Ed Smith joined Levi Solicitors LLP in October 2014 as a trainee solicitor. He qualified into the dispute resolution department in 2015 and was made a partner in 2020. Ed deals mainly in commercial and property disputes, professional negligence matters and licensing issues.

Dispute resolution

Ed has expertise in commercial and residential property litigation. He acts for both commercial landlords and tenants in lease disputes, dilapidations claims and forfeiture actions. On the residential side, he can assist in matters such as boundary disputes, possession claims, nuisance issues and rights of way disputes.

Ed also acts for clients in relation to professional negligence. While Ed’s professional negligence work is mainly acting for claimants, he also has experience on working on cases on behalf of professional indemnity insurers of solicitors in defending professional negligence cases. Ed has recently taken the case of Stoffel & Co v Grondona to the Supreme Court.

Licensing

Ed is also an established licensing practitioner with over 10 years’ experience. He has acted for operators of licensed premises of all kinds. He appears before Licensing Sub-Committees and has been extremely successful in obtaining and protecting licences for all of his clients.

Ed acts as a primary contact for local authorities and police forces in respect of his clients’ licensed premises. He advises design companies and Premises Licence Holders in respect of investment projects and has guided clients on training programmes for staff. For larger PLCs, Ed is experienced in delivering large-scale projects and regularly offers urgent support to clients as and when unforeseen issues arise.

In his spare time Ed plays football, squash and golf. He is also a member of the Management Committee of Hyde Park Unity Day.