William Golightly

Areas of expertise

• Property

  Property

  William accepts instructions in all areas of property law and frequently appears in the High Court and County Court.

  He has recent experience of:

  • Advising and representing the representative defendants in a massive unilateral mistake rescission case, with judgments including Barclays Bank UK Plc v Terry [2023] EWHC 3113 (Ch)
  • A multi-week High Court trial on the principles of a service charge dispute between five GP surgeries and their commercial services provider Valley View & Others v NHS Property Services Ltd [2022] EWHC 1393 (Ch), with John de Waal KC and Katrina Mather.
  • Advising and drafting in a high-value proprietary estoppel claim.
  • Advising, drafting and representing in residential landlord and tenant, possession, forfeiture and disrepair claims.
  • Advising and representing in relation to harassment and anti-social behaviour injunctions in a housing context.
  • Advising on leaseholders and freeholders’ obligations to finance the repairs to listed buildings under a section 106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990’ agreement.
  • Advising and representing in relation to misrepresentation claims against vendors of property.
  • Advising on bona vacantia in the context of the dissolution of foreign companies.
• Professional liability

  Professional liability

  William accepts instructions and has recent experience in the following areas:

  • Advising on conveyancing solicitors’ failure to advise on escalating ground rent clauses.
  • Advising on a claim against a financial adviser for a failed tax mitigation scheme.
  • Advising on a claim against insurance brokers for failure to procure adequate business interruption insurance arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Commercial dispute resolution

  Commercial dispute resolution

  Williams accepts instructions in all areas of commercial disputes resolution and has recent experience in:

  • Advising, drafting and representing in business-to-business contractual disputes, especially in a sale of goods and services context. William has a particular interest in misrepresentation claims and restitutionary remedies.
  • Assisting in high-value company disputes in claims against former directors.
  • Advising, drafting and representing in business-to-consumer disputes, especially in a construction and consumer credit context.
  • Advising, drafting and representing enforcement agencies in relation to third party claims for controlled goods and claims against enforcement agents.
  • Advising and representing in relation to civil restraint orders.

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  During his pupillage, William also assisted with:

  • Pakistan International Airlines Corporation v Times Travel [2021] UKSC 40 – an international airline’s defence to a claim for lawful act duress, in which the Supreme Court recently gave a landmark judgment on the doctrine.
  • IGE USA Investments Limited v HMRC [2021] EWCA Civ 534 – a landmark Court of Appeal decision which confirmed the limitation period for equitable recission in cases of fraudulent misrepresentation.
• Private client

  Private client

  William accepts instructions in all aspects of chambers’ private client practice.

  He has recent experience of:

  • Junior counsel in a multi-day High Court trial in respect of an allegation of forged will signature.
  • Advising, drafting and representing in Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims.
  • Advising in relation to an alleged Donatio Mortis Causa of a property.
  • Advising and drafting in respect of TOLATA claims.
  • Advising in respect of removing executors and speeding up the administration of estates.
  • Advising and drafting in challenges to the validity of wills for lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence and fraudulent calumny.
  • Unwinding lifetime transactions following the financial abuse of a person who lacked capacity.