Richard Nolan

Richard has been a partner in the commercial team and head of commercial dispute resolution nationally at Hempsons since 2008. Hempsons is a leading law firm for the health and social care, life sciences, charity and social enterprise sectors and helps clients overcome a constantly evolving list of challenges. 

Richard’s practice comprises a broad mix of non contentious and contentious commercial law and dispute resolution. The public sector work undertaken in this area is often of high value, complex and attract public interest. He has c.10 years experience of providing advice to public bodies, companies, charities and social enterprises engaged in the health sector on non contentious and contentious issues, including major projects.  

Richard qualified as a solicitor at a leading banking and international law firm in the London in 1992 and has more than 25 years experience of commercial dispute resolution, including in-house experience on secondment at Royal Life Holdings and NatWest respectively. On qualification he moved to Yorkshire to join a national law firm, and from 2001 onwards has been a partner at leading regional and national law firms. 

Richard was accredited as a mediator with ADR Group in the early 1990s, and qualified as a CEDR accredited mediator in early 2017. He has been involved in 100+ commercial mediations, primarily as legal representative, on a broad range of disputes with values as high as £550,000,000. These have included structurally large and legally complex mediations acting for associations comprising 100+ claimant commercial provider organisations in dispute with public sector commissioners of health and social care services. 

Main areas of expertise

• NHS public health and social care
• public procurement, tendering law, and procurement challenges
• commercial contracts
• NHS commissioning and contracting – including NHS Standard Contracts and terms and conditions and an extensive rage associated disputes between NHS commissioners and public and private sector providers
• public sector projects – including energy contracts and CHP
• Estoppel, restitution and unjust enrichment
• banking, insolvency and financial services
• NHS regulatory
• construction and engineering – including JCT, NEC3 and Procure 21 and 21+
• professional negligence – including lawyers, accountants, surveyors, architects, project managers, engineers and others
• charity law
• information and communication technology
• intellectual property disputes
• sale and supply of goods and services
• breach of warranty, misrepresentation and negligent misstatement
• shareholder and partnership disputes
• solicitors regulatory – including Law Society interventions, asset tracing and proprietary claims
• employment and workplace disputes – including enforceability of covenants and economic torts
• Sports law – including disputes between players and agents
• manufacturing and product liability
• insurance
• tax – including contract of services or contract for services, incorrect VAT, and experience of HMRC ADR and mediation
• fraud and asset tracing
• reputation management and defamation

Career history

2008 to present – Hempsons, partner in company commercial and head of commercial dispute resolution

2001 to 2008 – partner, Gordons (incorporating ‘Nelson & Co’ where he was head of commercial dispute resolution) before joining Lupton Fawcett LLP as an owner and director

1992 to 2001 – Hammond Suddards Edge (now ‘Squire Patton Boggs’)

1990-1992 – Wilde Sapte (now ‘Dentons’) – trainee solicitor

Professional qualifications and affiliations

2017 – CEDR accredited mediator

2015 – ordained priest in the Church of England

2014 – ordained curate in the Church of England

Early 90s – ADR Group accredited mediator

The clients he works with

• Foundation trusts
• CSUs
• CCGs
• charities and social enterprises
• corporates
• partnerships
• NHS trusts

“Richard Nolan is experienced in both non-contentious work and dispute resolution. He offers ‘consistent high-quality and timely advice’ to his clients.” (Chambers 2012)