A seasoned litigator who successfully acted for Kevin Keegan in his ground-breaking multi-million pound constructive dismissal case against Newcastle United FC, and still counts him as a client, has joined Setfords London as a consultant.
John Newell specialises in commercial litigation and has handled numerous high value cases across a wide range of commercial sectors.
He has experience in advising in relation to contractual disputes, libel and privacy, insolvency, financial mis-selling, professional negligence, insurance, sports agencies, partnership, construction and development, and all aspects of real estate property.
John has represented a number of high-profile sporting figures including Mr Keegan, who was awarded £2million plus interest after an arbitration panel declared he was constructively dismissed by Newcastle United in 2008.
The former England coach left Newcastle after a player was signed on loan against his will. The arbitration panel said that even though it was not spelt out in Keegan’s contract, managers have the right to have a final say in transfers. At the time the ruling was said to have ramifications for English football.
John joins Setfords from Herbert Reeves and Co where he headed up the Dispute Resolution department. He continues to handle challenging cases and is currently dealing with a number of phone hacking claims against national newspapers.
John said: “Having worked within a traditional firm for 10 years I had built up a loyal client following and felt ready for the natural next step of setting up my own practice.
“Joining Setfords offered the opportunity of doing this without the need for me to deal with the usual regulatory, compliance and administrative burdens involved in setting up a firm, leaving me free to concentrate on offering personalised and focused legal advice to my clients.
“It also offers the potential for achieving an improved work-life balance and there is the obvious financial incentive of becoming a self-employed consultant. With most of my clients based in central London, having the option of holding meetings at Setfords Chancery Lane office was also a real draw.”
John’s work for Setfords will be wide-ranging with his experience extending into other areas including residential and commercial property (with experience in advising in relation to substantial rights of light disputes) and executive-level employment matters.
CEO Guy Setford said: “We are very pleased to have such an experienced litigator joining Setfords. John’s obvious talent is something we are keen to support and we are looking forward to offering him the backing he needs to grow his client-base.”
CEO Chris Setford added: “We have no doubt John will be a terrific success as a consultant, and will be able to offer his clients an even better, more dedicated service.”