Wilberforce Chambers

✍ This month’s eBriefing brings you an article by Elizabeth Houghton, in which she considers the decision of Master Marsh in Marcus v Marcus [2024] EWHC 2086 concerning whether a non-biological child can fall within a class of beneficiaries defined as “the children and remoter issue of the Settlor”. If you would like to sign up to receive our monthly Private Client eBriefings which contain a list of recent case developments in the areas of UK trusts and estates, tax and offshore, you can email your request to marketing@wilberforce.co.uk. #PrivateClient #Trusts #trustsandestates

⚖️ On 21 November 2024 the Commercial Court handed down judgment in Invest Bank P.S.C. v El-Husseini & Ors [2024] EWHC 2976 (Comm), a claim brought under s.423 Insolvency Act 1986, following a 4-week trial in July 2024.  Tim Penny K.C. acted with Marc Delehanty (Serle Court) and Frederick Wilmot-Smith (Brick Court Chambers) for the Bank, instructed by PCB Byrne LLP.  Tiffany Scott KC acted with Emma Hargreaves (Serle Court) for Virtue Trustees, instructed by Edwin Coe LLP.     To read more, including the full judgment, please click here: https://lnkd.in/e2pzqxBm   #Litigation #Offshore

I am looking forward to what will be a busy week in Madrid for the International Bar Association Asset Recovery Conference. If you are there and want to meet then please reach out to either myself or Antonia Matthew. Wilberforce Chambers #Fraud #Insolvency #AssetRecovery

It was a pleasure to connect with so many of our close friends and valued clients at our Client Party last night. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did here at Chambers 🥂

So that’s a wrap. It has been an absolute pleasure to be on the steering committee of LIIARC - London International Investigations and Asset Recovery Conference since its creation last year with what can only be described as such an amazing group. We have also had some fun along the way! I have met so many great people over the past few days from all different professions and backgrounds. The talks have been superb so thank you to every single organisation that has been involved. We closed the week with a superb closing party last night in conjunction with RAIIDAR International. It was a pleasure to collaborate with such a great organisation. Katie Spencer, thank you to you and your team. A big thank you to the sponsors of yesterday evening, Grant Thornton – Offshore, FTI Consulting, Fulcrum To everyone behind the scenes who made it possible, thank you. It’s been a blast, until next year. Steve Holt, Kathryn Karssiens, Kathryn Sriskandan, Caroline Greenwell, Charlotte Pender, Emma Johnson, Anna Snead, Jeremy Snead, Hayley Duggan Grant Thornton UK LLP Wilberforce Chambers Ogier Charles Russell Speechlys

📣 We are excited to announce the return of our annual Trusts Litigation Day on Monday 20 January 2025 at InterContinental London Park Lane. The event will be co-chaired by Jonathan Hilliard KC and Clare Stanley KC and features a number of topical talks delivered by members of Chambers as well as several workshop sessions where guests will work through a series of scenarios with Wilberforce guides. Topics include: a fresh look at WP material; binding in parties; trusts in the context of intermediate securities; arbitration of trusts; and much more! 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: Colin Sheppard (Kroll) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 Alexia Konstantinidi (Kroll) - '𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀: 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀?' At this year's Trusts Litigation Day, we are delighted to announce that we willl be joined by two guest speakers who will discuss how deepfakes are impacting the business world. Colin Sheppard is the EMEA Regional Managing Director within Kroll's Cyber Risk business, based in London. With a 25-year career spanning offensive and defensive security, Colin has extensive experience helping large enterprises and government clients prepare for, respond to and recover from complex cyber incidents. Alexia Konstantinidi is part of the Cyber Risk practice as Vice President in Digital Forensics & Incident Response. She has led numerous digital forensics and incident response engagements, performing investigation, evidence analysis and assisting clients with recovery activities. Outside her professional life, Alexia has been a member and then captain of winning teams in offensive and defensive international cybersecurity competitions. --------- A drinks reception will follow the conference, and afterwards guests are invited to join us for dinner in Theo Randall (located in the hotel). Please note that guests need to register their place at the dinner in advance; the price of attending both the conference and the dinner is £360 + VAT and the conference only is £299 + VAT. If you would like to RSVP, please email seminars@wilberforce.co.uk with your choice of workshops #trusts #PrivateClient #trustsandestates #litigation Wilberforce speakers: John Martin KC, Robert Ham KC, Michael Furness KC, Fenner Moeran KC, Clare Stanley KC, Jonathan Hilliard KC, Tiffany Scott KC, Nikki Singla K.C., Zoë Barton KC, Edward Sawyer, Jennifer Seaman, Anna Littler, Simon Atkinson, James Goodwin, Jamie Holmes, Joseph Steadman, Ram Lakshman, Benjamin Slingo, Samuel Cathro, John Grocott-Barrett, Theo Dixon, Ernest Leung

Tomorrow, Rachael Earle is speaking at GRR Live: Contentious Insolvency and Restructuring 2024.   Rachael is speaking on a panel on “Directors’ liability, D&O insurance and disqualification”, alongside Craig Montgomery (Freshfields), Chris Parker (DLA Piper), and Ruhi Sethi-Smith (Forum Chambers), moderated by Luke Tucker Harrison (Keidan Harrison). The panel will cover:   - A critique of the BHS judgment - Concern in the market over D&O insurance. Is it adequate and fit for purpose?   Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebrd-fz3   #Insolvency #Restructuring #InsolvencyLaw

Jonathan Hilliard KC is co-chairing the ThoughtLeaders4 HNW Divorce Litigation Conference 2024 alongside Jane Keir (Kingsley Napley). The largest annual gathering of High Net Worth Divorce experts, don't forget to secure your spot at HNW Divorce Litigation - 4th Annual Flagship Conference, 21 November 2024, London. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGQN2pD2 #HNWDivorce #Litigation #DivorceLitigation Danushka De Alwis, Chris Leese. Paul Barford, Maddi Briggs

Wilberforce Chambers is delighted to announce that Jonathan Davey KC was awarded Tax Silk of the Year at the 2024 Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards. A huge thank you to all our clients for your ongoing support of Wilberforce Chambers. Congratulations to the rest of the winners. #litigation #SilkoftheYear

⚖  On 14 November 2024, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council handed down its decision in Tianrui (International) Holding Company Ltd v China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd  [2023] UKPC 36 (Tianrui), and confirmed that a shareholder has a personal claim against a company when the directors of the company exercise their powers for an improper purpose. More specifically, the Board confirmed that such a claim may be brought by a minority shareholder in circumstances where the directors have allotted shares for the improper purpose of diluting that shareholder's voting power, thereby facilitating a takeover of the company.   Tom Lowe KC and Tara Taylor, together with Corey Byrne, Gemma Bellfield (nee Lardner), Oliver Payne, and Maria On from Ogier (Cayman) LLP, acted on behalf of Tianrui, the successful appellant. This is a landmark decision confirming the rights of shareholders, including minority shareholders, to prevent improper exercises of power and oppression by a company. It confirms a shareholder's ability to bring a personal claim against the company for declarations or injunctions to prevent conduct in breach of a company's articles of association, without the need for a derivative action under the rule in Foss v Harbottle. In doing so, the Board finally resolves what Professor Gower once described as "one of the most difficult problems in company law" (Gower: Principles of Modern Company Law (2nd ed, 1954) at 529).   To read the rest of this article co-authored by the Wilberforce Chambers and Ogier team, please click here: https://lnkd.in/eEGjNx-z #companylaw #PrivyCouncil #offshore