Hugh Evans’s practice centres on professional liability, with particular emphasis on claims against lawyers and accountants, commercial litigation, particularly insurance and fraud claims, and costs.
His litigation philosophy is: (1) to give the clients clear and practical advice on how best to resolve their legal difficulties; (2) to succeed at trial by the use of ingenuity, tactical thinking, detailed preparation, and experience, particularly in cross examination; and (3) to be a friendly, accessible and helpful member of any legal team.
Hugh has been listed as a leading professional negligence junior by the directories in the first tier or band for many years. The 2021 guides say: “He’s got encyclopedic knowledge and is good on his feet.“, “A real heavyweight junior. He is very easy to deal with and offers very sensible and pragmatic advice.” (Chambers), and “Hugh is a living encyclopedia when it comes to authorities on professional negligence. He is one of those few barristers who even with their wealth of knowledge is always willing to listen and consider the ideas of others and finesse them in their own measured manner.’ (Legal 500). Hugh has been described as “fantastically clever” with a “logical approach and likeable manner“, that he is “bright, commercial and efficient“, “witty and academically sound“, and even that he “makes the litigation process as painless as possible.” He has been “praised for his ability to clarify the most complex legal issues, and sources deem him “uncannily accurate” in his advice” It is said that he is “…extremely bright and very good tactically” , “…excellent and very persuasive on his feet.” “Hugh demonstrates wit and energy, and is tremendously likeable too”, and “Hugh knows professional negligence inside-out, and is great to work with”, it is alleged that “He is phenomenally bright and gives very practical advice,” that “he picks the right points and has very good judgement.” “He is very bright, has a pleasant manner with clients and is a good negotiator” and , ‘‘he really gets to grips with the most complex of issues” .
Hugh writes extensively on professional liability. He is the editor of the chapters on solicitors and barristers in Jackson and Powell on Professional Liability (Sweet & Maxwell 9th edition 2022), and has been since 1992, as well as being a general editor. He is the author of Lawyers’ Liabilities Sweet & Maxwell 2002 (2nd edn), and nearly thirty articles in a variety of academic journals, particularly Professional Negligence.
Hugh’s trial work has taken him to all divisions of the High Court, particularly the Chancery Division, as well as the County Court, and many arbitrations. He also has extensive experience of ADR, and has taken part as advocate in over fifty mediations. He is very comfortable with a wide variety of complex technical evidence, from medical to engineering, including statistical analysis.
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