Tom Shepherd is ranked as a leading junior in the fields of (i) Commercial/Chancery litigation, (ii) Restructuring/Insolvency and (iii) Professional Liability. His cases often have a fraud angle and he has experience of Company, Partnership and Financial Services disputes. Tom’s qualities have been consistently recognised in the legal directories:
- A relentless will to win: “combines a ferocious appetite for work with a really very sharp legal mind”; “a will to win in every case, however tricky”; “extremely sharp, committed and focussed on the result”; “meticulous in his preparation and completely dedicated to the case”
- A skilful advocate: “an unbelievably good advocate for his level of call”; “very punchy”; “a very tenacious and skilful advocate”; “aggressive when he needs to be and sensible in his deliveries in court”; “he has the ear of the judge and is a very strong advocate”
- A first-class lawyer: “extremely good on the law”; “rigorously thorough and responsive”; “very detailed in his approach”; “intelligent and first rate on the law”; “very authoritative”; “always keeps a commercial outlook and has very strong tactical judgement”
- A modern outlook: “tech savvy with his no-paper approach to litigation”; “very user-friendly and good at staying in touch and being practical”
- A collaborative approach: “extremely personable, which impresses clients and makes a big difference in cases”; “extremely accessible, very responsive and very good in court”; “very strong on his feet and has a good client manner”; “a pleasure to work with”
Tom is an experienced trial advocate who is not afraid to back his judgment. Tom has recently acted in significant, high-value litigation as part of larger legal teams, both at first instance and in the Court of Appeal. He also appears in his own right in the High Court and County Court as well as before professional regulatory panels. Tom is a sophisticated negotiator who is frequently instructed to act at mediation and other forms of ADR. Tom was appointed as Junior Counsel to the Crown (Attorney General’s B Panel) in June 2016.
Further details of Tom’s practice areas can be found via the links at the bottom of this page. Recent highlights include:
- Willers v Joyce [2018] EWHC 3424 (Ch): representing the successful defendants in the first case in English legal history of alleged malicious prosecution of civil proceedings since the recognition of the tort by the Supreme Court [2016] UKSC 43. Five-week Chancery Division trial before Rose J. Extensive trial preparation and conducting cross-examination of factual and expert witnesses. Led by Paul Mitchell QC. Tom has subsequently been instructed on numerous other civil and criminal malicious prosecution actions.
- Willers v Joyce [2019] Costs L.R. 781: representing the successful defendants on an application relating to the admissibility of certain without prejudice communications, for the purposes of a non-party costs application against solicitors and counsel who had acted in earlier proceedings. See [2019] EWHC 2183 (Ch).
- Rollerteam Ltd v Riley [2018] EWHC 1065 (Ch): claim against shadow director for alleged misappropriation of gate receipts of the Sherlock Holmes Museum and dispute arising out of settlement agreement. Tom acted on various successful interim applications relating to the release of monies held in escrow and the sale of a substantial property under the settlement agreement, before appearing at the trial / inquiry at which the applicants’ claims succeeded in full. Led by Neil Hext QC.
- Celsa v Benson & ors (2018): representing one of seven defendants to a claim by the UK’s largest steel manufacturer for unlawful means conspiracy arising out of the alleged misappropriation of hundreds of tonnes of by-products from the steel manufacturing process at a plant in South Wales. Settled on confidential terms.
- Re: a Championship football club (2018): acting for the claimant private investment fund on an action against solicitors arising out of the alleged negligent advice and drafting of certain transactional and security documentation for a £6m loan in connection with the proposed refinancing of a Championship football club.
- Re: a Debt Management Company (2017): successfully representing a substantial commercial debt management company on an application before the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the FCA for permission to carry out regulated activities. Tom was involved at all stages of the proceedings, which resulted in only the second such successful application at the time and a complete change of approach by the FCA to future applications.
Privacy Policy
Click here for a Privacy Policy for Tom Shepherd.
Public Access
Tom is available to accept instructions on a public access basis in each of his listed areas of expertise, where appropriate. Please see the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients on the Bar Standard’s Board website by clicking here.