Matthew is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team.
Focusing on general commercial litigation and business protection, he specialises in shareholder disputes (including unfair prejudice petitions, derivative actions, disputes around acquisitions / breach of warranties claims), contractual disputes, ex-employee claims (including restrictive covenant disputes, seeking / resisting springboard relief and breach of employee duties) and confidential information claims, commercial fraud, intellectual property, professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants and surveyors.
Specialising in sports, media and entertainment, his expertise includes defamation and reputation management and sports related disputes through both the Court and arbitrations. Matt also acts for several household name gambling operators by defending claims brought by customers in relation to allegations concerning responsible gambling as well as other customer issues and more general commercial litigation.
The claims he is involved in often require urgent injunctive relief as well as search and seize orders. Some have a cross-border / jurisdiction element. His sector insight is the base for his creative thinking and practical approach to driving solutions for clients.
Recent examples of how Matthew has supported clients include:
- acted for the seller of a Championship Football Club in a dispute regarding deferred consideration and the sale of the club’s land. Secured settlement on confidential terms;
- secured judgment for circa £7m following a contested High Court trial for the Defendant / Counterclaimant. The dispute concerned a series of unpaid loans and allegations of misrepresentations and collateral agreements. It was further alleged that a number of the loans were unenforceable under s26 FSMA 2000;
- acted for the Defendants in a £4m fraudulent breach of trust claim brought by the Trustee in the Claimant’s bankruptcy. The case involved complex legal and evidential issues. Secured settlement at relatively early stage in the litigation following mediation;
- acted for an individual and their business who were subject to defamatory posts on social media and slanderous statements. Secured; undertakings, and apology and contribution towards the clients’ legal costs;
- supporting a large group of companies in a dispute with the Managing Director of two of its subsidiary companies who had been assisting a competitor before agreeing to join them. Instructed experts to undertake forensic interrogation on the individual’s computer before securing undertakings. The matter was made more complex due to jurisdictional issues;
- seeking to enforce a judgment debt of circa £10m, This matter involved various charging orders against both shares and properties in addition to supporting bankruptcy proceedings. The case involved companies and assets located in Switzerland;
- obtaining judgment in the sum of circa $2.1m. This related to unpaid deferred consideration relating to the sale of companies in the Bahamas and USA. The case involved potential specific performance elements relating to companies in the BVI and Bahamas;
- acting for the majority shareholder in response to allegations of unfair prejudice and breach of director’s duties. Robustly defended these allegations and subsequently negotiated settlement by way of buyout of the minority shareholding;
- advising several global bookmakers in relation to High Court claims brought by former customers; and
- successfully prosecuting a claim and obtaining judgment against a client’s former director/shareholder for substantial unpaid invoices relating to the provision of security. Subsequently resisted a claim from the former director/shareholder in relation to allegations that the sale of his shareholding was void pursuant due to provision within the Companies Act or that they should be paid damages as a result of misrepresentation.