City trio selects prime Heathrow site for specialist litigation practice

A specialist commercial litigation firm, Curtis Davis Garrard, will be opened this week in the unusual location of Heathrow's Terminal 4.

The practice's three partners, Simon Curtis, Mark Davis and Ian Garrard, said they felt they could offer a better service outside a City environment.

All three formerly worked for City firm Watson, Farley & Williams - Curtis and Davis were partners there until last week and Garrard left in 1994 to join Osborne Clarke as head of a commercial litigation team.

"Part of our frustration with large firms was the inflexibility of the cumbersome structure, which can hinder change and thereby prevent consistent service quality," said Garrard.

The partners said the Heathrow office offered lower overheads which means lower fees for clients, as well as greater accessibility. "The City, with its high rents and other associated costs, compels firms to charge rates which it will become increasingly hard to justify," said Davis.

The firm has pledged to remain highly specialised. "We have no intention of developing services which might blunt our focus," said Curtis.