Miles Harris
Education
M.A. (Cantab) Dip.Law (City)
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Tel: 020 7822 2040
Email: m.harris@4newsquare.com
Email Clerk: d.peck@4newsquare.com
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Year of Call: 2003
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Profile
Miles is a specialist in professional liability, insurance and commercial litigation. Described in the Legal 500 as “a star of the future”, he constantly strives to provide his clients with effective advocacy and advisory services that combine diligence, efficiency, knowledge of the law, approachability and commercial sense.
As well as appearing frequently in the High and County Courts in his own right, he has been led in multimillion pound and multi-party disputes in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He has also been published and lectured widely, especially in matters related to the civil liability of lawyers.
Miles converted to the law after a brief period as a history teacher. He received the David Karmel and William Shaw Awards from Gray’s Inn during his academic and vocational transition before completing pupilage with Graeme McPherson QC, Ben Hubble QC and Charles Phipps.
Miles is a member of the Professional Negligence Bar Association, COMBAR and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
Education
After reading Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic at Trinity College, Cambridge University Miles spent a year teaching History before converting to law at City University.
Publications and Seminars
Miles has written a number of articles on issues of importance in professional liability and insurance law and has been published in the Journal of Professional Negligence, the New Law Journal, Insurance Law Monthly and the Sweet & Maxwell Civil Procedure Rule Reports. He has also provided solicitors’ liability training to the claims handling unit of a leading firm of solicitors and lectured on a number of different topics including the SRA Code of Conduct and the effect of Quinn v The Law Society [2009] EWHC 2588 (Ch) upon the understanding and practicalities of legal professional privilege.
Commercial Dispute Resolution
Miles advises and appears regularly in commercial disputes including cases concerning sale of goods, supply of services, mortgages, credit agreements and guarantees. He has particular experience of representing lenders and financial institutions.
Recent claims have included:
- Acting for the seller of goods in a claim in conversion and inducement of breach of contract against the directors of a purchaser company, alleging removal of goods subject to a retention of title clause for personal profit upon the insolvency of their company.
- Acting for a pension company seeking recovery of mistaken payment made to a SIPP, addressing a change of position defence.
- Acting for a distributor of motor tuning equipment seeking damages from a supplier for breach of an exclusive distribution agreement.
Insurance & Reinsurance
Miles is often instructed in connection with insurance disputes. In addition, during the early years of his practice, he completed a secondment with a city firm specialising in insurance law.
Outside the field of professional liability insurance, he has been instructed in matters involving a wide range of risks including property, business interruption, life and long-term sickness.
Miles significant experience of professional liability insurance, especially issues arising from the Minimum Terms and Conditions for solicitors. By way of example he has
- Advised insurers of construction professionals in connection with late notification and material non-disclosure.
- Acted for insurers in arbitrations seeking reimbursement on the grounds of prejudice attributable to late notification.
- Acted for insurers seeking declarations that insurers are entitled to refuse indemnity on the grounds of dishonesty.
- Frequently advised on common coverage issues such as aggregation, double insurance, successor practices, what constitutes the making of a claim and sham partnership.
- Been extremely busy in recent times advising insurers in connection with coverage issues arising from lender claims against small firms.
Miles has also been published in the Insurance Law Monthly.
Professional Liability
Miles is recommended by the Legal 500 in the field of professional negligence where he has been described as “a star of the future”. He has wide experience and knowledge of the field both with and without a leader. He has represented both claimants and defendants in matters involving solicitors, barristers, licensed conveyancers, surveyors, managing agents, insurance brokers, financial advisers, tax consultants, accountants, auditors and architects.
Miles has experience of claims involving all aspects of a professional’s potential liability, including allegations of breach of duty, retainer and trust, breach of fiduciary duty, deceit, dishonest assistance, fraudulent conspiracy and breaches of relevant regulatory provisions, such as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
He has also provided training to firms on solicitors’ and surveyors’ liability generally and written and spoken on specific issues of importance in professional liability including limitation, privilege, the assessment of quantum in lenders’ claims, the SRA Solicitors’ Code of Conduct and coverage issues.
Accountants, Auditors & Actuaries
Miles acts both for and against accountants and auditors. Examples of his experience in this area include acting for/advising:
- Auditors defending a claim by investors and depositors in connection with the collapse of a bank in a foreign jurisdiction.
- Accountants and tax advisors in claims by investors connected with tax avoidance and film finance.
- A claimant alleging negligent valuation of a business by an accountant.
- Accountants in connection with alleged failure to provide competent financial advice.
- An accountant resisting an attempt to compel answers to questions arising from an expert determination.
Financial Services Professionals
Miles is regularly instructed in claims involving financial services professionals including allegations such as failure to recommend appropriate investments and life insurance and breaches of the conduct of business rules under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Miles is presently instructed as junior counsel on behalf of a tax consultancy that is one of a number of defendants to a multi million pound claim brought by film finance investors, alleging negligence and breaches of FSMA 2000.
Insurance Brokers & Agents
Miles has acted and advised in connection with in numerous claims involving insurance brokers.
Miles work in this area has included:
- Advising a claimant in relation to a failure by a broker to recommend loss of rent cover in connection with commercial property insurance against flood risks.
- Acting for the defendant broker in action alleging failure to bring to the claimant’s attention an endorsement relevant to cover against fire.
- Acting for a broker defending a claim by solicitors alleging failure to place cover in reasonable time and seeking compensation for higher premium.
- Advising a broker on claim alleging negligent failure to recommend sufficiently wide cover against electricity disruption.
- Acting in numerous claims alleging failure to place cover at all or to place it in time, leading to loss without any insurance cover.
Lawyers
Miles has extensive experience of claims against lawyers, from appearing as a junior in the Court of Appeal in a multi-million pound claim, to appearing in the High Court in his own right, to working in the professional liability department of a city firm of solicitors and in the claims handling section of a major professional liability insurer.
Miles also undertakes wasted costs work, again for both solicitors and barristers. He also has extensive experience of coverage issues arising from claims against solicitors and the operation of the Minimum Terms and Conditions.
The following is a selection of Miles’ work in this field:
- Acting as sole counsel and a junior for both claimant and defendant in relation to a vast number of claims arising out of negligence by solicitors in non-contentious commercial, probate and real property work, including but not limited to conveyancing, often acting for lenders.
- Acting as sole and junior counsel on both sides in connection with claims alleging negligent handling of litigation, including acting for as sole counsel for defendant solicitors in a High Court action also brought against leading counsel and alleging negligence in connection with commercial fraud litigation.
- Sole counsel for the claimant in High Court negligence action against both solicitors and a barrister in connection with their handling of ancillary relief proceedings.
- The TAG Litigation: high-profile case examining solicitors’ responsibility toward ATE insurers in the wake of the collapse of ‘The Accident Group’ claims management scheme, led by Graeme McPherson QC, but also appearing as sole advocate on behalf of the panel firm.
- Acting for defendant solicitor accused of involvement in a fraudulent conspiracy to defraud the claimant of his beneficial interest in a high value portfolio of properties. Led by David Halpern QC.
- R (on the application of AB) v X Crown Court [2009] PNLR 30: Represented the barrister applicant in the Administrative Court who successfully quashed a trial judge’s refusal to recuse himself from hearing a wasted costs application on the grounds of apparent bias. Led by Sue Carr QC. Miles has also represented solicitors and barristers in substantive wasted costs proceedings.
- Acting for defendant solicitors in a multi million pound claim alleging negligence and breach of confidence in connection with a complex commercial property transaction. Led by John McGhee QC of Maitland Chambers.
Miles has also lectured and written in this field and both devised and provided a training programme on the law in relation to solicitors’ liability on behalf of a firm specialising in claims against solicitors.
Surveyors & Valuers
Miles has acted in numerous claims against surveyors and valuer since the start of his career. He has been increasingly involved in this field as the current wave of lending claims has emerged in the wake of the credit crunch and the recession. He has not only acted for both lenders and solicitors in connection with particular claims, but has also provided lenders with high level advice on generic issues to assist them with recovery strategy. Miles has been involved in claims raising all the major issues thrown up by lenders’ claims including contributory negligence, fraud, coverage, syndication and the applicability of the SAAMCo ‘cap’.
By way of example, Miles has:
- Acted as sole counsel for a lender in multi-million pound claim against a surveyor for fraudulent provision of an inaccurate valuation of an industrial estate
- Acted for a defendant valuer in claim arising from allegedly inaccurate valuation of buy-to-let portfolio and its potential rental yield.
- Advised a lender on its standing to bring claims against professionals as assignee of a portfolio of mortgage loans and related quantum issues
- Acted and advised in numerous structural surveying cases, e.g. failures to detect visible defects, to follow the 'train of enquiry' and to indicate the need for further expert investigation.
Costs
Miles undertakes an increasing amount of costs work and has acted both on behalf of solicitors seeking costs and disgruntled clients. The costs works naturally fits with Miles’ extensive experience of solicitors’ liability and regulation.