Dispute Resolution and Litigation
You’re in a dispute in the United Kingdom. What you do in the first fortnight shapes what is recoverable later.
Information, not advice
This page is information, not legal advice about your matter. A retainer begins only when a lawyer confirms it.
Start here
Save the evidence and check your deadlines
Documents, messages and any on-chain trail, before anything is deleted in the normal course of business. Time limits run from earlier than most people expect.
What to work through, in order
Limitation periods
Six years for contract and tort under the Limitation Act, with different rules for latent damage and fraud. Standstill agreements are a common way to preserve position while negotiating.
Preserving evidence and freezing assets
English courts offer freezing injunctions, search orders and Norwich Pharmacal disclosure against third parties. Applications are made without notice and demand full and frank disclosure.
Costs and funding
The loser normally pays a proportion of the winner’s costs, with costs budgeting in the multi-track. After-the-event insurance and third-party funding are both common.
Recovery scams
Anyone who contacts you promising to recover your funds for an upfront fee is running a second scam against the same victim. No legitimate firm guarantees recovery, and no legitimate firm asks for payment in crypto to start.
Next steps
What happens if you go ahead
Scoping call
Written scope and fixed-fee quote
Engagement, once a lawyer confirms
Who would handle it
Offices
London
25 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AL