance) advice
- Company credit and debt management (money you owe)
- Cyber security and data protection liability
- Debt recovery (money owed to you)
- Employers and public liability (EL/PL)
- Escape of water insurance claims
- Fire and theft insurance claims
- Insurance commercial risk programmes
- Loss of rental income insurance claims
- Product liability and recall claims
- Professional negligence and indemnity
- Policy wording interpretation
- Property damage claims
- Sale and supply of goods and services (contractual disputes)
- Shareholder disputes
- Workplace health and safety risk management and regulation
Legal Services
Commercial Dispute Resolution
Career Highlights:
- Acting on behalf of a Mayfair nightclub in relation a £6M Covid-19 business interruption insurance claim;
- Advising on a shareholder dispute in relation to the repayment terms of an investor loan, including the consideration of shareholder indemnities and warranties and counterclaims on behalf of the parent holding company.
- Advising an international recruitment consultancy on a commercially important contractual exit with a view to doing so at minimal cost and with reduced litigation risk.
- Advising an employment agency on various claims with a value in excess of £10M arising out of breaches of non-solicitation and exclusivity restrictive covenants in a supplier agreement by the principal contractor, which included the consideration of injunctive relief.
- Advising and representing a start-up fashion brand on the legal and commercial implications of early termination of a digital advertising agreement.
- Advising and representing an online digital marketing agency to recover sums due under a suppler agreement and refundable deployed capital due to force majeure.
- Commercial contract risk management and procuring associated insurance programs on behalf of a multi-billion dollar global logistics company.
- Construction and remediation dispute involving statutory adjudication arising from defective works carried out by a subcontractor at Gatwick Airport.
- Environmental disaster, pollution risk and consequent litigation advice and reputational management.
- Advising on COVID-19 risk management strategy and investigating a subsequent employer’s liability fatality claim.
- Advising on the cost and transference of insurance claims liability from an insolvent commercial entity to another subsidiary company and the implications this would have on the applicable corporate dissolution process.
- Securing an indemnity on behalf various insured policyholders despite late notification under their employers and public liability insurance policies.
- Enforcement and recovery of judgment debts for customers and suppliers arising out of contractual indemnities and liability.
Arbitration
Nick has conducted a number of complex and high-value (£50M+) arbitrations under Ad Hoc, LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL Rules arising out of general contractual, insurance coverage and shareholder/company valuation disputes. His focus tends to be in retail, supply chain and manufacturing, as well as hospitality & leisure and business & recruitment consultancy services. Whilst his practice is predominantly centred around London-based seats, he has dealt with a number of cross-border disputes, including those arising in Australia, Europe and Singapore.
Latest
To contact Nick or for more information…
Call: 0345 077 9567
Mobile: 0781 564 1401
Or email: Send an email
“[We] were first introduced to Nick Sutton back in 2013 at the start of our business. Since then Nick has been an excellent and constant source for legal advice. In the early stages of our development Nick came along and delivered good comprehensive training to our managerial teams and as our case load has aged and litigation has ensued Nick has constantly delivered on the cases assigned to him. Advice given by Nick is always clear, concise, informed and most importantly fair and reasonable. We are delighted to have an excellent working relationship with Nick – long may this continue”
(Insurance Manager for an international transport company)
“Nick was a main point of contact between ourselves and DWF Solicitors. As claims handling agents… we provide claims support for all members… and I personally would handle claims relating to Employer’s liability, Public liability and legal expenses. As a relatively inexperienced Claims Handler when beginning work on [that] account in December 2018, the support provided by Nick has been invaluable to me continuing my professional development. The advice provided by Nick is always logical, practical and realistic to the point where me and the rest of my team expect nothing less, and know we can always rely on the excellent support and technical ability Nick provides. In October 2019 the… team was changed and I suddenly found myself as the most experienced liability handler on the team and had the responsibility of training the new handlers. Without the high standard of support and advice from Nick on any and all claims referred, this task would have been drastically more challenging and the… team would not be as competent as it is now. As a team, we are comfortable in the knowledge that when called upon, Nick is able to provide exceptional legal support with clear and well thought out advice and has delivered on every case I have referred on. I can comfortably say that Nick’s legal assistance has made my job just that bit easier.”
(Claims Handler for a public sector client)
“I have worked with Nick for almost 5 years and during this time I have always found him to be open and approachable and his advice and guidance always proportionate to the issue at hand. Nick has very good legal and technical knowledge and he also ensures he is clear on the issue he is being asked for advice on, and in return, he communicates easily to those without a similar grasp on legal jargon. Nick is always keen to offer additional assistance when asked, and readily accepted our offer to be a member of the Claims Seminars presentation team. This resulted in a much better understanding by key members of the business on subject matter they previously had little or no knowledge of. In addition, he has always been a willing contributor to site visits to enable him to gain a better practical understanding to the various areas our business works in. In specific terms, Nick has been a key player in assisting one site with an environmental issue which was complex on many levels. His guidance and advice led to a successful outcome for the site, which they were keen to pass on their thanks to Nick for.”
(Claims Manager for an international haulage client)
“Nick was seconded to [our business] for approximately six months to support the Contract Risk Management process where we advise and guide the business development teams on ways in which they can avoid, mitigate or be fairly rewarded for risks which arise in the course of the provision of services to our clients. Nick quickly adapted his style to match the corporate culture and rapidly grew into the process. His advice was well judged and pragmatic. Nick also used the secondment as an opportunity to really get to know the main part of [the business] which he is supporting today with his expertise on defending insurance claims. This has proven to be very effective as Nick is comfortable with the culture of [the business] and with the way in which he is able to navigate his way through our organisation in a manner which fits nicely with our corporate culture.”
(Head of Insurance & Risk Management for an international logistics company)
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