Ian Rees Phillips

Commercial

Ian acts in a wide range of commercial, corporate and chancery disputes before the County Court and High Court. His practice encompasses contractual disputes, shareholder and unfair prejudice petitions, partnership disputes, directors’ duties, breaches of fiduciary duty, contentious probate, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, trusts of land disputes, insolvency and commercial property disputes.

He has particular expertise advising companies, directors and shareholders on corporate governance and shareholder rights issues, including disputes concerning the ownership and control of companies, the exercise of directors’ powers, breaches of shareholders’ agreements, allegations of unfairly prejudicial conduct and disputes arising from family-owned and owner-managed businesses.

Ian is also regularly instructed in corporate and personal insolvency matters, including winding-up petitions, bankruptcy proceedings, administrators’ and liquidators’ applications, schemes of arrangement, restructuring matters, antecedent transaction claims, judgment enforcement, and disputes concerning the recovery of corporate and commercial debts.

He advises throughout the lifecycle of commercial disputes, from pre-action strategy through to trial, enforcement and appeal.

Employment

Ian represents both claimants and respondents in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal. He is instructed across the full spectrum of employment disputes, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of contract, unlawful deductions from wages, TUPE and restrictive covenant claims.

A significant part of his practice involves directors, LLP members, senior employees and professionals whose disputes frequently involve related commercial or shareholder issues. He is regularly instructed in cases involving complex jurisdictional questions, substantial loss claims, allegations of professional misconduct and disputes arising from the breakdown of business relationships.

Drawing upon his wider commercial practice, Ian is particularly well placed to advise where employment disputes overlap with company law, shareholder rights, fiduciary obligations or professional regulation.

Ian has a strong track record of securing successful outcomes at final hearing for both claimants and respondents across a broad range of employment disputes.

Environment

Ian has developed a substantial environmental law practice acting for local authorities, regulators, companies and private individuals. He regularly advises and appears in proceedings involving environmental permitting, waste regulation, reservoirs, contaminated land, nuisance, watercourse disputes, fly-tipping, littering, pollution incidents and environmental enforcement.

His practice encompasses both criminal and civil environmental matters, enabling him to advise upon the interaction between regulatory enforcement, public law obligations and private law remedies. He is frequently instructed in matters involving expert evidence and technically complex statutory schemes.

Ian’s environmental work frequently intersects with planning, land use and property disputes, allowing him to provide comprehensive advice on issues that extend beyond purely environmental regulation.

Inquests & Inquiries

Ian is instructed in coronial proceedings and public investigations involving regulatory, environmental and public authority issues. He assists interested persons, businesses and public bodies in navigating complex questions of causation, responsibility and compliance.

He provides advice and representation throughout the inquest process, including pre-inquest reviews, disclosure issues and substantive hearings. His wider experience in regulatory enforcement and environmental matters equips him to advise effectively where potential civil, regulatory or criminal consequences may arise from the matters under investigation.

Professional negligence

Ian acts for both claimants and defendants in professional negligence disputes involving solicitors, surveyors, accountants, property professionals and other advisers.

His experience includes claims arising from litigation conduct, property transactions, trust administration, construction, sales of vehicles and vessels, commercial advice and corporate affairs. He regularly advises upon questions of breach of duty, causation and loss and is instructed from the earliest stages of a dispute through to trial and appeal.

Ian is particularly well placed to advise where allegations of professional negligence arise alongside underlying commercial, company, property or planning disputes, requiring an understanding of the substantive field in which the advice was given.

Planning

Ian acts for developers, landowners, local planning authorities and interested parties in relation to planning enforcement, planning appeals, lawful development issues, section 106 obligations, tree protection and forestry regimes, and related public law matters.

A significant feature of his practice is the interaction between planning control and private property rights. He is frequently instructed in disputes where planning considerations overlap with ownership, land registration, easements, restrictive covenants, development agreements and commercial development interests.

Ian has extensive experience of criminal and civil planning enforcement proceedings and related litigation. His combined expertise in planning, property and regulatory law enables him to advise on issues that frequently span several specialist disciplines but arise from the same development project or parcel of land.

Property

Property disputes form a substantial part of Ian’s practice. He acts in a wide range of residential, commercial and development-related disputes involving title, land registration, easements, restrictive covenants, rights of way, nuisance, adverse possession, landlord and tenant issues, forfeiture and possession proceedings.

Ian is regularly instructed in disputes concerning trusts of land, beneficial ownership and applications under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, as well as inheritance and probate disputes involving real property. He frequently advises on claims where ownership issues intersect with family arrangements, trusts, succession disputes or company structures.

He is frequently instructed in disputes concerning development land, title irregularities, boundary issues and competing ownership claims requiring detailed analysis of historic conveyancing and Land Registry material.

He is particularly recognised for matters sitting at the intersection of property, planning and commercial law. His experience extends beyond conventional property litigation to cases requiring detailed knowledge of land registration, planning control, corporate structures and development arrangements.

Regulatory

Ian has a substantial regulatory practice and acts for both prosecuting authorities and defendants across a broad spectrum of regulatory proceedings. He is regularly instructed in matters involving environmental protection, planning enforcement, tree protection, housing regulation, licensing, consumer protection, product safety, trading standards, food safety and proceeds of crime.

Unlike many criminal practitioners whose regulatory practice derives principally from mainstream criminal work, Ian’s expertise has developed through extensive specialist experience in planning, environmental, property and local government law. This enables him to advise not only upon criminal enforcement proceedings themselves, but also upon the wider planning, property, land-use and commercial issues which frequently underpin regulatory action.

He regularly appears in the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, High Court and specialist tribunals, and is particularly sought after in cases where regulatory enforcement intersects with property rights, planning control, environmental regulation or commercial activity. He also has particular expertise in confiscation order proceedings and financial investigations arising from regulatory offending.

Appointments

• Appointed to the List of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law (List B)
• Lecturer, University College London, Bartlett School of Planning

Memberships

• Bar Pro Bono Unit
• Employment Bar Association
• South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess

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