At Enigma we are deliberately different from other firms of solicitors. We are highly experienced specialists with a serious track record. We understand the psychology of disputes and their resolution. We will give you reliable, money-saving advice and where we can we will share risks with you. We value your instructions and are motivated and determined to succeed for you. We fight and we do what we say we will do when we say we will do it. Quite simply, we believe that you have the best chance of success by instructing Enigma.

We Only Deal With Disputes.

Nothing Else.

No house sales or purchases, no wills and probate, no tax planning matters nor any other areas of legal work.

Our work covers the following areas:

• Civil & Commercial litigation
• Negligence claims against professionals including and especially solicitors, accountants and construction professionals
• Construction disputes - including the resolution of disputes by adjudication, arbitration and litigation
• Sale of Goods Act cases (especially cars and boats)
• Harassment by individuals or organisations
• Partnership Disputes
• Employment Law

We are always happy to talk to you about other disputes and, if necessary, pass you to another solicitor in whom we have confidence.



We have carefully listened to what our Clients tell us they want from their solicitor.

At Enigma, this is what we have heard and learned:

You expect higher standards of service. We should keep you informed and explain things to you clearly, rather than hide behind legal jargon or a secretary.

You want to deal with the same person as the case progresses and you want that person to be qualified, experienced and interested.

You want value for money and a solicitor who understands the value of your money.

You want to instruct confident and determined professionals who have a very good track record in their area of work and the drive and creativity to achieve intelligent solutions for you.

You want results-based fees where the amount you pay is linked to how well your solicitor performed and the outcome of the case.

You don't want unanswered or unreturned telephone calls. We don't do unanswered or unreturned telephone calls.

We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to you how we have achieved these standards. Most of our work comes from personal recommendation and Client loyalty.



The partners of this firm have conducted claims or defended proceedings successfully against a large number of organisations and individuals including the following opponents:

Capital One
Bank of Scotland
Devon & Cornwall Constabulary
NatWest Bank
South West Water
Western Power
Plymouth City Council
A variety of National Newspapers
The Theatre Royal Plymouth
A wide variety of local and national solicitors firms including Curtis, Goldbergs, Thompsons, Graham and Graham (now Stevens and Scown), Woollcombe Beer Watts, Woollcombe Yonge, Thompson & Jackson, Gill Akaster, Evans Harvey and Nash & Co.

No-one has ever sued Enigma or the partners of Enigma for negligence

Dispute? We Specialise.

We like our niche and enjoy good relationships with our Clients. We have an individual approach to our work which many Clients find attractive. We are serious about your objectives and are uncompromising to achieve those ends. Our two litigators explain their careers and views about Enigma as follows:

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N e i l   M e r c e r I previously served in the Armed Forces before studying law in Plymouth. Since qualification I worked for two local firms as an Associate Solicitor and Partner. Litigation is all I have ever done in practice and all I ever intend to do in law. I have a reputation for directness, determination and assertive action to protect my Clients' interests and I am intolerant of inefficiency and standards short of the best. If you would like to know more about some of the cases which I have conducted and read some of the original reports and judgments then you can do so here. Outside work I have a wide variety of interests and am lucky enough to be able to donate platelets regularly (81 donations to date). I ran the South Devon, Tavistock, Truro and Plymouth Half Marathons and the Eden marathon last year and will run as much again this year. If you would like to come running with me please contact me via our offices. I am proud to work at Enigma and to have the opportunity to be part of a specialist and Client-focussed firm.

R o r y   S m i t h I studied Law at Oxford University, where I was awarded an Exhibition, and I returned to Plymouth to train and qualify as a solicitor. Before Enigma, I was the Managing Partner of another firm. During my legal career, I have specialised in negligence claims against other solicitors. Frequently this work appears to restore my Clients' faith in the legal system. I also deal with employment cases and a broad mixture of civil and commercial litigation. If you would like to know more about the approach I take to my work, then you can do so here. Outside of Enigma : Boston Redsox ; script writing ; hill sprinting ; music ; growing (and eating) chillies ; poker ; cocktail design ; Emma, Elodie and Luca. I am proud of the relationships that Enigma has developed with its Clients and that many are pleased to reciprocate by being featured on the Associates page of this website and in our literature.

Dispute? We Specialise.

About Us

We do not see things only in terms of money. If you cannot afford to pay us but you have a dispute which is important to you, please contact us anyway. We work free when we can for those who cannot afford to pay and we will try to help you. Rory and Neil both enjoy helping others and improving the public perception of solicitors generally.

Find Us

Enigma is conveniently located in superb offices on the First Floor of Farrer Court 77, North Hill, Plymouth PL4 8HB next to Stratton Creber Commercial. Our offices are open from 8.50 am until 5.00 pm weekdays and out of those hours by arrangement. We are client-focused; it is no trouble if you want us to open in the middle of the night or to work continuously for days to give effect to your instructions.
If you visit our offices we want to ensure that the meeting is productive.

Convenience and comfort are priorities.

We have free Client parking here.

Our staff are on hand to provide complimentary food and drinks.

Our coffee beans are supplied by local business the Ministry of Coffee.

We are located below.
View Larger Map - Enigma by Night

You can telephone us on: 01752 600567

You can contact Rory Smith by email at [email protected]
You can contact Neil Mercer by email at [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you.

If you think you have the ability to work for us and share our values then please contact us

Follow Us

Dispute? We Specialise.

We understand the value of your Money.

We also understand the role and function of money in resolving disputes and achieving your instructions.

Disputes can often be very costly for both sides. Litigation can become economic warfare and the unsuccessful party can often end up footing the bill for both parties.

Litigation is an inherently uncertain process. We aim to win all of our cases but there is always a significant risk that any case will be unsuccessful. We would be naive if we failed to recognise the statistical and realistic possibility of failure and we would be negligent in our duties to you if we failed to squarely address the issue with you.

For every client we devise a clear plan to deal with the expense and risk of legal proceedings and then stick to that plan.

In some cases we will agree to act for you on a 'no win, no fee' basis. When we cannot do so, we will discuss with you various steps that you can take throughout the case to keep your legal costs down.

We are commercial, pragmatic and experienced in the costs issues involved in dispute resolution and the evaluation of commercial risks.

An important part of our role as your solicitors is not only to do everything possible to win your case but also to advise you clearly and consistently about the risks of losing, the consequences of losing and of the steps that you can take to alleviate and plan for the impact of a negative outcome. We are frequently able to obtain insurance for our clients to protect against them having to pay their opponents' legal costs and will otherwise consider carefully the risk to benefit ratio of your instruction of us.

All our dealings with you and advice to you in relation to costs and financial risks, as with everything else at Enigma, will always be clear and consistent at all times.

Dispute? We Specialise.

During my legal career I have been fortunate enough to have fully conducted a number of significant and legally-important cases in conjunction with outstanding barristers (including Steven Killilea QC (Devereaux) Richard Stead, Andrew Marsden (St Johns) and Neil Addison (Palmyra Chambers). These are some of my reported cases;

RSPCA prosecutions; RSPCA -v- Dawe 1, 2 and 3, RSPCA -v- Walker : Sketch © Elizabeth Cook 2005

Major construction matters; Mayhaven Healthcare Limited -v- D & T Bothma In Partnership t/a DAB Builders. You can read more about these matters here, here and here and you can also read an article on the case here. Crocker -v- Arrow TCC HT 09 317 failed enforcement of adjudication decision; more than one dispute referred.

Breach of contract actions; Acer Landscaping Limited -v- Theatre Royal Plymouth.

ETAS -v- Hone; successful claim for commissions due under Franchise Agreement from Stephen Hone - judgment here.

Anti-harassment litigation; against banks Turner -v- BOS 1, 2, 3 and 4, Lloyd Edwards Moore -v- Bank Of Scotland 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (protective litigation for terminally-ill Client compromised on terms after Bank of Scotland held in contempt of Court), Cummins -v- Capital One (Europe) plc (resolved on terms after Defendant failed to respond on time (1, 2) Leather Leather & Parks -v- BOS (1) and between private citizens; Gerry (1) and Chignell (2) -v- Hood (1, 2 and 3).

Occupiers Liability cases; Harvey -v- PCC (1)

Wright -v- Cowlard 1, 2

Vexatious litigants; Noble -v- Bartlett (21 baseless claims consolidated, defeated and costs obtained and enforced); Claimant left homeless and subject to Extended Civil Restraint Order.

I have also conducted large numbers of partnership disputes, professional negligence actions and breach of contract claims (especially repudiatory breach, Sales of Goods Act and breach of mandate claims against banks) which are usually unreported because they are either compromised on terms or resolved in the County Courts.

I have received some very kind letters from my Clients over the years mostly relating to serious matters. However, my favourite quotation from any of those letters was sent to me by Mr. Stuart Marlow of Hot Rocks Climbing Expeditions after I was able to destroy a baseless claim advanced against his company which would have ended his superb climbing business for good;

' ... From my initial meeting with you I felt nothing but extreme confidence in the way that you handled the case. You always took the time to fully explain the risks and abstract legalese allowing me to make a clear decision and follow that course of action. I almost felt sorry for the comprehensive destruction of their points and case ... and at your apparent overwhelming advantage of actually knowing the law. It seems rare these days that people actually do their job well and I would like to take a moment to thank you for providing excellence in a world which seems to embrace mediocrity as normality. I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending you to others as you were recommended to me. Saying that I sincerely hope never to see you again as it will probably mean that I am being sued again'.

The highlights of my legal career have been successfully suspending a major construction contract thereby interpreting the law around the suspension of construction contracts, the privilege of acting for Mr. David Lloyd and Mrs. Annette Edwards in anti-harassment litigation against the Bank of Scotland, acting for Jonathan Harvey in Occupiers Liability matters which were eventually unsuccessful and the significant number of really nice Clients and professionals that I have met and / or acted for over the years. I have also correctly rejected offers to settle large construction disputes for the sums of £1,000,000 and £500,000.

The low points of my legal career have been losing the case of Leather Leather and Parks -v- BOS at trial (thereby personally failing to provide legal protection and redress for a terminally-ill man and his family against a bank which admitted it could not restrain its own systems and employees) and losing in the Court of Appeal the case of Jonathan Harvey -v- PCC (thereby in certain circumstances effectively clarifying that landowners can escape the legal consequences of their own failure to maintain the fencing on their land around dangerous drops).

I believe it is vital to form a clear view of your case at the outset and the direction that it should take and then communicating that view clearly to you.
I explain everything to my Clients in plain English every step of the way.
I answer your questions about your case before you ask them.
I understand my responsibility to be clear with you constantly about costs, risks and prospects.
I treat no case as routine. I like cases which require long-term determination and which are challenging. I enjoy achieving results for Clients who have been let down as illustrated by this recommendation that I received from a Client at the end of his case :

"Several years ago a firm of solicitors let me down. Because of this, I thought that they should owe me compensation. I went to two firms of solicitors to see if they would help me to sue the first solicitors. The case was complex and I thought that somebody would really need to get their teeth into it. Neither of the solicitors that I saw were able to help me. They did not seem to grasp the case and gave me no confidence. I then met Rory Smith. Straight away he seemed to have a much better understanding of what the case was about and where he was going with it. He acted for me from the outset on a no win no fee basis. Although my opponents fought it for a while, I never doubted that we would be successful. In the end I received a large settlement from my opponents and I also recovered all of my legal costs from them. Rory restored my faith in solicitors."

Steven Smith is Enigma’s cashier and costs draftsman. Steven also manages their online social networks and writes their blog.
Before working at Enigma, Steven read applied economics at the University of Plymouth. He then went on to gain a masters degree in economics from the University of Exeter.

Steven has previously worked for Plymouth City Council as a youth worker. He is a qualified Fitness Instructor—which comes in useful at Enigma—and managed a Plymouth-based health and fitness club for a number of years. He has also worked for a Devon firm of solicitors as a cashier and costs draftsman.

Outside of work, Steven is a volunteer at a Plymouth Youth and Community Centre. Steven has an interest in the history of World War I, real ale, American football, trashy films and trashier books.