Merry Christmas!
This year our offices will close at 5.30pm on Monday 23rd December and reopen at 9:00am on Thursday 2nd January.
Please note the last day for completions in our Conveyancing Department will be Friday 20th December.
We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas, and best wishes for 2025.
Services For You
Financial advice and products are key to keeping family and business finances healthy. However, navigating the complex landscape of the financial services industry if things go wrong can be challenging, off-putting and at times, overwhelming.
Wards Solicitors’ James Taylor is a highly experienced financial services disputes specialist offering advice on a range of financial services matters. He has a proven track record of taking on large organisations including banks, mortgage and insurance companies on behalf of his clients.
James has been able to bring his wealth of experience to help people and businesses who have suffered the sometimes calamitous consequences of negligent financial advice.
This service isn’t just for the well-off but has resolved disputes about mortgages, re-mortgages and retirement plans – issues that make a real difference to peoples’ lives.
He has helped clients with mis-sold investments in Imperial Consolidated, Centrepointe Developments of Arizona, Harlequin Properties, Blue Water Mortgages Limited and Axiom Legal Financing Fund bringing claims against financial advisors, stockbrokers and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in respect of these and other failed investment schemes.
James can:
"Elizabeth was very, very good in dealing with my case and I could not have been better informed. Promptly responded to. Great service all round."
"Its been refreshing to deal with somebody as professional and efficient as yourself, especially your prompt communication throughout. These seem to be rare attributes these days."
"James dealt with matters very efficiently and empathetically and always answered telephone calls and queries the same day - excellent communication from him."
"Emma Kerry has been excellent in her communication both with myself and the opposing solicitor. I would thoroughly recommend her."
A member of the Financial Services Lawyers’ Association, the Employment Lawyers Association, the Property Litigation Association, James also trained as an accredited mediator with ADR Group, one of the largest dispute resolution service providers in the UK. He is a member of Clerksroom, a leading national provider of advocacy, advice and mediation services throughout England and Wales.
James works to ensure the best possible outcome for his clients including using mediation, negotiation, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and internal dispute resolution processes.
He says: “Litigation is a minefield but, if you involve an expert at the outset, the paths through it lead to resolution. Speaking to a solicitor avoids costly mistakes, the case being sidetracked down blind alleys and ensures you’re taken seriously. We can deliver outcomes that you might never have considered, maximise your chances of success by putting the case properly and succinctly, and ensure that you don’t bury the good bits under piles of bad. In short, we work to achieve resolution in a cost-effective way.”
John Virgo, of Guildhall Chambers, a leading specialist commercial barrister in financial services litigation, said: “I have worked with James on numerous cases in the financial services sector including a group action to recover losses suffered by investors – which arose from a series of investments in overseas properties in unregulated collective investment schemes – and the first ‘private person’ action against a high street bank arising out of the swaps mis-selling litigation.
“He has a detailed and impressive grasp of the detail of financial services law and regulation and is quite unflappable when dealing with aggressive opponents. He fights hard for his clients and pursues every avenue for recovery, whether by litigation, submission to the Financial Ombudsman Service or engaging with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. He’s a very safe pair of hands.”
Most people will need to take advice at some period in their lives on mortgages, investments or life insurance and other protection yet the regulatory structure and rules of the financial services sector are constantly changing creating a challenging environment.
The provision of consumer financial advice in the UK is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which imposes strict conduct of business rules governing how advice is provided, by who, about what and to whom.
These rules change from time to time as financial needs and risks change along with the economy, new opportunities and new investment products.
If you believe that you have been the victim of unsuitable, negligent or misleading financial advice please contact James Taylor, part of Wards Solicitors Disputes Team and Business Disputes Team, for help and guidance on where to begin to get your finances back on track.
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