Geoffrey Goldkorn
Geoffrey won a scholarship to the City of London School, and an exhibition to Jesus College, Cambridge where he studied Philosophy and Law. He is very much the modern lawyer carrying out much of his work on the telephone and by email. He is a litigation specialist and obtained his Higher Rights of Audience in 1994, thereby becoming one of the first Solicitors admitted to act as advocate on an equal footing with barristers in the High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords.
Geoffrey has all the attributes of a good litigator: a quick analytical mind, an ability to assimilate complex and voluminous factual detail, the capacity for meticulous preparation, an eye for the hidden point. He prides himself on being a winner on what others see as lost causes. He counts his successful achievements in not just winning cases but in limiting the losses and exposure of Defendants. He has a wealth of experience and many contented clients. He has appeared on television on legal issues.
Some of the leading and substantial cases in which Geoffrey has been involved are as follows:
The Hungarian Circle Conspiracy In the words of the prosecution this was “about to bring down the banking system of the western world”. This was his first substantial case which lasted 9 months and at the conclusion of the trial 15 minutes of TV news time was devoted exclusively to the case.
The Sonic Gun case achieved great public interest. Binoculars with ultrasound were allegedly used to affect the outcome of various horse races.
Peake v Sotheby’s was a case involving a John Singer Sargent masterpiece. It had disappeared during the Second World War when it had been in the hands of the Nazis and it was then passed into the hands of the communists. It surfaced in London in the late 1980’s. Our client claimed ownership. The case required a consideration of German, Austrian, Bohemian and Czech law. The case settled and the painting was subsequently sold at auction for over $5m.
Goodman v The Commissioner of Police was a malicious prosecution claim with allegations of serious police corruption and the eventual outcome was a settlement of the claim for £200,000. Panorama TV reported the case.
The Roger Levitt case was a Serious Fraud Office prosecution with allegations of theft of hundreds of millions and a trial projected to last six months. Roger Levitt pleaded guilty to technical breaches. He was sentenced to community service and effectively acquitted of all serious charges. There was enormous press publicity and it was a damaging blow to the SFO. Subsequently Geoffrey appeared on TV answering questions about the case.
X v B was a case involving a well known actor sued for over £1million in damages for rape. X’s claim was eventually struck out and she was prohibited from continuing without permission of the Court.
Meretz Investments N.V. v First Penthouse and ACP was a very substantial property dispute which involved two Court of Appeal hearings and several trials. The trial lasted over 4 weeks in the Chancery Division and is now listed for a 4 day appeal.
Re. Dabbs (deceased) was a case in which the family challenged the Will of the deceased on the basis that our client had forfeited his rights by murdering the deceased. Our client succeeded after a 10 day hearing on a preliminary issue in what has now become a leading case on “want of knowledge and approval”. The action then settled at the door of the Court of Appeal.
In the Estate of Lord Marks of Broughton, the will of the son of one of the founders of Marks & Spencer was disputed. The case ended in a settlement and a statutory will.
Sherrington v Sherrington was a recent appeal where we acted for the second wife of a deceased solicitor. The trial judge held the will was invalid. She changed solicitors and instructed Geoffrey and she won her case before the Court of Appeal.
Haller v Deutsche Bank was a very substantial claim in the Commercial Court for over $300,000,000 scheduled to last 10 weeks, with over 25 witnesses, many from outside the UK. It involved the analysis of extremely complex contractual and banking documents. Our legal team comprised Geoffrey, two other experienced in house lawyers, Leading Counsel and two junior counsel. The case settled after a two day mediation shortly before the trial.
Contact Geoffrey on gg@gmgplegal.com