Joanne Thompson

Joanne is a Partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team based in Cardiff, specialising in procurement challenges, public inquiries, commercial and contractual disputes, post-completion and corporate disputes, professional negligence and partnership disputes.

Main areas of practice

Joanne’s practice areas cover a wide range of commercial and contractual disputes including those relating to procurements, breaches of contract, professional negligence and breaches of post-termination restrictions including breaches of confidence.

Joanne also has experience in dealing with public inquiries work.

Joanne also advises on corporate disputes including disputes between directors and/or shareholders, disputes emanating from disposals and acquisitions (including warranty claims) and those involving the interpretation of Sale and Purchase Agreements.

Joanne advises on partnership law and has dealt with claims based on Partnership Agreements and those pursuant to the Partnership Act 1890.

Clients

Joanne deals with both private sector and public sector clients.

Significant experience

Procurement Litigation

• Advising a contracting authority on the use of the direct award route and notification obligations pursuant to the Procurement Act 2023.
• Advising commissioners on challenges received to competitive processes carried out pursuant to The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
• Acting on behalf of a county council in defending a procurement challenge brought by an unsuccessful bidder which alleged various breaches of procurement law in its decision to award a MIS contract.
• Circle Nottingham Ltd v NHS Rushcliffe CCG – acting on behalf of Circle in bringing a procurement challenge to a decision by NHS Rushcliffe to award the provision of treatment centre services to another provider. Dealing with an application to lift the automatic suspension [2019] EWHC 1315 (TCC) in which the Court considered arguments on reputational damage. The claim raised breaches of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, state aid issues and manifest errors in relation to scoring of tender submissions as well as deciding issues around the use of expert evidence [2019] EWHC 2358 (TCC), [2019] EWHC 3635 (TCC).
• Successfully defending NHS England in a £1bn procurement challenge brought to its largest ever medicines procurement involving the supply of Hepatitis C (AbbVie Limited –v- NHS Commissioning Board (operating under the name of NHS England) [2019] EWHC 61 (TCC). To include advising on issues such as confidentiality rings and undertakings, information barriers, specific disclosure applications, speedy trials and the use of expert evidence.
• Working on behalf of an educational provider on a procurement challenge brought in relation to its tender submission for SEND services.
• Advising the Welsh Government on a procurement challenge issued by an unsuccessful economic operator. To include dealing with freedom of information requests, confidentiality of third party documents, forensic accountancy expert evidence, security for costs and specific disclosure applications within the proceedings. Ultimately achieving settlement via mediation.
• Advising a global diagnostics provider on its rights and protection of its confidential information in relation to a procurement challenge issued by an unsuccessful bidder against the contracting authority. To include dealing with confidentiality rings, applications for specific disclosure and disclosure issues generally. The claim involved working with four other sets of solicitors within the proceedings together with their leading counsels.
• Advising a charitable organisation on procurement issues arising following notice of termination being served on its sub-contractors including issues involving Regulation 72.
• Advising an SME on a contracting authority’s decision to firstly award and then subsequently expel it from a procurement process.
• Advising clients on a variety of contractual and procurement issues arising from frameworks, procured contracts or call-offs.

Public Inquiries

• Acting on behalf of NHS England in the Covid-19 public inquiry.
• Acting on behalf of NHS England in the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Commercial disputes

• Advising a number of clients on their IT contracts with suppliers based upon issues arising during the contract term.
• Advising an entrepreneur in relation to a claim issued against him personally by a minority shareholder of a company in which they are both shareholders. Defending allegations of procuring a breach of contract, knowing receipt, breaches of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to injure. Defending the proceedings and ultimately securing settlement on commercially confidential terms acceptable to the client.
• Successfully acting on behalf of a national company in relation to breaches of confidence and non-compete clauses committed by the sub-contractor of a business which had been acquired. Successfully obtaining injunctive relief and obtaining successful Judgment following a speedy trial. Subsequently, successfully defending the appeal by the sub-contractor in the Court of Appeal.
• Advising a national utility company in relation to multi-utility infrastructure provided at a residential site where payment for such works had been withheld on grounds of delay.
• Advising a global IT provider on several IT disputes emanating from a contract with its subcontractors, including the scope of services, integration issues, contract interpretation, breaches of contract and of warranty.
• Advising an Indian manufacturing company on a contract with a US customer for the provision of car parts to it and implications of the position following termination of that agreement. To include issuing an arbitration claim in the ICC in New York.
• Advising a business on its seven figure claims for breach of contract and subsequently professional negligence.
• Successfully acting on behalf of a charitable organisation to recover monies fraudulently stolen by a former employee; to include professional negligence proceedings against its former accountants.
• Advising a national company on post-completion disputes, including breaches of confidence and non-compete clauses committed by former directors and employees.
• Advising a number of clients on breach of warranty claims and notification requirements.
• Advising a client on her liability to creditors following the liquidation of a company of which she was a director, including one creditor that had allegedly forged her signature on a personal guarantee; achieving a discontinuance of the proceedings against her.
• Successfully acting on behalf of a client in proceedings brought against a national company and worldwide manufacturer in relation to the sale of a defective vehicle.
• Advising a client on recoverability of its property from customers, to include the issue of injunctive proceedings.
• Advising a number of clients on partnership disputes, termination of the partnership and post-partnership obligations.
• Advising shareholders in a dispute with a former director and shareholder regarding the return of shares following his departure from the Company.
• Advising a company on a former shareholder’s demand for repayment of a directors’ loan and on the company’s counterclaim/set-off for inadequate professional

Expertise & Services

• Litigation & Dispute Resolution
• Public Procurement
• Professional Negligence
• Healthcare Dispute Resolution
• Commercial Disputes
• Employee Non-Compete and Confidentiality
• Corporate & Shareholder Disputes

Joanne Thompson is one of the top procurement litigators in the market; a genuine specialist in the challenging field of procurement litigation.

Career

Joanne is a Partner and has been with the firm since 2000 having completed her training contract and qualifying in 2002. She studied Law at the University of Bristol and subsequently completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of Wales Cardiff. Joanne was promoted to Partner in May 2020.