Ellen La

Senior associate

Ellen is a senior associate and solicitor advocate in the real estate litigation team. She is a specialist in commercial landlord and tenant law and often acts on a variety of real property disputes, sometimes out of property development, such as easements, restrictive covenants, adverse possession, trespass, boundaries, and nuisance.

More recently, Ellen has developed experience in a range of water related disputes, including flooding nuisance and works carried out pursuant to the Water Industry Act 1991. She has been involved with several mediations in the past, successfully assisting with the settling of most of those claims during, or shortly after, mediation. Even when no mediation is involved, she has assisted clients with resolving disputes without the need for court determination.

I understand that clients would rather avoid a dispute where possible, so finding a satisfactory resolution is always on my mind. Property law can be complex; add a dispute to the equation and it can be a minefield. With my passion and experience in property litigation, I am well equipped to navigate clients through these challenges.

Ellen La, Senior associate

Ellen has previously written for Legalease Law Journals; her article, ‘Overlooking your privacy’, considered the Court of Appeal’s decision on privacy rights in the UK in the Tate Modern case, prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling. She has previously worked in-house. Ellen is a member of the Property Litigation Association.

Recent work highlights

Rectification claim

Settling a rectification claim for a landlord where the tenant’s fixed break date in the lease differed from the date expressed in the agreed heads of terms.

Complex break pre-condition

Assisting a tenant in navigating a complex break pre-condition relating to its repairing obligations under the lease.

Forfeiture and arrears claim

Acting for a landlord on a forfeiture and arrears claim involving the unlawful assignment and subletting of the premises, including winding up proceedings against the guarantor.

Claim against developer

Resisting a rectification claim made against a developer client where the claimant sought to achieve a transfer of a small parcel of land to itself for nil value on the ground of common mistake.