Joanna Smith

Practice

Joanna’s practice encompasses a broad range of commercial/business litigation and advice. She has experience in the fields of professional liability, commercial chancery, construction, employment, insurance, arbitration and regulatory work.

Professional Liability

Joanna’s experience in dealing with claims of professional liability is extensive. She acts on both sides in disputes concerning a wide variety of different professionals, including solicitors, barristers, accountants, actuaries, financial advisers, structural engineers, valuers, surveyors, architects and contract administrators. By way of example, Joanna has recently been involved in:

- a multi-million pound claim by Mclaren against a city firm for the alleged negligent drafting of an option Agreement

- a substantial adjudication concerning the alleged negligence of a leading firm of architects in the multi-million pound fit-out of a building in the city;

- a trial (on behalf of the successful defendant) in what is believed to be the first reported professional negligence claim against an actuary (Precis (521) Plc v William Mercer Limited). This subsequently went to the Court of Appeal.

- Wates v HGP (acting for the Defendant architect) in which indemnity costs were awarded to the Defendant from the date on which it should have been clear to the Claimant (by reference to its expert evidence) that it could not pursue its claim (which it abandoned on the first day of trial).

- a substantial case involving the alleged vicarious liability of solicitors for the alledgedly fraudulent and negligent acts of a former partner;

- a multi-million pound action by the Environment Agency against a firm of hydraulic engineers in respect of a flood alleviation scheme, which, amongst many other things, involved applications for pre-action disclosure by the Defendants (for whom Joanna acted) against potential third parties.

- a substantial claim against a solicitor purporting to provide advice as to tax planning;

- a substantial claim against architects providing advice as to urban town planning and the development of a Site for the purposes of Social Housing.

Professional Regulation

Joanna’s professional negligence practice has also led her to become involved in regulatory work, most recently acting in cases involving veterinary surgeons, barristers and actuaries. In addition to appearing before regulatory committees, Joanna has represented the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on three separate occasions on appeals to the Privy Council (including the case of Tait v Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), an experience she has very much enjoyed.

General Commercial

Joanna advises and appears in mainstream commercial/chancery litigation on a regular basis. However, she has also developed a niche in dealing with contractual disputes of a particularly technical nature, often involving several experts and requiring resolution in the Technology and Construction Court. By way of example, she has recently appeared there in disputes concerning the supply of a pan-european fibre-optic telecommunications network (Viatel v Easynet), the alleged failure of a cathodic protection system in a swimming pool and the collapse of a warehouse roof.

Employment

Joanna additionally has experience of advising in employment disputes and appearing in the Employment Tribunal and the EAT. Her employment experience has proved useful at Wilberforce Chambers, where she has worked in the pensions field on various cases raising employment-related issues, including AGCO v Massey Ferguson Pension Trustees (CA) 2003.

Dispute Resolution

Joanna is regularly instructed to act in other forms of dispute resolution. She has considerable experience of drafting mediation statements and acting in mediations and has very recently represented clients at a number of successful mediations. She has also acted in arbitrations (most recently a multi-million pound ICC arbitration on behalf of Italian clients in Paris), adjudications and expert determinations (most recently on behalf of London Underground in a highly technical dispute concerning capacity of the Jubilee Line Extension).

Memberships and Seminars

Joanna is a member of the Professional Negligence Bar Association, COMBAR and the Chancery Bar Association. She is also a member of the Bar Pro Bono Panel and a panel member of the Barristers Complaints Advisory Service.

Joanna regularly speaks at legal conferences and seminars.

Mediations

Joanna is an accredited mediator. This is an area of her practice that she is keen to expand.

Professional Reputation

Joanna is recommended in the Legal 500 for professional negligence and commercial litigation.

Recent editions of the directory have described her as “phenomenally good”, "particularly highly recommended" and "gaining impressive reputation in the market" .