Rupert Higgins
To book, please contact ADR ODR International on
info@adrodrinternational.com.
Areas of expertise
Professional negligence and indemnity, including issues relating to solicitors, licensed conveyancers, valuers, architects and accountants
Property including commercial and residential landlord and tenant
Commercial disputes including partnership disputes
Insolvency and Restructuring with a particular emphasis on directors’ and officers’ duties and liabilities.
Languages
English
Professional Memberships
Accredited by Stitt Feld Handy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada for ADR Chambers, June 2004
Details of the institution that accredited her and the year
ADR Group: 2013
Professional Experience
A dispute between purchasers and property developers including allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation
A claim in negligence and breach of regulatory provisions in relation to Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs)
A claim in relation to the return of a disputed tenant’s deposit
A claim in negligence against a firm of accountants where the matter was personal to the Claimant who was a partner in that firm
A claim against a firm of solicitors for the negligent failure to ensure that an intended development site enjoyed all necessary rights to carry out the development
Style & Approach
I was amongst the first wave of barristers to recognise the merits of dispute resolution through mediation by becoming an accredited mediator in 2004. Since then I have been involved in all aspects of mediation and was counsel in Frost v Wake Smith & Tofields Solicitors [2013] EWCA Civ 772, the leading Court of Appeal authority on the role of solicitors and the enforceability of settlement agreements reached at mediation. I understand the importance of personalities in the mediation process and the need to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to the negotiation. I also believe that the role of mediator is more than that of a messenger between aggrieved parties. It involves the need to understand, to engage with, and where appropriate, to challenge those parties to help them reach the right agreement, not just any agreement.
