2021 Housing Disrepair Conference

Gary Lewis, Cobden House Chambers, successfully completed his pupillage under the guidance of both Kevin Musaheb and Paul Whatley in the areas of Chancery, Commercial and Housing. He receives private instructions and publicly-funded work in respect of court appearances and paperwork (both contentious and non-contentious) on a range of matters including, amongst other things:

Louise Murphy’s career in social housing law began in 2003 when she represented tenants in all areas of housing law including anti-social behaviour, disrepair, homelessness, judicial review, possession, injunctions and committals. Louise qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and moved to become a Partner at a prominent legal aid firm, where she headed the housing department. She has a wealth of experience in the County Court and has previously been instructed by the Official Solicitor. Louise joined Knox Ellis, who are now part of MSB Solicitors, in July 2017 and is a Senior Associate who predominately deals with social housing disrepair.

Philip Nam is the sole director of White Collar Legal, a paralegal law firm that provides law firm consultancy, advocacy, mediation and costs drafting services to law firms, businesses and litigants in person across the country.

District Judge Sarah O’Brien

Nina Patel is a Director and Head of Housing & Welfare at Broudie Jackson Canter. She has a Diploma in Criminal Law and Justice from Leicester University and has now built her reputation as an acknowledged housing specialist, having dealt with many difficult and complex legal cases, particularly those arising from Mental Health or capacity issues. Nina joined Broudie Jackson Canter in 2001, having previously worked for the Public Defence Advocacy in Kentucky (USA) on appeals for defendants facing the death penalty.

David Walters commenced his career as an Articled Pupil in 1963. He qualified by examination as a Chartered Building Surveyor in 1970. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1981. The same year he undertook his first inspection with regard to Housing Disrepair and since that time he has undertaken several thousands of inspections with regard to Housing Disrepair and has seen the changes brought about in Legal Aid funding of cases and the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules and the Housing Disrepair Protocol. More recently he has seen an increase in the number of instructions to act as a Single Jointly Appointed Expert. David  continues to work as a Building Surveyor, undertaking Project Management duties for the repair and maintenance of property and continues to act as an Expert Witness.

Mathew Wilson, Principle Associate, Weightmans LLP qualified 13 years ago and has since worked exclusively within the Social Housing sector. He advises on all aspects of housing management but has a keen interest and extensive experience in housing disrepair claims. He has penned articles in many of the key sector publication on the topic of housing disrepair claims and manages the housing disrepair team at Weightmans. Matthew is also a member of the Property Litigation Association.