Bristol law firm VWV has appointed partner Ben Holt to its commercial litigation team.
Ben, who joins from rival Osborne Clarke’s Bristol office, specialises in advising on complex disputes for major corporates and financial institutions. He has represented leading lenders in multi-million pound claim portfolios involving fraud and professional negligence and has also advised on defamation claims for a number of household names against the likes of The Daily Mail, The FT and the BBC.
He has recently been working on a claim involving the mismanagement of investment bonds and has advised on various issues relating to crowd funding.
Ben’s experience includes successfully challenging the jurisdiction of a Texan court on a $30m (£19.3m) commercial disparagement claim relating to website content. He regularly advises on claims under warranties and indemnities in business sales and earn-out disputes, including a recent claim for over $25m.
Ben, who is on the Council of the Bristol Law Society, joins the VWV’s highly-rated commercial litigation, where he will be working with partner Tabitha Cave, four other partners and 23 lawyers.
He worked for Osborne Clarke for just over eight years as an associate director. Prior to that he was a solicitor in the Bristol office of national firm Clarke Willmott, having started his career as a trainee at Penningtons Solicitors in Newbury.
Ben said: “I have known of the VWV commercial litigation team for many years and have admired their reputation. When an opportunity arose to join, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I am very much looking forward to joining the team.”
VWV managing partner Simon Heald added: “Ben will be a great asset to the team and to our clients. Litigation has always been a core part of VWV’s practice and we see significant opportunities to continue to grow and develop.”
Outside of work, Ben is the drummer with The Mighty Rufus, the covers band which clinched the coveted first prize in the recent Bristol law firms’ battle of the bands contest.
Pictured, from left: Simon Heald, Ben Holt, Tabitha Cave, Ed Husband
