Shackleton: PHB enormously proud of her work
Top family law firm Payne Hicks Beach (PHB) has expressed itself “pleased but not surprised” by the decision of a high-profile former client to drop her negligence action against it.
Tatiana Soroka, who in 2016 secured what was then the UK’s largest ever divorce award, made the decision soon after the High Court refused her application for a split trial.
As Tatiana Akhmedova, she was advised by PHB in obtaining a financial remedy order (FRO) in 2016 that required her ex-husband, Russian businessman Farkhad Akhmedov, to pay her £453m.
Mr Akhmedov did not willingly comply and Ms Soroka sought enforcement in various jurisdictions, backed by litigation funding. Eventually, in July 2021, the pair agreed a settlement, of which the funder, Burford Capital, received around £75m.
Her claim concerned a period in early 2017 when Mr Akhmedov’s $200m superyacht, the Luna, was docked in Miami.
Ms Soroka alleged that PHB was negligent in failing to advise her that she could and should take steps to enforce the FRO against the Luna at that time.
Had this happened, she said, she would have achieved an earlier and/or better settlement, and/or would not have incurred the same level of costs that she did by the time she reached the settlement.
PHB, however, said Ms Soroka gave express instructions that she was not interested in impounding the Luna.
In a statement, PHB said: “We are pleased but not surprised that Ms Soroka has withdrawn her claim and served a notice of discontinuance. She will receive no payment from us, and she has to pay the substantial costs we have incurred in this matter.
“We have said from the outset that her claim was baseless and should never have been pursued. Ms Soroka’s decision to withdraw her claim now is a complete vindication of our position.
“Payne Hicks Beach is enormously proud of the work undertaken by Baroness Shackleton and her outstanding team, and of what they achieve for their clients. This is particularly true in respect of Ms Soroka, who received, at the time, the highest ever adjudicated financial award in a divorce case.”
PCB Byrne – in which Burford Capital has a minority stake – said: “Tatiana maintains her view that PHB were negligent in certain advice that was provided to her but decided that to protect her family, she wound not pursue her claim any further.”
