Holly joined Kingsley Napley in 2014 and is an Associate in the Costs team. Holly’s practice covers a wide range of civil litigation, with a particular focus on costs in defamation and privacy proceedings.
Holly has advised clients including celebrities and high profile individuals, corporate clients, government bodies and public inquires and has a broad caseload ranging from defamation and privacy cases to complex, high value clinical negligence and sexual abuse claims, commercial disputes and Family proceedings. Her involvement encompasses providing advice and advocacy, particularly in relation to costs budgeting, litigation project management and detailed assessment proceedings, in addition to providing strategy and ad-hoc advice in relation to matters concerning funding, expenditure, recovery and settlement.
She brings her strong academic background and barrister training (having obtained a First Class LLB degree and Call to the Bar), and previous experience as a paralegal in the areas of Crime and Family to her practice, which gives her a sound knowledge of legal principles across both Civil and Family litigation and criminal proceedings.
Holly is a core advisory member to the specialist Media and Communications List User Group, chaired by HHJ Matthew Nicklin, which also includes representatives from media law firms, chambers, in-house lawyers and regulators. She also provides training on costs law and recent developments both internally and to external clients, including government bodies and other law firms.
Recent cases include:
- Securing a costs award of almost £1m on behalf of the Claimant following a three-day detailed assessment hearing in a clinical negligence claim involving a Harley Street practitioner. The complex nature of these proceedings were such that they involved an interim freezing injunction against the Defendant and the justification for this hinged on the success of the outcome of the costs proceedings;
- Litigation Project Management in a cross-jurisdictional, complex tax fraud involving multiple Defendants and projected costs in excess of £15m;
- Advising a celebrity in relation to costs management and strategy in a high profile, multi-million pound Defamation claim;
- Advising a high profile individual in relation to costs proceedings arising from a leading Defamation claim;
- Advising a high profile organisation and their insurer in relation to costs arising from a wide-scale public inquiry;
- Advice in Family proceedings involving both financial remedy and Children Act proceedings.
WHAT CLIENTS AND DIRECTORIES HAVE SAID
Holly Shaw always has an eye for a good point. Excellent at making sense of document-heavy cases.’
The Legal 500, 2025