David Beadel

Consultant
T: +44 (0)1752 526005
F: +44 (0)1752 526205
d.beadel@ashfords.co.uk

David is a Consultant at the firm and a former President of the Plymouth Law Society, and has been a Partner in Ashfords and its predecessor firm, Bevan Ashford, since 1978. He is an accredited mediator with ADR Group and receives appointments to act as mediator in a wide range of commercial and private disputes.

David has a broad range of experience in all aspects of contentious work. In the past this has included personal injury, property litigation, construction litigation and family law but, since the early nineteen-nineties, his area of practice concentrated on commercial litigation, involving primarily professional negligence claims and partnership and shareholder disputes. More recently he has developed a niche practice, providing advice to clients in defamation and privacy law and reputation management.

David advises companies, individuals and clients from both the public and private sectors.   He has represented a number of well known sporting personalities on reputation management issues and has brought successful claims on their behalves against tabloid newspapers.

As part of the mediation service offered, David travels throughout the United Kingdom to mediation venues suitable for the parties.   He has mediated in the Channel Islands, Birmingham and London as well as the South West.   Ashfords office premises are offered to parties and are ideal venues for mediation.   This is particularly so in relation to the Exeter and Taunton offices which are conveniently located adjacent to the M5 Motorway and therefore easily accessible.   All offices ( Bristol , Taunton , Exeter , Plymouth and London ) provide first class mediation facilities and IT Support.

Relevant experience includes:

• Mediating claims for professional negligence arising out of "toxic" lending;
• Resolving through mediation a multi-million pound claim for professional negligence against solicitors arising from a compulsory purchase compensation claim; and
• Acting as a mediator in a wide range of disputes, including property and construction disputes, personal injury claims, inheritance claims, partnership (including solicitors' partnership) disputes, company and shareholder disputes, contractual claims and disputes over professional fees.
  

Singled out in successive editions of the Legal 500 as bringing "a calm and capable hand to a wide range of commercial disputes" and as " a particularly strong choice for media-related disputes, including defamation claims", David is acknowledged for his commercial awareness and inter-personal skills .