Litigation and appellate counsel, in practice since 1978
We are a litigation firm and nothing else. Clients come to us when a dispute has stopped being a commercial inconvenience and started being an existential one, and they come to us early, which is when the outcome is still ours to decide.
The firm
Ashcroft and Vane was founded on a narrow idea: that a firm which only litigates will always be better at litigating than a firm which also does everything else. Forty seven years later we still take no transactional work, we still put a partner on every matter, and we still prepare every case as though it is going to trial, which is precisely why most of them never do.
Practice areas
Contract failures, partnership breakdowns and shareholder disputes, argued for the party who has to keep trading while it runs.
Claims against and on behalf of professionals, where the record is long, technical, and decided by the detail nobody else read.
Restrictive covenants, executive exits and whistleblowing matters handled quietly first and forcefully if quiet does not work.
A dedicated appellate bench that is brought in before trial, so the record is built to survive the appeal that follows a win.
Investigations, enforcement and internal inquiries, from the first document request to the last day of a hearing.
Recovery actions, director claims and contested administrations, where speed decides how much is left to argue about.
Results
Figures below are firm totals across the last ten years of practice. Individual matters are not identified, and no outcome here should be read as a promise about yours.
An eight figure supply dispute settled in eleven weeks
A manufacturer facing a contract claim that threatened its lending covenants. We opened with an injunction, forced disclosure early, and settled on our client's terms before the first case management hearing.
Firm matter, reported without identifying the parties
Who will act for you
Every matter is staffed by role, and every role is filled before the first conference. You will know who is arguing it, who is protecting the record, and who is reading the documents, on the day you instruct us.
First chair in the courtroom. Owns the theory of the case from the first conference and argues it to the last day of trial.
Twenty two years at the bar, on average, across the trial benchSits behind the trial team from the start, protecting the record so a verdict holds when the other side takes it upstairs.
Instructed on every matter over eight figuresLawyers and forensic analysts who read every page. Most of our wins were found in a document the other side produced.
In house forensic and document review teamOne partner who returns your call, tells you what it will cost, and tells you when settling is the smarter answer.
One partner per client, for the life of the matter“They told us on the first call what the case was worth and what it would cost. Both numbers were right.”
Verified client review
“Our previous firm gave us options. Ashcroft and Vane gave us an answer, and then they were correct.”
Verified client review
“The other side settled the week after disclosure. Our counsel had told us in March that they would.”
Verified client review
Consultation
The first consultation is an hour, it is with a partner, and there is no fee for it. You will leave with a view on the merits, an estimate of what a fight would cost, and an honest answer about whether one is worth having.
Sending this form does not create a relationship of solicitor and client. Please do not send confidential material until we have confirmed that we are able to act.
