Specialisms
- Disputed wills and estates
- Executor disputes / removal
- Disputes trusts
- Disputes in relation to decisions affecting vulnerable persons
What’s your role?
The death or mental incapacity of a family member is one of the most stressful situations to be faced in life. Where a claim or dispute arises in relation to these issues and legal assistance is sought I recognise from both professional and personal experience that sympathetic and clear advice is required.
Our team advises both clients and provides in-house collaborative guidance to the firm’s Wills, Trusts & Probate and Court of Protection teams on wide range of issues, including:
- Inheritance Act claims
- The validity of wills relating to capacity, execution, undue influence and knowledge and approval
- Executor and administration disputes including removal of executors
- Last Power of Attorney issues relating to capacity, abuse of position
- Rectification of Wills, including advising in relation to Statutory Wills
- Beneficial Interest and proprietary estoppel claims
Your experience?
I have over 20 years experience in litigation and dispute resolution. This has been a mix of private client disputes, serious injury and insurance litigation. This has given me a wealth of experience in getting quickly to the heart of a dispute and understanding not only my own client’s position, but also the other parties to drive the claim to a collaborative resolution. Where litigation cannot be avoided my approach is to make sure my clients’ have a clear understanding of the issues and key points are disputed at all times keeping open the option of an agreed resolution.
Delegate:
Contentious Probate and Claims under the 1975 Act, Masterclass – December 2017
ACTAPS seminar – Suspicious Minds: Want of knowledge and approval – March 2018
ACTAPS seminar – Rectifying Wills – May 2018
ACTAPS seminar – Has my grandmother been defrauded? A case study in undue influence, will fraud and disputed property transfer – June 2018
ACTAPS seminar – Sharia forced heirship – succession, human rights
ACTAPS Spring seminar: Aspects of 1975 Inheritance Act Claims – housing / settlement tactics / charities / defining persons treated as “child of the family” / Court of Protection. April 2019
ConTra seminar – Resolving Trust Disputes – September 2018
ConTra seminar – Inheritance Act Claims by Minor Children 2018
Memberships:
ConTra – The Contentious Trust Association
Testimonials
A key team member is contentious IP expert Ian Dawes. Recent highlights include leading a negotiation on behalf of E-Crunch over brand rights and an amicable settlement, and defending voice and video communications specialist DV02 against invalidity proceedings brought by O2 Worldwide.
Straight talking, robust and methodical.
Gives a client a complete feeling of confidence.
Always one step ahead of the opposition.
The firm has a friendly, professional and thorough approach to handling matters. The quality of work is very good. They have done things at the appropriate times and have been very practical.
Coffin Mew LLP is ‘a well-established firm and one of the best operators in its area’ and fields a team that has ‘a practical and commonsense approach’. It handles a range of corporate and commercial disputes, including partnership cases and those in the technology, IP and construction areas. It attracts mandates from both national and international clients and is acting for E-Crunch in a variety of IP and property-related disputes. Ian Dawes heads of department; Mark James, who is based in Brighton, is recommended for property and construction-related disputes and ‘excellent’ associate Emma Stevens is ‘very hardworking and committed to her case’.
I am delighted with the manner in which you have handled my matter, very professional, prompt and efficient, thank you both for your efforts and advice.
Quite simply, the collaborative approach to divorce settlement is the swiftest, most sensible, least hurtful and frankly the most cost effective way of paving the way for the future.
I did not wish for my marriage to end and nor did my children, but, notwithstanding this, the collaborative approach led to a satisfactory conclusion for all that enabled the desire for aspects of family life to remain after Decree Absolute. Life changes, it doesn’t have to shatter.
Very professional, prompt and efficient but helpful and friendly.
Thank you so much for all your hard work. Thank you especially for being a friendly and helpful voice on the end of the phone. With great appreciation.
Personal, friendly service whilst staying completely professional throughout. Again excellent and exceeded expectations. Thank you very much for the way the case has been dealt with. Very happy with overall service.
I just wanted to say a massive thank you. I am incredibly grateful for your guidance, wisdom and professionalism throughout this process and for ensuring that we always took the right path. I will, of course, absolutely recommend the Coffin Mew team to friends, family, colleagues etc that find themselves in need of legal advice!
I was very impressed with the service from both solicitors and would highly recommend them to others. Thank you very much for your help, advice, speed of response and keeping me informed regularly.
An absolutely outstanding, efficient, friendly service that made my situation stress free. Great communication from the team. Will definitely recommend the services of Coffin Mew to all my family and friends. Thank you.
I could not have made it through without your expertise, wisdom and supportive guidance. It has been such a comfort to know that you were there on the end of the phone.
I just wanted to thank you so much for helping me, I’ve been so time poor since moving home but I cannot thank you enough for enabling this to happen for me you went above and beyond for me and I will be forever grateful.
Family client, 2019
I very much appreciate your patience and calm through a difficult process – I was very impressed with our meeting.
You were a huge support to me, although you were simply doing your job, it was your warmth, sensitivity and understanding that gave me the confidence to see it through.
Before meeting with Chris Gambs, I had lost hope of any resolution to the dispute I had with the executors. Chris was a very calm, but firm presence, which was just what I needed – an iron fist in a velvet glove. Chris very carefully explained the options at all stages, and I completely trusted his discretion on what to concede in order to achieve a positive outcome. I could not have been in better hands, and am very grateful for all Chris’s hard work.
Rachel gave me the best advice for my case, she is a good listener and above all very professional. I would recommend Rachel to anyone, as one of the best lawyers in probate in the UK!
Coffin Mew LLP is ‘a well-established firm and one of the best operators in its area’ and fields a team that has ‘a practical and commonsense approach’. It handles a range of corporate and commercial disputes, including partnership cases and those in the technology, IP and construction areas.
