Michael Bowmer

Arbitration clauses are found in all sorts of business agreements, whether commercial contracts, partnership or joint venture agreements or commercial leases. Michael acted in a major long-running international arbitration between software manufacturers as to the correct interpretation of a licensing agreement, which required the assembly and deployment of a large volume of complex expert evidence concerning the development of internet technology. Michael has also acted in a number of arbitrations between professionals, such as solicitors, doctors and veterinary practitioners, arising out of partnership disputes, and regularly advises and acts in arbitrations concerning commercial landlord and tenant matters.

Alongside his work in the area of professional liability, this is Michael’s main area of expertise with most of Michael’s work taking place in the Chancery Division in the Royal Courts of Justice or in Chancery District Registries. Michael’s practice can genuinely be described as spanning both the commercial, in the form of internal business disputes between shareholders, directors and partners, lending and insolvency, and the more traditional chancery areas of practice such as property, wills and trusts. Michael is often called upon to pursue equitable remedies such as injunctions, declaratory relief, rectification or subrogation.

Michael’s areas of practice in this field are principally the following:

• Internal Business Disputes Michael has acted in numerous minority shareholder petitions and claims against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty as well as partnership disputes. Michael also advises on company law.
• Lending/Insolvency Michael regularly acts for lending institutions, and on occasion for borrowers, in relation to the enforcement of charges and guarantees. Such work gives rise to a broad range of issues such as the avoidance of charges for forgery and undue influence (and compliance with Etridge procedures) as well as incapacity, subrogation, priorities between charges and between charges and other interests in land, overriding interests, land registration practice and procedure. Michael also acts and advises in relation to both personal and corporate insolvency and in particular claims setting aside prior transactions.
• Property Michael advises and acts in a wide range of disputes concerning real property such as contracts for the sale of land, options and overage agreements, easements, restrictive covenants, land registration and adverse possession. Michael has also acted in many co-ownership disputes and cases of proprietary estoppel. Michael also acts in relation to all aspects of landlord and tenant and has recently been advising in a number of claims relating to leasehold enfranchisement, forfeiture and the interpretation of rent review provisions.
• Trusts Whether advising in relation to the interpretation of strict settlements or invoking trust principles in relation to commercial litigation, Michael is well-versed in all aspects of trusts. He regularly acts and advises in claims both for and against trustees for breach of trust, the removal and replacement of trustees and in relation to proprietary claims, tracing, accessory liability and constructive trusts in relation to civil fraud and breach of trust claims. Michael also acts in beneficial co-ownership disputes.
• Wills and Probate Michael frequently advises personal representative and beneficiaries in relation to the interpretation of testamentary documents and other matters arising in the administration of estates. He also acts in claims regarding the validity and rectification of wills as well as in inheritance act claims.
• Equitable Remedies Whether preserving the position pending trial or as substantive relief in its own right, Michael has experience of obtaining injunctions and freezing orders and claims for rectification or declarations supporting a right of subrogation.
• Chancery related Professional Liability Through Michael’s specialism in commercial chancery practice, he has developed a significant practice in related professional liability claims. Michael’s familiarity with the underlying areas of practice enables him to deal effectively and knowledgeably with claims arising out of property or financial transactions or private client matters. He has substantial experience in dealing with claims against solicitors, both in their capacity as legal advisers but also in their fiduciary and representative capacity, and against financial advisers and accountants. 

Michael acts in a wide range of commercial disputes ranging from more straightforward claims for breach of commercial contracts to sale of goods claims, claims for rescission of contracts for misrepresentation, claims arising out of business or share sale agreements and warranties and claims to enforce guarantees and other security. Michael also advises in cases where the issue concerns contract formation or the true construction of commercial documents or the operation of exclusion clauses, Many of the commercial disputes in which Michael is instructed have a chancery-related element for example following the commission of a civil fraud where a proprietary claim is made in respect of the beneficial ownership of assets or where questions of rectification of documents arise. Michael is experienced in seeking injunctive relief, including freezing injunctions and other interlocutory orders under the Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust v Shapira jurisdictions. Michael is also interested in claims with an international dimension. Some examples of Michael’s recent commercial cases are:

• the enforcement of a covenant in a contract between a haulage company and a supplier of transport services to the company prohibiting the solicitation of business by the supplier from the company’s customers
• acting for the buyer of a £700,000 property who was defrauded by a fraudulent seller and a fictitious firm of solicitors in  connection with a proprietary claim against assets held by various banks and other third parties
• acting for a Dubai software distributor in connection a claim brought against it by an English reseller over the supply of parallel imported computer software
• acting in connection with a breach of a joint venture agreement concerning the development of a wood fuel power station in Wales
• a claim against a utility procurement consultancy in relation to the failure to negotiate appropriate contracts for the supply of electricity to a substantial office block in the City of London
• advising a university department on claims arising from the breach of a joint venture agreement with a healthcare company concerning the development of a veterinary treatment for horses
• acting on behalf of an English printer software company on an application by a US corporation for voluminous disclosure under the Evidence (Proceedings in other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 for use in a US patent dispute with a well-known manufacturer of computer printers
• acting in a dispute between a web-site designer/computer programmer and an e-commerce business over web-hosting and web-site maintenance arrangements
• acting for a design studio defending a claim of alleged economic damage caused by defective photography for a catalogue and promotional material intended for use at a trade fair
• advising turf growers in a sale of goods dispute with seed suppliers over the supply of defective grass seed

Drawing upon his commercial chancery practice Michael has built a significant practice in the field of related professional liability. Michael’s familiarity with the underlying areas of practice enables him to deal effectively and knowledgeably with claims arising out of a very broad range of business transactions in relation to property or finance and in relation to claims arising out of conveyancing, lending, will-writing or private client matters. He has substantial experience in dealing with claims against solicitors, both in their capacity as legal advisers but also in their fiduciary and representative capacity, and against financial advisers, accountants, valuers, planning consultants and insolvency professionals.

Michael has been dealing recently with an increasing number of claims relating to property development and planning, alleged failings by trustees and other fiduciaries in investment strategy and in claims arising out of mortgage lending where there has been forgery, identity theft or some other underlying fraud.

Michael has given talks to professional indemnity insurers and panel firms on solicitors’ negligence in landlord and tenant cases and in relation to wills, trusts and probate.

Some examples of Michael’s recent cases are:

• acting for solicitors advising executors in relation to the failure to advise of relief against inheritance tax for sale of shares at less than probate value during the period of 12 months from death
• acting for solicitors and property management companies in claims arising out of the failure to serve options to determine leases strictly in accordance with the time limits and terms of the lease
• acting for solicitors facing a breach of warranty claim by buyer of one of the most expensive properties in Mayfair where one of co-sellers claimed not to have given the solicitor authority to exchange contracts
• acting for solicitors in relation to claim by buyer of vineyard concerning onerous overage provision in the event planning permission was obtained for development
• acting for various lenders in relation to claims for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract for failing to comply with mortgage instructions and Law Society’s Green Card and other warnings in relation to mortgage fraud
• acting in various claims arising from mortgage fraud and in particular identity theft, giving rise to claims of breach of warranty of authority and land registry indemnity issues
• acting for solicitors in a claim against solicitors and planning consultants arising out of the conditional sale of land to a national house-builder where it was alleged that the sellers were not advised of need to terminate the agreement by service of a notice
• acting for solicitors in relation to the failure to claim an exemption from inheritance tax for works of art prior to a change in the law altering the qualifying test to a more stringent test of pre-eminence
• acting in various claims where solicitors have failed to take instructions on how the beneficial interests in property are to be held
• acting in various claims arising out of failed or defective applications for collective enfranchisement and lease extensions
• acting for solicitors where it was alleged insufficient precautions had been taken to avoid a subsequent challenge to the validity of a will on the grounds of a lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence
• acting in relation to claim against a solicitor for dishonest assistance in relation to the unauthorised drawing of money by the finance director from his company
• acting for a retired national newspaper journalist in a claim against his former solicitors for loss of the chance to bring a claim against his former employers and trustees of the company pension scheme concerning negligent pension advice which had led him to accept voluntary early retirement
• advising a large and profitable family company in a claim against an accountant over allegedly negligent advice in formulating a company share purchase scheme
• advising a bank in relation to various claims by investors taking out life assurance products in respective of failings to advise on and clarify tax implications of entering into simultaneous deeds of trust
• acting for lender in substantial claim against valuers for overvaluing commercial premises giving rise to commercial lending relationship which would not otherwise have arisen

Over the years Michael has appeared as a mediation advocate in something like 50 or 60 mediations and has a deep understanding of and belief in the mediation process. Many of these mediations involved prominent mediators and, alongside the leading mediators he was able to observe through his training process, Michael has observed at first hand a variety of techniques and approaches and absorbed the need for flexibility depending on the personalities involved and the issues at stake.

Michael is convinced that mediation has an almost universal role to play in helping clients resolve their legal problems as an alternative to traditional adversarial litigation. Although there will always be rare cases which have to be resolved by litigation, Michael is a firm believer that mediation is a better and more effective way to help clients especially those caught up in bitter disputes where feelings run high. Recent research has shown that nearly one-third of people with legal problems in the United Kingdom suffer a stress-related or physical illness as a result and this underlines the benefits of resolving disputes through dialogue as opposed to confrontation.

As an accredited mediator registered with the Civil Mediation Council, Michael undertakes mediations across a wide range of disputes arising in relation to trusts, estates and succession, real property and landlord and tenant, company, insolvency and partnership law, banking and lending, and claims against professionals including directors. Recent mediations have involved claims between a company and its former directors for breach of fiduciary duty and involving a government supported funder providing businesses with cash flow support. With his experience of working in the art business before becoming a barrister, Michael is also particularly interested in mediating disputes arising in the area of art law and cultural property where sensitive and complex cultural and moral considerations, alongside difficult legal issues, can make mediation particularly appropriate.

Michael is proactive and prepared to work hard with those engaging in the mediation process to achieve positive outcomes. He adopts a flexible approach and is prepared to go the extra-mile in order to get the most of what is an important and sometimes unique opportunity to achieve a resolution.