Philip Smith

Degree:

University of West England: Bar Professional Training Course (Outstanding); University of Birmingham: Bachelor of Laws with Honours (Upper-Second)

Year of call and Inn:

2012; Middle Temple

Professional Membership:

Western Circuit

Email:

philip.smith@albionchambers.co.uk

Specialist Areas:

General common law including contract and tort, Landlord and Tenant, and other land and property disputes

Matrimonial Finance

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence

Practice Overview:

Philip joined Chambers in September 2018 after the successful completion of his pupillage.

Prior to pupillage, Philip spent time working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in a large firm of solicitors dealing with an array of legal issues, but with a strong focus on corporate law, including advising on cross-border disputes and corporate-management issues. Upon his return to the UK, Philip worked as a self-employed County Court Advocate for a number of years and appeared in approximately 1,000 hearings dealing with a wide range of civil matters in courts across the South West and beyond.

Awards: Certificate of Honour (Middle Temple)

Areas of Practice

Civil

Tab 1 Title:

Philip undertakes a broad and busy civil practice and is regularly instructed in fast-track trials in addition to the full spectrum of civil applications, including in the High Court.

Building on his experience prior to coming to the Bar, Philip also maintains a broad property practice. He is regularly instructed to advise in residential landlord and tenant matters, and attends possession hearings (including mortgage possession) in the County Court.

Philip has particular experience in advising small-scale landlords in the context of increasing regulation and legal complexity when dealing with such matters as rental deposits and the changes introduced under the Deregulation Act 2015, particularly their impact when seeking possession.

Philip also accepts instructions to appear in the First-Tier Tribunal Property Chamber. He has appeared at Tribunal in relation to various matters, including disputes concerning reasonableness of service charges and objections to first registration of land referred to the Tribunal by HM Land Registry.

Cases of Interest

H v B (2018) – instructed at very short notice to appear for the Respondent in an Application for a Freezing Order at the Bristol High Court District Registry. The Application was brought in the context of an application to remove a personal representative of an estate who was alleged to have failed to administer the Estate in a responsible and appropriate manner. Philip was successful in having the Application dismissed with costs.

B v F (2018) – represented the Applicant in an Application for committal for contempt of court for breach of an injunction order made pursuant to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Philip was successful in proving all the breaches of the injunction sought, resulting in a custodial sentence being passed on the contemnor.

B v H (2019) – the Claimant, an elderly landlord with only one property, sought possession of his property under a section 21 notice. The Defendant (in possession of legal aid funding) had raised technical defences relating to the validity of the notice and a counterclaim for disrepair. Philip was instructed at late notice and, recognising that the Claimant’s s.21 notice was invalid, advised the Claimant to discontinue his claim. The client agreed and the subsequent discontinuance of the claim for possession prevented the matter being allocated to the fast-track, saving the client from significant exposure to legal costs.

Clerk:
Stephen Arnold
E: stephen.arnold@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0310

Tab 2 Title:

Philip has a growing PI practice and accepts instructions on behalf of claimants and defendants. Philip is regularly instructed in fast-track and multi-track cases and interlocutory hearings. He is also experienced in advising on liability, quantum, Part 36 offers and in respect of procedural matters.

Cases of Interest

D v W (2018) – the Claimant, who was a postman, had been bitten on his hand by a dog as he posted a letter through the Defendant’s letterbox. Phillip successfully represented the Claimant at a fast-track trial, beating the Claimant’s Part 36 offer resulting in costs consequences for the Defendant.

S v G (2019) – instructed to appear at an MOJ Stage 3 hearing involving a £17,000 Claim for PSLA, medical treatment and loss of earnings. By effective use of the medical evidence, Philip was successful in arguing the Claimant had failed to mitigate her loss by working in alternative sedentary employment and had also undergone treatment which was not reasonably necessary. The total award of damages was just under £4,000.

C and C v S (2019) – represented two Claimants accused of fundamental dishonesty arising out of an RTA. The Defendant’s insurer had two audio recordings of one of the Claimants denying that either she or her husband were injured (one was recorded the day after the accident and the other just over a week later). The Claimants did not bring their PI claim until nearly nine months post-accident, in circumstances where they had been in another accident (and recovered damages from) a second accident six months after index accident. No FD finding was made against the Claimants were successful in their claim.

Clerk:
Stephen Arnold
E: stephen.arnold@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0310

Matrimonial Finance

Tab 4 Title:

Philip is regularly instructed in matrimonial finance, representing clients at all stages of proceedings from first hearing appointments through to final hearing.

Cases of Interest

K v P (2019) – Represented the wife in a claim brought by the husband, who was 20 years her senior and in receipt of a very low pension income, for transfer of the property in which he lived (which was owned in the wife’s sole name) and significant maintenance. The wife’s true financial position was a matter of significant dispute. Philip persuaded the Judge to make a Martin Order allowing the husband to live in the property rent free, but preserving the entirety of the wife’s ownership of the property in question.

Clerks:
Michael Harding
E: michael.harding@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0302

Julie Hathway
E: julie.hathway@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0305

Marcus Harding
E: marcus.harding@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0314

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