Jennifer Meech

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Jennifer Meech has a wide-ranging commercial chancery practice, with a particular emphasis on business disputes. These frequently involve company law, breach of fiduciary duties, joint ventures, partnerships, insolvency and real property issues. She is particularly adept at assisting in cases where these practice areas intersect.

Jennifer has appeared as sole counsel in a number of leading cases and is well placed to deal with complex legal issues. She has appeared both led and alone in appeals to the Court of Appeal, High Court and County Court. Jennifer also has significant trial experience and is a skilful cross examiner.

Areas of Expertise

Commercial Litigation

Jennifer is recommended in the Legal 500 as a leading commercial litigation junior. During her time at the Bar she has learned a great deal about how businesses are run and how things can go wrong both internally and externally. Jennifer is often first consulted when it is unclear what has happened and the client needs advice not only as to what causes of action they might have but also as to what can be done in the short term to limit damage.

Recent Cases

Advising and acting for several groups of claimants who have lost money invested in illegal collective investment schemes contrary to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Acting for an individual seeking to finalise and enforce a charging order over shares to satisfy a judgment of c.$5m.
Acting for a bookmaker in a claim brought by a former customer who lost around £5m.
Advising and acting for a company seeking an introducer’s fee following a £20m sale of a technology business.
Acting for a Japanese company seeking to obtain the delivery up of a significant number of items of antique furniture on an urgent basis.
Acting for a financial services firm in its claim against independent financial advisors who were previously engaged as its agents; the claim is for breach of fiduciary duty and misuse of confidential information.
Dial a Car Express Ltd v Ashton [2016] 12 WLUK 550 – Acting for a minicab company whose phone number was being used by a rival, this case involved questions of passing off, breach of contract and fiduciary duties.
URT Group Ltd v Dowers [2018] EWHC 3195 – Acting for various companies in a group structure who were seeking to obtain the return of irreplaceable super car parts and machinery. The claim involved issues of tort, property and insolvency law and required urgent applications as well as complex drafting and longer hearings.
Acting in several separate sets of proceedings for recruitment companies seeking to enforce employees’ restrictive covenants, including Le Puy Limited v Potter [2015] EWHC 193.

Insolvency & Restructuring

Insolvency work, including all aspects of company, LLP, partnership and individual insolvency, forms a significant portion of Jennifer’s practice. She is recommended in both directories in this area and has been for several years. In her time at the bar, Jennifer has appeared in many and varied cases in the High Court and the County Court including applications, trials and appeals. Many of her reported cases involve questions of insolvency law.

Recent Cases

Advising and acting for a number of sub-postmasters regarding the insolvency aspects of their claims for malicious prosecution against the Post Office.
Acting for a liquidator in his fraudulent trading claim against the company’s accountant.
Acting for The Royal Bank of Scotland on its challenge to the improper practices of the UK’s largest volume IVA (individual voluntary arrangement) provider.
H&CS Holdings Pte Ltd v Glencore International AG [2019] EWHC 1459 – Obtaining the first international recognition of the new Singaporean moratorium under the UNCITRAL Model Law.
Acting for a liquidator seeking damages for breach of directors’ duties regarding unlawful dividends, preferential loan repayments and the transfer of a director’s unsecured debt to his partner who has the benefit of a debenture.
Acting for a fashion designer facing a €54m claim by the liquidator of the company that owned his labels and of which he had been a director.
Advising and acting for BASF plc (one of the largest chemical producers in the world) on the insolvency aspects of an intellectual property dispute.
Advising a liquidator of a specialist energy company as to possible misfeasance, wrongful trading, fraudulent trading and TUV claims against former de jure and de factor directors.
Endersby v Astrosoccer 4 U Ltd [2017] 12 WLUK 168 – Obtaining an administration order following a contested hearing.
Pettitt v Bradford Bulls (Northern) Ltd (In Administration) [2017] BCC 50 – Acting for the directors of a rugby league club seeking a retrospective administration order.
Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberosterreich AG v Meyden [2016] EWHC 414 – Acting for a bank on a COMI case on appeal.

Property

Jennifer is recommended by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as a leading junior in property work. Her experience includes all areas of real property (including easements, boundaries and co-ownership issues) and landlord and tenant work.

Recent Cases

Successfully acting for a joint venture party in an arbitration that determined both that land could not be sold without their permission and that, were it to be sold, £5m rather than £23m should be deducted from the sale price before division.
Advising and drafting a defence for LPA receivers whose appointment is allegedly impugned due to issues arising out of a bankruptcy.
Advising the leasehold owner of a holiday property within a large development in Cornwall as to the landlord’s ability to alter the services provided and the correct construction of the service charge provisions within the lease.
Acting for 10 leaseholders caught up in a complex multi-party dispute regarding the ownership of the building in which their flats were situated.
Several cases that consider whether a landlord was had the right to forfeit a lease and, if they were, if they subsequently waived that right.
Falmouth House v Abou-Hamdan [2017] EWHC 779 (Ch) – Relief from sanctions, landlord and tenant.
Freifeld v West Kensington Court Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 806 – Forfeiture, landlord and tenant.
Loose v Lynn Shellfish Ltd & Ors [2014] EWCA Civ 846

Professional Negligence

Jennifer is recognised as a leading junior for professional negligence work in the Legal 500. She is able to assist with professional negligence claims against solicitors, surveyors and accountants (including insolvency practitioners).

In recent years Jennifer has dealt with a significant number of group claims against solicitors brought by clients who have lost money in failed hotel, care home, student accommodation and off-plan apartment schemes. These cases involve issues of property and insolvency law, financial services regulation and contractual issues as well as professional negligence work.

She is also well placed to assist individual clients seeking redress following negligent professional services. She is currently assisting a financial services company bringing a claim against a silver circle firm who acted for them in failed litigation.

Jennifer is also experienced in acting for defendants to professional negligence claims. She recently defended a solicitors firm against a claim brought by a High Net Worth individual.

Company

Jennifer is experienced in all aspects of contentious company work.

Recent Cases

Acting for a high net worth US citizen responding to an unfair prejudice claim arising out of a company that previously ran a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands.
Acting for a shareholder seeking relief for unfair prejudice based on inter-group lending of around €40m between the UK and Germany.
Acting for the respondents to an unfair prejudice petition arising out of a familial dispute.
Simonon v Simonon [2019] EWHC 844 – Representing the former manager of The Clash in a dispute regarding the interaction between a court order and a company’s articles of association.
Acting for a governing sports body resisting an application for access to its registered members.

Civil Fraud

Jennifer is able to assist in claims arising out of fraud committed by defendants including but not limited to those who owe fiduciary duties.