Lucas Gregory

Lucas has a strong interest in commercial litigation, including in the areas of contract law and shareholder disputes, and has been instructed to act for a range of large corporates, SMEs and private clients in the High Court and County Court.

Cases Lucas has worked on include:

• Acting as an expert witness on questions of English law on remedies in a high-value commercial dispute being litigated in a foreign court
• Advising, drafting and representing a client in High Court proceedings, where he successfully obtained an interim and then final injunction for his client and secured an award for the full amount of his client’s legal costs
• Instructed by a petitioning shareholder in unfair prejudice proceedings in the High Court, involving issues on whether £12m in funds were misappropriated
• Representing a multinational telecommunications company in proceedings involving a claim valued at over £300,000
• Advising on a cross-border commercial dispute with a claim for over £0.5m and which involved issues on choice of law and jurisdiction
• Advising on and drafting a breach of contract claim for damages and a mandatory injunction
• Advice and drafting for an ex-company director who was Defendant to a claim for breach of director’s duties
• Representing a multinational retailer at trial in a breach of contract dispute
• A claim in the High Court against a Special Purpose Vehicle and linked entities involving claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment
• Injunctive relief proceedings in the High Court relating to a c. US$10m settlement agreement reached in Swiss proceedings with issues on choice of law and jurisdiction
• Several High Court cases involving a professional services firm claiming breach of contract and seeking injunctive relief
• Professional negligence claims against a firm of accountants

Lucas has a keen interest in all aspects of employment law and has volunteered with the Free Representation Unit. Lucas has experience working on cases proceeding in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeals Tribunal and the County Court.

Lucas has recently advised in respect of potential unfair dismissal and TUPE-related claims.

Cases Lucas has worked on include:

• Successfully representing the Respondent to claims of direct race discrimination and unfair dismissal, valued at over £180,000
• Successfully representing a transgender employee who brought claims for direct discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment, sexual harassment, harassment on grounds of gender reassignment, sexual orientation and race, and victimisation suffered for raising a grievance
• Successfully represented a Claimant in establishing they were disabled at the relevant time, following a contested issue on whether difficulties they had were episodic and reactionary to adverse events as opposed to being long term and/or likely to recur
• An employment contract claim pursued in the County Court following protracted proceedings having already been brought in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal, and Court of Appeal, raising issues on abuse of process
• An Employment Tribunal case against a large multi-national investment bank, involving claims of direct and indirect disability discrimination
• An Employment Tribunal case involving claims of sexual harassment, discrimination on grounds of sex and race, whistleblowing detriment, unlawful deduction of wages and holiday pay
• An Employment Tribunal case brought by two agency workers against an agency in respect of discrimination and sexual harassment experienced at one of the agency clients’ sites by another worker, with an issue in relation to who the perpetrator was employed by

Lucas has experience advising and representing clients in solicitor/client and inter partes cost disputes. His recent experience includes:

• Advising and representing a Defendant client in a solicitor/client cost dispute at trial, where following his cross-examination of the Claimant’s witness, the solicitors conceded on the bulk of their claim and he successfully had the remaining balance of the claim dismissed
• Advising and representing a Defendant at a costs-only hearing following strike out of the claim (prior to allocation) valued at just under £87,000, with principle and quantum in dispute. He achieved a costs award of over £40,000 for his client
• Advising and successfully representing a Defendant client in a solicitor/client cost dispute with a counterclaim for professional negligence valued in excess of £1m

Lucas previously completed specialised study in the adjudication of construction disputes. He has a firm knowledge and understanding of the relevant procedure and has delivered training in the area. He welcomes instructions relating to construction contract disputes.

Lucas has provided advice and drafting for a Defendant to a claim for an order pursuant to Section 1 of the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992.

Lucas is a professionally qualified mediator with excellent knowledge and experience of ADR.

Lucas has attended several mediations of high-value, complex group claims and joint settlement meetings, all of which have achieved compromise.

Lucas has been instructed to advise parties in private client and commercial disputes in the County Court and High Court, involving wills and express or implied trusts.

Cases Lucas has worked on have involved:

• Advising and representing a trustee in proceedings brought against another trustee over trust property
• Issues relating to breach of trust
• Removal of trustees
• Appointment of personal representatives of a deceased’s estate
• Dissolution of trusts and distribution of trust property

• PgDip Bar Vocational Studies, City, University of London (Distinction)
• LLM International Commercial Law and ADR, University of Ulster (Distinction)
• Level 3 Mediation Theory and Practice, Mediation Northern Ireland
• MLaw Law, Queen’s University Belfast (Commendation)
• Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership, Queen’s University Belfast/Chartered Management Institute
• MA Hons Business and Finance, University of Edinburgh (Upper Second-Class Honours)

• The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
• Northern Circuit
• The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)

• Exhibition Scholarship, Clothier Scholarship (awarded to one of the top 18 Exhibition Scholars), and Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award from The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

• Case Note: RTI Ltd V MUR Shipping BV [2024] UKSC 18
  Can reasonable endeavours which avoid/overcome a force majeure event include a requirement to accept an offer of non-contractual performance?

• Case Analysis: Brierley v Otuo & Ors [2024] EWHC 2549 (Ch) with Pépin Aslett (Paywall applies)
  Recoverability of chargee’s costs of sale and enforcement

• Case Analysis: URE Energy Ltd v Notting Hill Genesis [2024] EWHC 2537 (Comm) with Pépin Aslett (Paywall applies)
  Sufficiency of knowledge of a right to enable its waiver