What can I do for you?
I specialise in resolving commercial disputes with the aim of preventing my clients getting embroiled in lengthy and costly proceedings. I am used to dealing with high value and complex disputes, particularly with an international element. My particular areas of expertise are product liability, breach of warranty and shareholder disputes. My work includes helping clients as varied as a global oil company to The Law Society.
Supporting my clients’ aims
One of the cases that I am most proud of is acting for a chemical company in defending a multimillion-pound claim arising out of an alleged breach of contract. Immediate action had to be taken to preserve my client’s position on limitation against its German joint venture partners. With limited time available, we managed to issue and serve the joint venture partners in Germany and then persuade the claimant to agree to stay the proceedings, in order that we could bring the other parties and their insurers into the negotiation. At mediation, the German joint venture partners agreed to indemnify my client against all claims brought by the claimant and pay my client’s legal costs.
What do others say?
As leader of our Birmingham team, I like the quote from Chambers UK, which states that “… the Birmingham team really stands out in the dispute resolution field.” I also have two favourite client quotes, one from a senior legal counsel at a FTSE 100 company who wrote: “I would not wish to embark on a general commercial/tortuous dispute without Steve Allen leading my team” and another from a commercial client who wrote: “I feel that your work for us on this case has been exceptional – even by your own high standards.”
I was also named "International Solicitor of the Year" at the Birmingham Law Society Awards in 2010. The citation stated that I had impressed the judges with my "considerable achievements in international work as well as extensive external involvement."
What else should you know?
I am a director of the British-American Business Council (BABC) in the Midlands and currently serve as the UK’s representative on the BABC’s Executive Committee in New York. I also sat on the Planning Committee for the London 2007 Fall Meeting of the American Bar Association. I am also a member of the International Trade Committee of the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce.