Vondez Phipps

Introduction

Vondez has a broad civil practice, covering four core areas: Business, Property, Negligence and Employment matters. He has a busy paper-based practice and regularly appears before County Courts, the Companies Court, Employment Tribunals and has appeared in the High Court as sole counsel. Vondez is regularly instructed by small and medium enterprises, commercial and residential landlords, local authorities and individuals.

Vondez is known for his detailed knowledge of the law, forensic case preparation and sensible and practical advice to clients. He has been described by a high court judge as an “extremely impressive” advocate who “has a strong future at the Bar”.

Business Law

Contractual Disputes

Vondez is experienced in business-to-business and business-to-consumer contractual disputes, and is frequently instructed to advise, draft pleadings and represent clients in matters involving:

Complex issues of construction of contractual documents;
Formation of contracts, including acceptance by conduct;
Commercial and other agents, including claims for commissions;
Misrepresentation;
Unfair terms in consumer contracts, and Consumer Rights Act claims;
Sale of goods and supply of services;
Jurisdictional issues;
Guarantees; and
Multiple remedies, including specific performance and injunctions;

Company and Partnership

Vondez’s practice encompasses matters involving alleged breaches of fiduciary or statutory duties by directors, shareholder rights and remedies, the disqualification of directors, and the restoration of companies to the Register of Companies.

Debt and Insolvency

Vondez regularly appears in the Companies Court and County Courts, representing clients in debt-related and corporate insolvency and individual bankruptcy matters. He regularly advises, drafts pleadings and represents clients in matters involving:

Money claims;
Winding-up and bankruptcy petitions, including restraining the presentation of a petition based on disputed debts in statutory demands;
Mortgage possessions;
Debt recovery by way of charging orders and orders for sale;
Enforcement issues, including applications for committal.

Banking and Finance

Vondez is currently on a long-running instruction assisting the Dame Linda Dobbs Review considering whether the issues relating to the HBOS Reading scandal were investigated and appropriately reported to authorities at the time by Lloyds Banking Group, following its acquisition of HBOS.

Property Law

Landlord & Tenant

Vondez represents both commercial and residential landlords and tenants, and frequently advises and drafts pleadings in matters involving:

Possession, including claims against trespassers;
Rent arrears, including recovery of ground rent;
Disrepair;
Breach of covenant and Forfeiture;
Tenancies at will; and
Assured Shorthold Tenancies, and section 21 notices.

Housing

Vondez also represents social landlords, including several London Borough Councils in their housing matters, including matters involving:

Possession and Eviction;
Succession claims;
Anti-social behaviour and trespass; and
Environmental Protection Act prosecutions, representing Local Authority tenants.

Negligence Law

Personal Injury

Vondez is regularly instructed in claims arising out of road traffic accidents, including fast-track personal injury claims. He advises on liability and quantum in a range of personal injury claims, including infant settlement approvals and claims under the Highways Act. He accepts instructions on the basis of conditional fee agreements, if appropriate.

Professional Negligence

Vondez also advises, drafts pleadings and represents clients on matters including allegations of professional negligence.

Employment Law

Vondez acts for both respondents and claimants in interim hearings and multi-day Tribunal trials in matters involving claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, unpaid wages and other breach of contract claims.

Recent cases

PP (A Company) v TC (A Company)– Representing the Claimant in a contractual dispute arising out of reparative construction works.
K (A Company) v BB (A Company) – Appeal against an order refusing to set aside default judgment in a contractual dispute claim.
P v PL, NL – Recovering rent arrears by way of a Final Charging Order in a case involving allegations of fraud and severance of a joint tenancy.
RB (A London Borough) v AH – Representing a local authority in a long-running possession claim and appeal, raising issues of mental capacity and contemporaneous medical evidence.

Chambers are delighted to welcome Vondez Phipps and Jennifer Youngs as full tenants of Chambers

We are delighted to welcome Vondez Phipps and Jennifer Youngs as full tenants of Chambers on 1st October following successful completion of their pupillage. We wish them a very successful career at the Bar.

Published: 6th Oct 2017