Commercial litigation barristers.
Specialist counsel for contract disputes, business disputes, injunctions, civil fraud and Business and Property Courts work. Fixed fees agreed in writing. Direct access accepted.
Commercial litigation is the day-to-day of the Business and Property Courts. Contract disputes, sale of goods and services claims, agency and distribution fallouts, banking and finance disputes, professional negligence, civil fraud, injunctions, freezing orders, enforcement and insolvency-adjacent work. The right barrister on a commercial dispute is one who has run these arguments in the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division and the Business and Property Courts many times, understands where the strongest cause of action is likely to sit and can advise realistically on whether the case is worth fighting.
Clerk&Counsel places BSB-registered commercial litigation counsel on cases across England and Wales, including many Legal 500 ranked specialists and, on the largest cases, King's Counsel. We work with solicitors of every size, from City firms running billion-pound Commercial Court disputes to regional firms with a single contested contract claim, and directly with businesses under the Public Access scheme where the matter is suitable for direct instructions.
We do not charge clients for using our service. Our fees are paid by the barrister as a percentage of their fee for sourcing and onboarding the client and carrying out admin work on the case. Clients are never obliged to instruct the barrister we introduce and are actively encouraged to compare counsel before deciding.
What commercial litigation counsel cover.
The instructions we route to specialist commercial counsel include:
- Contract disputes: formation, interpretation, breach, repudiation, termination, damages and specific performance.
- Sale of goods, services and supply disputes under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
- Agency, distribution and franchise disputes, including Commercial Agents Regulations claims for compensation on termination.
- Banking and finance disputes: guarantees, indemnities, security enforcement, LMA facility disputes and swap misselling.
- Shareholder, joint venture and investment agreement disputes running alongside company law claims.
- Professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants, surveyors, financial advisers and other professionals.
- Civil fraud, deceit, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt and unlawful means conspiracy.
- Freezing orders (domestic and worldwide), search orders, Norwich Pharmacal disclosure and Bankers Trust orders.
- Insolvency-adjacent work: preferences, transactions at an undervalue, wrongful trading and antecedent transaction claims.
- Enforcement of judgments in England and, coordinated with foreign counsel, abroad.
Commercial Court, Chancery and Business and Property Courts.
Higher-value commercial disputes are heard in the Business and Property Courts of the High Court, subdivided into the Commercial Court (contract and international commercial disputes), the Chancery Division (equity, trusts, real property, insolvency-adjacent claims) and the Business List (general company and business claims that do not fall neatly into either specialist court). Regional Business and Property Courts sit in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle for cases with a regional connection.
Lower-value commercial disputes are dealt with in the Business and Property Courts of the County Court. The counsel we place are experienced across all these forums and will advise on where a case should be issued and, where relevant, on transfer between courts.
Interim and injunctive relief.
In commercial litigation, the interim application is often the point at which the case is really decided. Freezing orders, search orders, disclosure orders and interim injunctions preserve the position pending trial and, in practical terms, create the pressure that drives settlement. Counsel involvement at the drafting stage of a without-notice application is critical: the duty of full and frank disclosure to the court is unforgiving, and orders can be discharged with a costs sanction where that duty is not met.
The counsel we place regularly appear on both sides of interim applications in the Commercial Court, Chancery Division and Business and Property Courts. Where the application is urgent, counsel can usually be briefed inside 24 hours, with fixed fees for the application and any inter partes return date.
Briefing us on a commercial dispute.
When you brief us on a commercial dispute, we:
- Run conflict checks against all parties and any related corporate group.
- Ask for the underlying contract, the key correspondence and a short chronology of the dispute.
- Shortlist commercial counsel matched to the value and complexity of the claim, including King's Counsel where the case warrants silk.
- Confirm fixed fees for written advice, drafting, applications and hearings.
- Handle Public Access client care paperwork digitally where the matter is suitable for direct instructions.
Specialist areas within this practice.
- Commercial barristers
General commercial hub page.
- Shareholder & director dispute barristers
Company law disputes and unfair prejudice petitions.
- Shareholder & partnership disputes
Partnership and LLP disputes and joint venture fallouts.
- Construction barristers
Construction and engineering disputes and adjudication.
Commercial dispute on your desk?
Send a short brief with the contract, the parties and an outline of the dispute. A clerk will come back with shortlisted counsel and fixed fees for the next piece of work.
Common questions.
What does a commercial litigation barrister do?
A commercial litigation barrister is a specialist advocate instructed on business-to-business disputes: contract claims, sale of goods, services and supply disputes, agency, distribution and franchise disputes, banking and finance disputes, shareholder and joint venture disputes, professional negligence, civil fraud, injunctions and enforcement work. Counsel advises on the merits, drafts pleadings and applications, negotiates settlement and appears at all hearings from case management to trial.
When should I instruct commercial counsel?
Early. The value counsel adds to a commercial dispute is at its highest before proceedings are issued: framing the pleaded case, identifying the strongest cause of action, deciding whether to seek pre-action disclosure or a freezing order, and negotiating a structured settlement in the pre-action period. Instructions that reach counsel only when a trial date is looming are always more expensive and usually less well-argued than instructions taken from the beginning.
Which court will my commercial dispute be heard in?
Most commercial disputes are heard in the Business and Property Courts. Higher-value claims are issued in the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division or the Business List depending on subject matter. Lower-value contract and business disputes are dealt with in the Business and Property Courts of the County Court or in the appropriate regional Business and Property Court. Counsel will advise on which forum and track suits your case.
Can I instruct a commercial barrister directly?
Yes, under the Public Access scheme. Direct access works well for advisory work, drafting letters before action, drafting pleadings, mediation attendance and self-contained hearings such as summary judgment or injunction applications. Where the case requires ongoing correspondence, heavy disclosure or a long trial with witnesses, a solicitor-led model is usually preferable and we can point you to firms that regularly instruct the counsel we clerk for.
How much does commercial litigation cost?
Costs depend on the complexity and value of the claim. Counsel fees are fixed and agreed in writing for each piece of work: written advice, drafting a claim or defence, an application, mediation and hearings. On a typical mid-market commercial claim, a well-run case can be resolved for a fraction of the sums often quoted. Counsel will give a realistic view on likely cost exposure at the outset.
Do you handle civil fraud and asset recovery work?
Yes. We place counsel on civil fraud, deceit, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, unlawful means conspiracy and freezing order applications with proprietary and worldwide relief. The senior counsel we work with regularly appear in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division on complex fraud and asset recovery matters, including cross-border enforcement.