A breach of contract barrister who can run the case.
Advice on merits, drafting and advocacy in breach of contract claims for businesses and individuals across England and Wales, on direct access or through your solicitor.
A breach of contract claim turns on a small number of questions. What were the terms, were they incorporated, what exactly went wrong, what loss followed and what does the contract say about liability for that loss. Answer those accurately at the beginning and the rest of the case becomes a matter of procedure and negotiation. Answer them late and you spend money repairing positions taken in correspondence.
Clerk&Counsel is a clerking agency, not a chambers or a firm of solicitors. We introduce independent barristers who take breach of contract work at every level, from a disputed supply arrangement between two owner managed companies to a substantial warranty claim in the Business and Property Courts. You deal with the barrister directly and the fee basis is agreed before any work starts.
Some members of our panel hold a litigation extension from the Bar Standards Board. That allows a barrister to be on the court record, issue and serve the claim, run disclosure and witness evidence, correspond with the other side and conduct the hearings. For a claimant or defendant without a solicitor, that means one professional carries the matter from the letter before claim to judgment.
Contract claims counsel takes on.
- Breach of written, oral and partly oral supply, services and distribution agreements.
- Repudiatory breach, wrongful termination and disputes about the exercise of termination rights.
- Warranty and indemnity claims following a share purchase or asset sale.
- Battle of the forms, incorporation of standard terms and the reach of exclusion clauses.
- Construction of ambiguous drafting, implied terms and rectification.
- Commercial agency claims, including compensation under the 1993 Regulations.
- Consumer contract disputes under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
- Misrepresentation and negligent misstatement pleaded alongside a contractual case.
An honest merits view before you spend.
The most valuable thing a barrister can give you at the start is a realistic assessment. A written advice sets out the strength of the claim or defence, the evidential gaps, the likely range of recovery and the costs exposure if the case is lost. It is short, it is priced in advance and it is often the document that persuades the other side to settle.
That advice also shapes strategy. It may point to an early application for summary judgment where a defence has no real prospect of success, or to a Part 36 offer pitched to put the other party under costs pressure, or to mediation before positions harden. Each of those routes costs a fraction of a contested trial.
Where the sums involved are modest, counsel will say so. There is no benefit in running a five figure dispute through the multi track when the recoverable costs and the commercial relationship both point towards a negotiated outcome.
How a breach of contract claim progresses.
Pre-action correspondence comes first. A letter before claim identifies the contract, the term breached, the loss and the remedy sought, and gives the other side a reasonable period to respond. Courts take this stage seriously and can penalise a party who ignores it.
Once issued, the claim is allocated to the small claims, fast, intermediate or multi track according to value and complexity. Directions follow, then disclosure, witness statements, expert evidence where a quantum or industry issue requires it, and finally trial. Interim applications can shorten that timetable considerably where the pleaded case on the other side is weak.
Settlement remains available at every stage. Part 36 offers, without prejudice negotiation and mediation all move the costs risk, and counsel advises on the timing and level of an offer with the same care as on the underlying merits.
Fixed fees and clear staging.
Written advice, particulars of claim, a defence, an application notice with a supporting statement or attendance at a case management conference are each quoted as a fixed fee, agreed in writing before work begins.
Multi day hearings are quoted as a brief fee plus daily refreshers. Where a claim will run over several months, fees can be staged so they fall due at recognised points in the court timetable rather than in a single block.
Fees should always be measured against the sum in dispute and the costs risk under CPR Part 44. A losing party in a contested contract claim usually pays a substantial share of the winner's costs, so early advice is the cheapest part of the case.
Specialist areas within this practice.
- Contract disputes
The wider hub for commercial and consumer contract claims.
- Misrepresentation claims
Claims where you were induced into a contract by a false statement.
- Commercial litigation barristers
Counsel for Business and Property Court disputes.
- Commercial mediation
Settling a contract dispute without going to trial.
Send us the contract and the correspondence.
Tell us what was agreed, what went wrong and what you want to achieve. We will come back with counsel options, a fee basis and whether a litigation authorised barrister can run the claim for you.
Common questions.
Can I instruct a breach of contract barrister without a solicitor?
Yes. Barristers on our panel who hold public access accreditation can advise, draft your statements of case and represent you at hearings on direct instructions. Where the case needs a full litigation service, we can introduce counsel who holds a litigation extension from the Bar Standards Board and can go on the court record.
How long do I have to bring a breach of contract claim?
The usual limitation period in England and Wales is six years from the date of the breach, or twelve years where the agreement was executed as a deed. Many commercial contracts also impose shorter notification windows, so the agreement should be reviewed as soon as a problem appears.
What damages can I recover for a breach of contract?
The court aims to put you in the position you would have been in had the contract been performed. That normally covers direct loss, wasted expenditure and lost profit where it is not too remote, plus interest. Exclusion and limitation clauses often cap what is recoverable, which is why the drafting matters.
Do I have to send a letter before claim first?
The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects parties to exchange information and consider settlement before proceedings are issued. A properly drafted letter before claim frequently resolves the matter, and failing to send one can lead to costs sanctions later.
What will a breach of contract barrister cost?
Discrete work is quoted as a fixed fee once we have seen the papers. A written advice on merits, particulars of claim or attendance at a hearing each carry their own figure, and longer trials are quoted as a brief fee plus refreshers so nothing is open ended.