Meet the team

Name:

Helen Blythe

Position:

Trainee Solicitor

Team:

construction and property risk

Who is in your team?

Mark Aldrich heads up the team. He is supported by Peter Westlake and Shaun Tame on the construction side and David Potts on the property side.

What does the team do?

We advise on contentious matters that are property related (being commercial, residential or agricultural property) including landlord and tenant matters (rent review, lease renewal, dilapidations, service charges etc), possession proceedings, boundary disputes, party wall actions, restrictive covenants, nuisance, rights of way disputes and various other property related matters and also advise clients on the interpretation of leases/title documents.

We act in relation to disputes between construction and engineering professionals and their clients. Whilst advising both claimants and defendants, we are principally instructed by professional indemnity insurers in defending claims and report to them on liability, quantum, causation, dispute resolution methods and reserving.

We help industry clients and organisations with contract formation and requirements and ancillary documents including collateral warranties, contract amendments, novation agreements and parent company guarantees to name but a few. We advise on what documents to enter into, be that standard forms, partnering, PFI or bespoke.

We also advise on how best to pursue and resolve disputes arising out of contract, statutory liability and tort.

Recent team achievements

The team has recently seen significant growth in size, in particular in Birmingham with construction partner Shaun Tame joining us just under a year ago.

We are currently in the middle of running a series of seminars in both Nottingham and Birmingham for clients on both construction and property matters which are proving to be very popular.

The team is continuing to win solid, new clients as our reputation grows across the Midlands.

Describe a case you have recently been involved in and why you found it interesting

I am currently involved in an ongoing professional indemnity matter that is construction related. Our client is being sued for allegedly offering negligent advice in relation to carrying out remedial works. It has been ongoing for several years now although we were only instructed a couple of months ago. It recently went to mediation where the matter did not settle and as a result there is a high chance that it may end up at trial - something which rarely happens in these cases nowadays, in fact, the last case that Peter Westlake went to trial on was back in 2004!

It will obviously be a fantastic experience for me if it does go to trial. It is great being involved in each stage of the process to really get to grips with the facts and the issues and actually feel as though you are playing a useful role rather than simply learning the process.

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