About Chris
Chris is a Senior Associate in our Real Estate Disputes team.
Chris is a seasoned and experienced litigator who advises on the full range of residential and commercial property disputes.
Chris’s practice focuses on landlord and tenant law, property development and planning, and neighbourly disputes. Specific areas of expertise within these include advising on contentious commercial asset management issues, identifying and mitigating litigation risk in corporate and property transactions, statutory and contractual interpretation, and disputes relating to the infringement of rights of light and other easements. Chris is regularly called upon to advise on property matters with consumer, insolvency, regulatory and/or professional negligence elements.
Having initially qualified as a transactional Real Estate solicitor before retraining as a litigator, Chris brings a collaborative, pragmatic and commercial approach to advising on and resolving disputes.
In the event of a break down in negotiations where clients have needed to resort to formal court proceedings, Chris has a strong track record of conducting litigation in the County Court, the High Court, the First-Tier and Upper Tribunal; as well as leading clients through various alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation and expert determination.
Chris adopts a holistic, client-centred approach which starts with identifying desired outcomes and then finding ways to achieve these, whether through negotiation, litigation or alternate routes. This approach has enabled Chris to “add value” in resolving property disputes ranging from £7,500 to £75 million over the course of his career.
Before joining Hamlins in 2025, Chris worked for a number of years at various international and City firms based in London.
Chris is a member of the Property Litigation Association and sits on its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is also a trustee of a shared ownership property charity. Chris also mentors aspiring and junior solicitors.
Work highlights
- Acting for the successful tenant claimant in Monsolar v Woden Park Limited, where the High Court held that an indexation clause in the rent review provisions of a solar farm lease should be rectified to limit the estimated rent at year 25 to a maximum of £30,000 (as opposed to a literal construction which gave rise to a estimated rent of £75 million).
- Obtaining a high-profile injunction on behalf of the owners of the O2 Arena in London against “urban explorers” and persons unknown.
- Advising on and defending claims for misrepresentation in respect of the use of commercial land on a property development in Hertfordshire.
- Applying for and securing adverse possession of a parcel of land integral to the viability of a landmark mixed-use development in East London on behalf of a major UK property company.
- Advising on and defending rights of light claims brought by neighbouring owners of various Prime Central London property developments.
- Advising on a professional negligence and rectification claim arising out of a sale of part of a £100m+ mixed-use development in Yorkshire.
- Advising tenant debtors and landlord creditors in relation to various high-profile retail CVAs in the UK.
- Obtaining successful outcomes for clients in various highly contested property trusts disputes between family members.
- Advising on a six-figure restitution claim arising from breach of various verbal and written business agreements and suspected fraud.