International law firm Clyde & Co was last night awarded the 'Litigation Team of the Year' Award at The Lawyer Awards 2015. The firm was also runner up in the 'Law Firm of the Year' and third in the 'Real Estate Team of the Year' awards.
The team, led by partner Neil Jamieson who instructed Clive Freedman QC and Neil Mendoza, successfully took on Companies House on behalf of Philip Davison Sebry, whose business, Taylor and Sons, was ruined when Companies House registered a winding up order for insolvency against it, rather than the similarly named company, Taylor and Son Limited. Although the error was quickly corrected, it had already been broadcast by credit referencing agencies, triggering unprecedented pressure from suppliers and customers and resulting in the loss of the Company's largest customer. These events took place during a difficult economic time for SMEs and as hard as the Company fought to survive the effect on its cash flow, it proved too great and it was forced into Administration on 9 April 2009 after more than 100 years trading and the loss of around 250 jobs.
Neil Jamieson said: "We are delighted to have won this prestigious award. It was a difficult case and the biggest challenge was to find a way to support a client with limited resources through to trial in the face of defendant with a deep pocket who continually told him his case was hopeless. It is impossible to imagine what it was like for Philip to see his successful business and reputation destroyed in an instant by such a simple and avoidable error.
It has been immensely satisfying for the team of lawyers involved to give him the opportunity to prove to the world that he was sunk by events beyond his control. For Philip, obtaining justice has been transformational.''
Clyde & Co's London Litigation team has for the third consecutive year posted a strong financial performance in The Lawyer's Litigation Top 50 Report, achieving third place for total litigation revenue.