JOHN HUGHES

John Hughes holds a B.A. degree and an LL.B. (law) degree. He qualified with honours as a Solicitor in 1970. He has always specialised in public and local authority law, with particular emphasis on planning and development work.

John was articled as a Solicitor in local government. He worked at local authorities in the West Midlands before being appointed Solicitor to Kingswood Borough Council in Avon where he was responsible for managing all the Council's legal work. In 1990 he moved into private practice, having been recruited by Pinsent & Co (now Pinsent Masons) a leading commercial firm of Solicitors to provide specialist expertise in planning and compulsory purchase and other areas of public law to the Black Country Development Corporation and local authorities and large corporate clients.

In 2000 John made the decision to establish his own practice with the aim of providing a specialist service in these areas of law, with the advantages that such a practice can offer in terms of personal service and lower costs. This philosophy has proved to be justified as the firm, having initially had just three clients, now has a client list approaching 500, ranging from public authorities, building and development firms, small/medium enterprises carrying out all types of business, to individual householders.

John Hughes has written and lectured extensively on planning, compulsory purchase and other topics. He was a consultee in the Government's review of compulsory purchase law and submitted representations on behalf of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce on the Government's planning reforms. He is interested in regeneration and is a member of the British Urban Regeneration Association ("BURA"). John is a member of the Council of Birmingham Law Society and sits on various of its committees. He was voted "Sole Practitioner of the Year" by his peers in the West Midlands legal fraternity at the Birmingham Law Society's Awards of 2004.

MATTHEW BARRETT

Matthew Barrett is an Associate of the firm. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1980 having previously obtained a London University Law Degree (LL.B) (Hons Lond). Articled at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, he has spent a long career in Local Government specialising throughout in all areas of planning and public regulatory law. He headed the Planning Law Section at Wycombe District Council from 1989. He was from 2001 until the end of 2004 the Legal Services Manager for Cannock Chase District Council in Staffordshire, responsible for managing the Council's legal work.

Matthew has a wide experience of planning matters, having handled everything from small-scale residential developments, through to town centre redevelopments and major infrastructure projects. He also has extensive experience of dealing with enforcement matters of all sorts for both public corporations and private clients. He is an experienced advocate, having appeared at many public inquiries (including three Local Plan inquiries) and other hearings. Alongside this contentious work, Matthew has a wide experience of drafting planning and other agreements, both simple and complex.

Matthew has extensive experience before the Magistrates Court, both as prosecutor and representative of defendants, in a wide range of regulatory matters under planning, environmental, food safety and other legislation.

Matthew brings all these skills to The John Hughes Law Practice. He has also been uniquely placed to advise clients in licensing matters, having been instrumental in setting up the Cannock Chase Council's licensing procedures when alcohol licensing was transferred from the Magistrates to local authorities under the Licensing Act 2003.

COLIN CADMAN

Colin Cadman joined the firm as an Associate in 2005 to lead the property litigation side of the firm. His appointment reflects a large increase in the number of requests for assistance the firm receives in respect of boundary and party wall issues, building and construction disputes, and other problems affecting the development and use of land and property.

Colin Cadman read law at Cambridge University and trained at the leading London law firm of Herbert Smith. He was admitted as a Solicitor in 1984. He subsequently worked at well-known commercial firms in London and Birmingham. He was Head of Commercial Litigation at Bray & Bray in Leicester from 1995 - 2005.

Colin is a vastly experienced litigator, who has handled a wide range of property and commercial disputes, from boundaries and rights of way to commercial landlord and tenant issues, and building and construction contracts. Colin acts for both claimants and defendants, whether corporate clients or private individuals.

Colin is also experienced in dealing with claims of professional negligence. It is often a complaint of clients when things go wrong that the Solicitor or Surveyor or other professional did not exercise a sufficient degree of skill or care. In one case, for example, Colin acted for a vendor of a country property which was to be converted into retirement flats. The client was dismayed to find that, contrary to her instructions, the contract negotiated by her then Solicitor provided a "get-out" clause for the buyer. When the deal fell through, Colin was able to obtain significant compensation and costs on behalf of the vendor.

Colin's problem solving skills are key to dealing to achieving a successful outcome in property disputes. He emphasizes the need for potential litigants to consider alternative forms of dispute resolution such as mediation, which if the parties agree to it, can provide a quicker and cheaper outcome. He has acted in several successful mediations.

Colin sits on the Civil Litigation Committee of Birmingham Law Society. He is a member of the Law Society's Professional Negligence Panel and the Professional Negligence Lawyers' Association. He represents the firm on the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.