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Laura
John has a general commercial practice, including banking,
financial services, commercial fraud, insolvency, insurance
and reinsurance, professional negligence, media law, IT/Telecoms
related litigation and company law.
Laura is ranked in Chambers & Partners 2008 in two practice
areas: Banking/Banking
& Finance and Commercial
Dispute Resolution.
Areas
of work
General
Commercial work
Instructed regularly in both High Court and County Court matters.
Advising and acting for various parties in a broad range of
general commercial and contractual disputes including disputes
relating to: misrepresentation, sale and supply of goods and
services, hire-purchase, agency, factoring and invoice-discounting
issues, and the obtaining of injunctive relief.
Current and recent work includes:
- Renault
v Fleetpro [2007] EWHC 2541 (QB); LTL 21/11/2007: successfully
defended a claim in fraudulent misrepresentation on the
basis that the claimant had blind-eye knowledge of the misrepresentations.
- Acting
for a corporate finance intermediary in relation to a claim
arising out of the sale of a company's shares.
Banking
and Financial Services
Acting for a range of domestic and international banks. Current
and recent work includes:
- Enforcement
of guarantees and other securities;
- Breach
of mandate;
- Undue
influence;
- Mortgages;
- Constructive
trust/tracing;
- Money
laundering and POCA issues;
- Fraudulent
transfers/account operation;
- Loan
agreements;
- Bills
of Exchange;
- Mistaken
payments/restitution;
- Consumer
issues (such as unfair contract terms and penalty clauses).
- Kali
Limited v Burlay Trading & Ors [2007] EWHC 1989
(Ch) LTL 17/9/2007: 2 week trial (Ch Div), acted for a bank
in relation to a subrogation claim and related claims.
- Abbey
National plc v JSF Finance & Currency Exchange Co Ltd
[2006] EWCA Civ 328, Lawtel 31/03/2006: acted for the Appellant
both in the first instance and in a successful appeal to
the Court of Appeal. The Appellant sought and obtained on
appeal a final injunction to restrain the Respondent from
presenting a winding up petition. Issues included allegations
of "blind-eye" knowledge of fraud and the defences
available to the Appellant bank under the Bills of Exchange
Act 1882.
- Acted
for Barclays Bank (2005 QBD): Appeared for the Respondent
bank initially in relation to an injunction and subsequently
successfully struck out a claim for damages following a
transfer of funds by the bank out of a client account and
the freezing of other client accounts.
Commercial
Fraud
Particular experience of fraud claims and obtaining freezing,
search and asset preservation orders; asset tracing work; money-laundering
and restitutionary remedies; specific disclosure applications;
conflicts of law; and interim payment applications.
Current and recent work includes:
- N
v M & Ors: acting as a junior for a major utility
company in a substantial trial due to take place in the
Chancery Division. Acting for the claimant in relation to
bribery and fraud claims against ex-employee and associates
- search orders, freezing orders and disclosure orders (2006).
- Acting
for a company against one of its former directors and his
associates: issues include dishonest assistance; knowing
receipt; unlawful interference and conspiracy.
- Abbey
National plc v JSF Finance & Currency Exchange Co Ltd
[2006] EWCA Civ 328, Lawtel 31/03/2006. Issues of blind-eye
knowledge of fraud see above.
- Acting
for a number of banks in relation to the fraudulent operation
of accounts.
- Defending
a claim of fraudulent misrepresentation made against an
intermediary.
Insurance
and Reinsurance
Advising and acting for various insureds, insurers, reinsurers
on a range of coverage and claims issues including professional
indemnity cover relating to pensions mis-selling, product liability,
life assurance etc. Acting for and against brokers in a number
of brokers' negligence disputes.
Current and recent work includes:
- Ongoing
advice to FSCS on a variety of insurance (and insolvency)
issues, including general coverage issues, policy issues
and mesothelioma-related issues.
- Bonner
& Ors v Cox & Ors [2004] EWHC 2963 instructed
as a junior on behalf of broker in claim by reinsureds against
reinsurers.
- Acting
for and against Defendant and Part 20 Defendant brokers
in County Court and High Court proceedings.
Professional
Negligence
Advising and acting for or against:
- Solicitors;
- Accountants;
- Tax
advisers;
- Estate
agents; and
- Insurance
brokers.
Forthcoming
High Court trial (QBD), acting for a former partnership in its
claim against the partnership accountants.
Insolvency
Regular insolvency work in the High Court, including forthcoming
trial, claim under s.423 Insolvency Act 1986.
- See
also Abbey National v JSF Finance & Currency Exchange
under Banking and Financial Services above.
- Whilst
on secondment at Bingham McCutchen LLP (2004-2005) worked
on a variety of contentious and non-contentious insolvency/restructuring
issues including:
- Concord
v Law Debenture [2005] 1 WLR 1591 (HL)
Acceleration notice and construction of a bond deed. Bingham's
represented the successful bondholder applicant in its appeal
to the House of Lords.
- TXU
in administration:
Bingham represented minority creditors. Dealt with a wide
variety of issues including officeholders' conflicts of
interests in CVAs.
Entertainment/IP
Successfully obtained a number of search orders in relation
to an ex-employee and safeguarding confidential information.
- Brighton
v Jones: copyright claim relating to the play "Stones
in His Pockets".
?
Professional
Memberships
COMBAR,
Gray's Inn
Publication
Bullen
& Leake & Jacob, Precedents of Pleadings - contributor
to the Introduction and the Fraud section.
Financial Services Regulation - Chapter on UK Payment Systems
The Modern Law of Guarantee (forthcoming) - chapter on Vitiating
Factors
Award
Cynthia Terry Award, Gray's Inn (2000-2001).
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