Partner, Solicitor Advocate
Morgan is a partner at Bell Lax. He was the youngest solicitor in the country ever to qualify as a solicitor advocate.
Morgan has undertaken a variety of cases arising from shareholder and limited liability partnership disputes, construction claims, the application of finance/lease agreements and guarantees, insolvency and bankruptcy matters and actions involving fraud. Morgan acts for a number of local and national companies and businesses as well as clients based within the European Union and the United States. He has a particular interest in professional negligence cases, representing several clients on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis against solicitors, surveyors and architects.
Morgan has experience in the many diverse aspects of dispute resolution including adjudication, arbitration, mediation and negotiation. He has conducted numerous hearings and trials in the Chancery, Technology and Construction and Queen's Bench Divisions of the High Court, the County Court and the Employment Tribunal. As a solicitor advocate, he has the right to appear before all courts in England and Wales. This allows Bell Lax to offer clients a full litigation service without the need to incur the extra expense of briefing a barrister for hearings in the higher courts. This is particularly attractive for clients keen to bring most of their legal fees within a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement and who may not otherwise be able to manage the often prohibitively high costs of litigation.
Morgan arranged the firm's delegated authority scheme with FirstAssist Legal Expenses Insurance, which enables Bell Lax to offer litigation insurance to commercial clients on FirstAssist's behalf. This allows the firm to minimise the risks of litigation to clients, as FirstAssist insure clients against paying the other party's costs and reimburse the client's expenses if a case is unsuccessful.
Morgan arranged the firm's delegated authority scheme with FirstAssist Legal Expenses Insurance, which enables Bell Lax to offer litigation insurance to commercial clients on FirstAssist's behalf. This allows the firm to minimise the risks of litigation to clients, as FirstAssist insure clients against paying the other party's costs and reimburse the client's expenses if a case is unsuccessful.
Morgan has a keen interest in legal history and is a member of the Selden Society at Lincoln’s Inn and the Viking Society for Northern Research at University College, London as well as the Solicitors’ Association of Higher Court Advocates and the Professional Negligence Lawyers' Association.
He speaks conversational German and Spanish whilst endeavouring to learn Hungarian.
Current and Recent Cases
Represented the Claimant in a £65 million breach of a computer programme integration contract. The case is currently progressing in the High Court with the benefit not only of Bell Lax’s conditional fee agreement, but also conditional fee agreements with Leading and Junior Counsel and after the event insurance.
Defended a rectification and restitution claim on a change of position basis where the claimant attempted to recover a £1 million mistaken overpayment made during the course of a supply agreement. The case necessitated consideration of the fiduciary duties owed in a quasi contractual relationship, a hypothetical mandatory supply injunction as well as the Defendant’s state of knowledge and the Claimant’s foreign holding company’s apparent early identification of the mistake. The case settled at mediation.
Defended a £1.3 million guarantee claim where a factoring company had acted in repudiatory breach of the main agreement before the appointment of administrators and subsequent upon the guarantees. Morgan appeared with Leading Counsel in successfully resisting the Claimant’s application for summary judgment.
Appeared for the Defendant in a reported case considering challenges to court’s jurisdiction in arbitration matters during the protocol period. The Claimant sought damages for defects under a construction contract, which the Defendant denied and, alternatively, sought a contribution and indemnity from its architects. Bovis Homes Ltd v Kendrick Construction Ltd [2009] EWHC 1359 (TCC)
Acted for a director and shareholder in an unfair prejudice petition valued around £2 million following his exclusion from a family company that had operated as a partnership for a number of decades. Morgan settled the petition and appeared for the director in the Companies Court before the claim settled following a mediation.
Resisted substantial claims against (and contribution proceedings between) former directors and associates for misfeasance, breach of fiduciary duties, wrongful trading and preferences valued at around £800,000. Morgan appeared in the High Court for two of the directors and an alleged shadow director. The case ultimately settled before trial following a mediation.
Conducted an Insolvency Act section 122(1)(e) just and equitable winding up dispute on behalf of an outgoing member of a large firm of solicitors and responded to final injunctive proceedings. The case concerned the valuation of the firm’s goodwill, including its contingent WIP under UITF40. The case proceeded to a hearing in the High Court to consider the novel issue of whether a member of an LLP retains any right to petition the court following his expulsion from the partnership. Shakespeare Putsman v Meredith [2008] EWHC 349
Appeared at trial for the Claimants in a commercial property dispute where a landlord had refused to consent to a tenants’ request to sell their business and assign their lease to a third party. Morgan acted under a conditional fee agreement and successfully argued for a declaration that the landlord’s refusal was unreasonable and recovered damages and exemplary damages for the tenants, together with payment of their legal fees on an indemnity basis.
