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Carlyn is an experienced commercial litigator and an astute tactician, described by the Legal 500 as a "superb litigator." Carlyn is best known for her work in shareholder and board disputes, injunctions and confidential information disputes. She has significant experience in training and developing junior lawyers.

Carlyn joined Ward Hadaway in June 2024, as a partner in Commercial Litigation. She brought with her almost 20 years of experience of working in Manchester, having represented hundreds of local, national and international clients.

Carlyn is known for her personal approach and perceptive nature. She majors at claims on behalf of businesses and / or company directors on a range of commercial claims, in particular:

  • corporate claims including shareholder, member and board disputes. Carlyn has particular expertise at handling sensitive owner-managed and family board disputes;
  • breach of confidentiality and restrictive covenants claims including applications for injunctive relief and reporting to boards on internal investigations following a breach. Carlyn has specific industry expertise in High Court injunctions and freezing orders, including but not limited to recruitment and insurance brokerages;
  • complex breach of contract claims, including trade disputes, supply of goods and services disputes and IT and technology disputes;
  • cyber litigation including third party recoveries following cyber-attacks and loss of funds;
  • complex debt claims; and
  • defamation claims.

Experience

Carlyn has significant experience acting for a range of clients including SMEs, company directors, large corporates, PLCs, public bodies and insurers. Her clients are across a diverse range of industries, including professional services, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, and healthcare. She provides efficient and effective legal services, ever-changing with the needs of clients and responsive to emerging new risks and cyber-threats on businesses.

She is often consulted to provide pre-emptive advice on managing commercial risks and provides training to clients on identifying contractual issues, preventing disputes and saving money.

Carlyn has been a qualified Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings) since 2013 and regularly represents clients as an advocate in the High Court. She has a Masters degree in advocacy (LLM) with distinction and has written several papers on mediation and advocacy. Carlyn authored an internal publication for Kennedys in 2018 called ‘The Key to Good Advocacy,’  used as a resource for advocacy and negotiation skills for national and international litigators. She has a particular interest in the efficiency and effectiveness of oral and written advocacy in interim applications before the High Court.

Carlyn was a speaker at the Legal 500 Commercial Litigation Summit in London in 2023. She discussed the practical and legal difficulties general counsel and senior management face, leading up to and during internal investigations and board disputes.

She is well-known in the North West of England for her dedication to the advancement and development of junior fee earners, drawing on her previous teaching experience. In 2005/2006, Carlyn was a Law Tutor at the University of Liverpool. She has guest lectured at various other universities including the University of Strathclyde. Carlyn’s previous role as an Early Careers Sponsor means she is adept in collaborating on the future of legal education. She has helped to devise training programmes for commercial lawyers, supporting many apprentices, trainees, junior and senior lawyers over the last two decades.

Carlyn is an experienced manager and senior lawyer as well as an advocate for innovation and modernisation of commercial practice.  She has a proven track record of recognising key trends in litigation and understanding the markets her clients operate in. In her previous role, Carlyn developed significant experience in cyber litigation. Carlyn successfully setup and managed Commercial Recoveries and Enforcement at a previous firm, working with insurers and private clients across the UK and internationally to recover complex losses and enforce judgments. Her Bad Debt Recovery Plan received a prize for being an innovative Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) solution. Carlyn often provides comment on the digitisation and technological developments of the courts.