James Poole

James is regularly recommended for the quality of his legal analysis, his persuasive advocacy in court, the practicality of his advice, and his sensitive and responsive interaction with clients.

He is ranked by Legal 500 for both Private Client: Trusts and Probate and Property Litigation, and by Chambers & Partners and Chambers HNW for his Traditional Chancery practice. His inter-disciplinary expertise means that much of his work concerns disputes involving multiple areas of law. This is reflected in some of his recent reported decisions, which include: Gohil v Kumara [2023] EWHC 1809 (Ch), Abdelnoor v Barker [2022] EWHC 1468 (Ch),Ware v Ware [2021] EWHC 694 (Ch) and Fantini v Scrutton [2020] EWHC 1552 (Ch).

James’ busy practice spans a number of Chambers’ key practice areas, and particularly focuses on:

• Probate, inheritance and trust disputes, including 1975 Act claims, trustee/executor removal and TLATA claims;
• Landlord and Tenant issues, both residential and commercial, including pubs and licensed premises;
• Property, including covenants, easements, nuisance and boundary disputes;
• Court of Protection applications, particularly concerning Property and Affairs;
• Charity law, including advising charitable trustees and disputes over charity property; and
• Commercial and contractual disputes, including arbitrations and interim applications such as freezing injunctions.

James is a skilled and highly effective advocate, who appears regularly in the High Court and County Courts. He also has significant experience of offshore litigation, particularly in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

James is (with Sidney Ross) one of the authors of the Fifth Edition of Ross on Inheritance Act Claims.

Before coming to the Bar, James taught at secondary and tertiary level in England and Vanuatu, and is equally comfortable being instructed in both English and Bislama.

James is also a qualified and experienced mediator, and welcomes instructions as a mediator in any of the areas in which he practices.

Property

James has substantial experience in Property and property-related matters. His practice spans both real property and landlord & tenant disputes, and his experience in other areas (particularly trusts and probate) means that he is regularly instructed on behalf of landlords, tenants, trustees and beneficiaries. He has particular expertise in TOLATA claims, including claims for orders for sale and for occupation rent.

Recent highlights include:

• Stenner v Haigh and ors [2020] EWHC (Ch): acting on behalf of trustees in a claim seeking injunctive relief and damages for nuisance, in a dispute concerning drainage rights. Successfully obtained interim injunction to prevent continuation of interference with clients’ land.
• Rahbarpoor & or v Suliman & ors [2020] EWHC (Ch): successfully acted for the Respondent, in a case which reaffirmed the blanket nature of the stay on possession proceedings, and gave guidance as to the correct interpretation of the new CPR 55.29
• R v W: ongoing dispute concening the authority of LPA Receivers, and the test for bringing Part 20 proceedings against solicitors instructed by the Receivers for acting in breach of warranty of authority.
• Robinson v Robinson [2018] EWHC (Ch), a three day high court trial involving disputes over the development, sale and trusteeship of valuable agricultural land in Cambridgeshire held in two separate trusts.
• Advising and acting in various cases involving the interpretation of restrictive covenants
• TOLATA claims by both beneficiaries and trustees, including claims for occupation rent.
• Commercial property claims involving service charge disputes and breach of covenants; James is regularly instructed on behalf of one of Britain’s largest breweries to deal with the landlord and tenant issues arising from the 1000+ pubs they own.
• Residential property claims, variously involving: complex offshore ownership arrangements, disrepair, unlawful eviction, rent arrears and conversion.
• Numerous boundary disputes and party wall disputes.
• Advising and acting in possession claims against both tenants and licensees, including tenants of charitable trusts and licensees of Almhouse charities.