Richard Buswell

Call:1985

 
Introduction & Contact Details

Richard is a specialist in family law; inheritance related disputes and professional negligence. He has a particular interest in the tracing and disclosure of information for use in court proceedings.

Clients find Richard is a careful and caring listener. Understanding the risks of litigation in his specialist fields, his encourages his clients to negotiate but always from a position of strength.
 
Richard became a mediator for civil disputes in 2003. He trained with the highly regarded Canadian mediation specialists from ADR Chambers. He has adopted and applying their philosophy and skills to great effect in both the mediation process and in negotiations.
 
Married and living in Surrey, Richard enjoys club tennis and live music. He sits on the governing body of a University of London college.

Tel:    020 7242 2523 (switchboard)
Fax:   020 7691 1234

Email: richard.buswell@hardwicke.co.uk

PROPERTY & PRIVATE CLIENT

Richard’s family work is the cornerstone of his practice. He has advised and represented the exceptionally wealthy – including bankers, politicians celebrity wives, and entrepreneurs – and those who are not; but all of his clients are regarded by Richard and the team behind him, as important.

Family – Breakdown & Finance

Richard’s work includes:

• matrimonial finance
• civil partnership
• pre-nuptial & post-marriage/civil partnership agreements
• cohabitation and property disputes
• conflicting law cases – particular where family money disputes overlap with third party claims and Chancery disputes such as trusts, inheritance, wills, insolvency, partnership, companies and professional negligence.

Examples

• representing a company administrator embroiled in a divorce case, with allegations of mala fides in the administration and successfully setting aside a series of wrongly obtained injunctions;
• advising solicitors in relation to their conduct of ancillary relief proceedings exceeding £200 million asset values.

Family – Children

It can often help to have a barrister acting for a client in children matters when also dealing with financial disputes, particularly where they are difficult or acrimonious. This usually includes:

• residence and contact issues
• removal from the jurisdiction
• children’s property rights issues.

Inheritance & Probate

Succession issues can be very distressing for people. Richard has provided both compassionate and technically sound legal and strategic advice to clients involved in these often difficult cases. His work has included:

• disputing DNA testing
• disputes over the body of the deceased
• securing protective costs orders
• variation of wills,
• preserving estate assets.

Trusts

Richard accepts instructions to give advisory and practical work in this area on such matters as:

• issues arising under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996
• implications of Stack v Dowden
• commercial co-ownership
• wills and probate related matters
• asset protection.

COMMERCIAL

Professional Negligence

Richard specialises in solicitors’ negligence cases involving expertise in family law and “family” money (particularly, matrimonial finance, inheritance and other private client work).  Being as skilled in the application of the procedural requirements of the FPR as the CPR and being familiar with the practice requirements across the Divisions, he is sought after for specialist work. His practice is wide ranging in relation to the issues giving rise to negligence claims; these have included substantive law matters, procedural failings and professional standards.

MEDIATION

The important feature of Richard’s mediation work is that he maintains a strong practice embracing the intricacies of both the Chancery Division and the Family Division, including his niche solicitors’ and barristers’ negligence practice relating to his specialist fields.