Howes Percival gains major dispute resolution client

Howes Percival has scooped a prime London real estate contract for the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IRDC) ahead of City stalwarts.

The four-office regional firm will instruct on the centre’s move from its Chancery Lane headquarters to new premises on Fleet Street.
The IRDC is a world-renowned facility for mediation and arbitration hearings on both a dom-estic and an international scale, and the new site is intended to expand the organisation’s potential.

The building will also house the headquarters of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

The IDRC has historically used City firms, but the organisation’s director Damian Hickman was drawn to Howes Percival’s reputation for providing a level of service akin to that of a major City firm but without the hefty price tag. “With modern communications, it no longer matters where a firm is based,” he said.

The 75-lawyer firm’s offices are positioned strategically across a swathe of Middle England in Milton Keynes, Leicester, Northampton and Norwich, and collectively boast a turnover close to £20m.

Louis Flannery, a specialist in international and domestic commercial litigation and arbitration at Howes Percival, was instrumental in securing the contract with the IRDC, as he had previous experience with the organisation.

Flannery worked on the contract alongside commercial property specialist and fellow partner Siobhan Duff.