Kit Sorrell

PARTNER, MANCHESTER

Practice areas

Kit is personally ranked as a Leader in the Field in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence in Chambers & Partners. He is also recognised in Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ as a Leading Individual in both Commercial Litigation and Professional Negligence. He is the only lawyer in the entire North West to be ranked by Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ in the field of Professional Negligence and in Commercial Litigation (elsewhere in the North West).

With well over 30 years’ experience, Kit Sorrell is a highly renowned litigation specialist. He acts in complex high value commercial matters such as contract disputes, minority shareholder claims, property disputes and also acts for both high net worth individuals and corporate entities in complex and high value professional negligence claims against, by way of example, tax advisers, accountants, solicitors, property professionals and independent financial advisers. Kit is nationally recognised as a Leader in the Field and is recommended in both Chambers UK Guide and Legal 500 where he is described as a “highly experienced commercial litigator.”, “one of the best commercial litigators in the region” noting in particular his “gravitas, tough negotiation skills and dogged determination”. Further testimonials added:

• “Kit Sorrell is really a living legend in dispute resolution – pleasure and an honour to work with him. His experience and knowledge really show when he gives strategic advice. He is unfailingly pleasant to work with”
• “Kit Sorrell is very much the grand old man of Manchester litigation; a fearsome opponent who takes no prisoners”
• “Kit Sorrell is a leading, senior practitioner known by all as having a robust and confident approach to litigation”
• “Kit Sorrell is hugely experienced, and undoubtedly one of the recognised leaders in the field, and together with Julia Norris they make a formidable team”
• “Kit Sorrell is hugely experienced, very tenacious and always goes the extra mile”
• “Kit is an extremely experienced commercial litigator. He’s very forceful, effective and doesn’t take any nonsense.”
• “Kit has a breadth of knowledge and deep experience as well as a cool head in a crisis.”
• “He’s got a very good sense of strategy and tactics.”

Kit’s practice spans almost the whole range of high value commercial dispute resolution. By way of example only, includes acting in warranty claims, shareholder disputes, commercial contractual disputes of all kinds, asset tracing & recovery and bringing & defending applications for injunctions.

Kit is also widely known for leading the way in Professional Negligence claims against financial and tax advisers in particular claims involving tax avoidance and mitigation schemes. Kit was amongst the very first lawyers to be instructed on the high profile Film Scheme Tax Partnership cases and to issue the first High Court proceedings against advisers who recommended such schemes. Kit has become known as the ‘go-to’ lawyer for well-known sports and media personalities in this field. Kit has been interviewed by the Financial Times on a number of occasions and quoted in numerous articles in the FT, The Mail on Sunday, FT Adviser, Money Marketing and IFA Online.

Notable cases

• Halsall v Champion Consulting Ltd [2017] EWHC 1079 (QB)
  Represented the claimants in a £6M claim arising out of tax avoidance schemes. This widely reported case is believed to be one of the first claims of this type to reach the courts.
• Knights & Others v Townsend Harrison Ltd 2021 EWHC 2563 (QB) 
  Represented the Claimants in a seven-figure claim against accountants in relation to alleged negligent advice concerning investment into a foreign exchange investment scheme which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and also in relation to a variety of tax mitigation schemes.
• Instructed by shareholders in a shareholders dispute in which the value of the assets involved is some £80M.
• Financial Conduct Authority v Steel & Foster  – Acting for the Defendants in a ground breaking claim in which the FCA is seeking to redefine the liability of directors and officers in independent financial advice businesses; the allegation being that Mr Steel and Ms Foster are responsible for negligently advising approximately 500 clients, the value of the claim being in excess of £7M.
• Cheshire Estate and Legal Limited v Thomas Blanchfield, Mark Montaldo and MTCC Solutions Limited
  Represented the Claimant in an expedited 6 day trial in claims for injunctive and springboard relief following breach of contract and statutory duties by the Claimant’s 2 former directors in setting up their own competing law firm.
• Acting for a group of high net worth individuals in a £5M claim against an international law practice arising out of negligent conduct of litigation initially brought against their accountants and tax advisers.
• Acting for a client in a seven-figure professional negligence claim against Gibraltar based IFA company arising out of the clients’ investment into a £50M failed investment scheme.
• Acting for the Claimants in a £16M claim against the promotors of a failed tax mitigation scheme.
• Acting for minority shareholder in a shareholder dispute in relation to his holding in a highly successful engineering company. Action resolved with an order for the purchase of his shares on very satisfactory terms.
• Acting for a national property/property development company in Judicial Review proceedings challenging enforcement orders made by the Authority which threatened a regeneration scheme the value of which ran to many hundreds of millions of pounds.
• Acting for a sports management company in a dispute over the ‘ownership’ of a very high profile premier league professional footballer.
• Acting for Morris Homes Group, the country’s largest privately owned house builder, in a number of complex seven-figure claims against various property professionals.

Career history

• FS Legal – Partner, 2014 to date
• Pannone LLP – Partner, 2006 – 2014
• Wacks Caller – Partner, 2000 – 2006
• DWF- Partner, 1983 – 2000

What Kit Sorrell’s clients say:

I have no hesitation in recommending Kit Sorrell as an excellent commercial litigator with considerable experience and expertise and offering sound and effective commercial advice.

– Peter Kendall, Group Solicitor, Morris Homes Limited

Julia Norris and Kit Sorrell have developed a real specialisation and considerable expertise in handling high value and complex claims for damages for professional negligence against tax advisers who have mis-sold tax avoidance products. They are proactive, client focussed and very hard working. They are also easy to work with and great at developing a team involving counsel, solicitors and experts. I would thoroughly recommend them for this type of work.

– Andrew Grantham KC, Kings Chambers Chair of the Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association

Julia Norris and Kit Sorrell have developed a real specialisation and considerable expertise in handling high value and complex claims for damages for professional negligence against tax advisers who have mis-sold tax avoidance products. They are proactive, client focussed and very hard working. They are also easy to work with and great at developing a team involving counsel, solicitors and experts. I would thoroughly recommend them for this type of work.

– Andrew Grantham KC, Kings Chambers Chair of the Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association

FS Legal does an excellent job in handling high quality and high value financial services claims. Kit Sorrell and Julia Norris are highly experienced and adept at dealing with the technical issues whilst always focused on obtaining a commercial settlement for their clients.

– Simon Howarth KC, Hailsham Chambers

When you choose FS Legal you are hiring an entire team of professionals, not just a select group of lead lawyers – this is the FS Legal difference, and the difference is everything. I have no hesitation in recommending the entire FS Legal team.

– Client Testimonial