Professional services group Gateley has appointed two partners to form a collective actions practice as part of its continued expansion.
Chaya Hanoomanjee, former Head of the collective actions practice at Slater & Gordon, and Alicia Theuma, former Principal Lawyer from the same team, bring extensive experience in complex group litigation and litigation financing to Gateley, having led many high-profile claims at Slater & Gordon, including the landmark dieselgate litigation.
“I am delighted to welcome Chaya and Alicia, who together bring more than two decades of litigation, investigation and proven niche experience of collective actions to Gateley,” said Richard Healey, Partner and Head of Gateley’s Business Services Platform.
“As a full-service business, Gateley’s creation of a collective actions practice is a natural move for us. We are forward-thinking and can see a gap in the market for a collective actions practice that puts clients first and combines the best legal and commercial expertise in this area. This new practice will allow us to extend Gateley’s offering to a wider range of people and provide further evidence of how we continue to deliver results that delight our clients.”
Chaya Hanoomanjee, who has joined Gateley to spearhead this new practice, also has experience of being on the defendant side of this type of litigation and of working in litigation funding.
“With improvements in technology and access to flexible funding arrangements, collective actions are becoming more popular routes to justice for consumers and corporates alike”, Chaya said. “It is important to recognise that, apart from deep litigation expertise, achieving the best outcome for clients in this area requires investment in sophisticated technology and the ability to work through complex cost and funding mechanisms."
“Gateley’s new practice will be unique in combining all these elements to achieve meaningful outcomes for diverse groups of clients. We have the appetite to pursue the most challenging cases if we believe there has been injustice.”
Alicia Theuma was a lead solicitor in a high-profile emissions claim against a vehicle manufacturer, which recently won Lexis Nexis Case of the Year. Alicia has specialised in complex group litigation for the past 10 years, with areas of practice spanning international, emissions, environmental, product liability and serious injury.
Alicia added: “Collective actions are a rapidly developing area with many new and inexperienced entrants to the UK market. It is a critical time to launch a specialist team with individuals who have niche expertise in this area, and to use our combined experience to challenge and shape of the group litigation regime in the UK.
“Having worked with Chaya for a number of years, I am excited by the opportunity to build a forward-thinking collective actions practice that adds to the diverse legal expertise that Gateley already offers its clients.”