Alastair Gillespie

Alastair joined Forbes in April 2024. He is one of the country’s most experienced solicitors in the management of claims in the highly specialised and complex area of abuse and neglect.

Since 1994 Alastair has advised on the conduct of defences and related issues in a vast range of matters, from standalone claims by litigants in person to many of the largest group actions to have been pursued in England & Wales. Throughout the late 1990s and through to the 2010s he was heavily involved in both the North Wales and North West group actions, the outcomes of which were integral to the subsequent development of law and process in abuse claims. In 2020 Alastair guided Barclays Bank and its insurers to success in the Supreme Court on the fundamental question of vicarious liability for independent contractors. He also worked closely with the Independent Football Review in connection with the preparation of its report into abuse in professional football.

His clients include insurers, schools, charities, local authorities sporting clubs and other public and private organisations, both insured and uninsured.

As well as acting for a major insurer and a prominent industry organisation at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Alastair also appeared at IICSA as an expert witness in the defence of abuse claims on three separate occasions, giving evidence on key issues including the development of the current civil claims process, limitation and the likely impact of changes to the current regime.