Ramyaa Veerabathran

: Email Ramyaa
: +44 (0)20 7242 6105
: Contact Practice Managers
: vCard
: Download CV
: Shortlist

Ramyaa Veerabathran is a commercial chancery barrister with a focus on commercial, civil fraud, trusts and probate, company, and insolvency disputes.

She enjoys a varied practice that blends appearing as sole counsel (including before the High Court) and assisting as junior counsel in high-value disputes. Ramyaa’s recent experience includes representing a defendant as junior counsel in PIFSS v Al Rajaan & Ors, one of the longest trials in the Commercial Court’s history and one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases. Ramyaa (led by James Weale KC) is currently instructed to represent the defendant at trial in Kerr and others v Telefónica Tech UK & Ireland Limited which concerns a disputed earn-out provision under a Share Purchase Agreement. As sole counsel, Ramyaa recently secured a judgment for the successful appellant before the High Court that was dispositive of the entire claim: 1st Option Consulting Services Ltd v Rutherford [2026] 1 WLR 635.

Before coming to the Bar, Ramyaa was a Senior Associate in the litigation team at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP (now known as HSF Kramer) in London, where she specialised in high-value disputes across a broad range of sectors including Information Technology, Energy and Media. She therefore has significant experience of advising on complex commercial disputes and is adept at turning her hand to a range of practice areas.

Ramyaa also served as a Judicial Assistant at the UK Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for the court year 2020-21. In this role, she assisted the Justices with the most complex appeals in the UK and from a number of Commonwealth jurisdictions, which raised difficult issues across a broad range of areas of law including tort, contract, company, trusts, and public law.

Areas of Expertise

Civil Fraud

PIFSS v Al Rajaan & Ors – Ramyaa (led by Philip Edey KC and James Mather) represented a Bahamian Foundation at one of the longest ever trials to be heard in the Commercial Court.
Taylor v Khodabakhsh & Ors – Represented the defendants (led by Lance Ashworth KC and Dan McCourt Fritz KC) in a claim seeking to set aside a judgment obtained in 2019 on the grounds that it was obtained by fraud.
Berry v ME Construction Limited & Anr – Assisted Dan McCourt Fritz KC and Tim Benham-Mirando with advancing a substantial fraud claim arising out of an agreement for the sale and purchase of a group of companies in the construction industry and defending a counterclaim which also raised allegations of
Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse & Ors – Assisted Jonathan Adkin KC with resisting applications to strike out a multi-billion Pound fraud claim on the basis of alleged failures to comply with disclosure obligations.
İşbilen v Turk – Assisted Dan McCourt Fritz KC and Tim Benham-Mirando with a £40 million multi-jurisdictional claim involving allegations of fraud and undue influence and complex asset tracing. Ramyaa was involved with applications that concerned legal professional privilege issues in the context of disclosure and permission for the collateral use of documents disclosed in these proceedings for related purposes in other jurisdictions.

Company

Re Kingsford Caravan Park Ltd – Acted (led by Dan McCourt Fritz KC) for the majority shareholder in an unfair prejudice petition in relation to Kingsford Caravan Park Ltd. In Loveridge v Povey & Ors [2024] EWHC 329 (Ch) Dan and Ramyaa successfully represented the majority shareholder who opposed an interim injunction application made by the petitioner.
During her time as a Judicial Assistant at the UK Supreme Court, Ramyaa also worked on a number of company law appeals that came before the Supreme Court and the Privy Council, including BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & Others [2022] UKSC 25 and Primeo Fund (in Official Liquidation) v Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) Ltd and Ors [2021] UKPC 22.

Insolvency & Restructuring

Re Breton Park Residential Homes Ltd – Acted (led by Dan McCourt Fritz KC) for the Respondent controlling shareholder in administration proceedings in relation to a company that owns and operates a caravan park. In Loveridge v Povey & Ors [2024] EWHC 329 (Ch), Ramyaa (led by Dan McCourt Fritz KC) successfully represented the controlling shareholder opposing an application under paragraph 74 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 seeking to prevent the rescue of a company as a going concern on the basis that the proposed rescue would be unfair to the applicant’s interests as a purported shareholder. Upon the application’s dismissal, Dan and Ramyaa persuaded the Court to order the unsuccessful applicant to bear the additional costs incurred in the administration as a result of its prolongation pending the disposal of his application.
Re Black Capital Partners – Assisted Dan McCourt Fritz KC with successfully resisting a petition to wind up an alleged partnership on the basis of a substantial dispute as to the existence of the partnership. The judgment at first instance was upheld on appeal. Ramyaa also assisted with resisting a related application for a freezing order.

Commercial Litigation

Kerr and others v Telefónica Tech UK & Ireland Limited – Representing (led by James Weale KC) the defendant in an earn-out dispute under a Share Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of a tech consulting business.
1st Option Consulting Services Limited v Rutherford [2025] EWHC – Represented (as sole counsel) the successful appellant before the High Court resisting an application to substitute it as defendant after the expiry of limitation.

Below are examples that Ramyaa worked on as a solicitor:

Apache North Sea Limited v Euroil Exploration Limited and Edison SpA – Acting for Euroil and Edison in a claim brought against them in the High Court in relation to a Farm Out Agreement for the sale of an interest in two North Sea production licences. Euroil and Edison were successful at first instance and on appeal.
Acting for four international energy companies (JV partners) in their defence of a USD 65 million claim in the High Court in relation to the provision of services from a North Sea oil platform to a neighbouring satellite field.
Advising an international media company in relation to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its rights and risks under a suite of media rights agreements, including one worth more than a billion Pounds Sterling.
Acting for an international energy company in a circa USD 40 million claim for unpaid invoices and advanced a substantial counterclaim alleging breaches of contracts for the supply of drilling units on account of technical failures.
Advising an major international IT company in relation to a multi-million Pound dispute with a customer in the context of a software development and data migration project in the retail sector and the related renegotiation of the suite of contracts.
Acting for Iveco in its defence of numerous follow-on damages claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal estimated to be worth over £1 billion, including an appeal to the Court of Appeal in relation to the extent to which it is open to the addressees of a European Commission settlement decision (Trucks) to advance a case that is inconsistent with the recitals thereto.

Arbitration

Acted for a global investment bank in an arbitration in respect of a professional negligence claim against a firm of engineers (as a solicitor). The claim arose out of a technical due diligence report on a waste to energy power plant.

Trusts & Probate

Kazzaz & Ors v Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) Limited & Anor [2024] GCA 058 – Assisting (led by Dan McCourt Fritz KC) the successful respondents to the appeal. The appeal challenged the Royal Court of Guernsey’s dismissal of multi-million dollar claims for alleged breaches of trust (some allegedly fraudulent) and directors’ duties. The Court of Appeal dismissed all eleven grounds of appeal and, in doing so, considered a number of novel issues of Guernsey law.
Assisting Constance McDonnell KC with advising on a will challenge on the basis of the lack of testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval, as well as undue influence, in the context of an estate worth circa £12 million. Ramyaa subsequently assisted with issuing a probate claim to give effect to the terms of settlement reached between the parties.
Assisting Constance McDonnell KC with acting for the court-appointed independent representative of the minor beneficiaries of an estate estimated to be worth substantially more than £50 million in a claim brought in the High Court by the widow under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. Ramyaa was involved with a successful application for third party disclosure made under rule 31.17 of the Civil Procedure Rules in order to obtain documentation that was necessary to facilitate the independent valuation of a key asset of the estate.
Assisting Constance McDonnell KC with a multi-party, multi-jurisdictional probate dispute in relation to an estate worth upwards of USD 10 million, including at a mediation.
Assisting Constance McDonnell KC with an application for permission to appeal a decision of the Guernsey Court of Appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in the context of a probate dispute involving allegations of negligence against the solicitor who drafted and advised on the wills in question.

International

Kazzaz & Ors v Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) Limited & Anor [2024] GCA 058 – Assisting (led by Dan McCourt Fritz KC) the successful respondents to the appeal. The appeal challenged the Royal Court of Guernsey’s dismissal of multi-million dollar claims for alleged breaches of trust (some allegedly fraudulent) and directors’ duties. The Court of Appeal dismissed all eleven grounds of appeal and, in doing so, considered a number of novel issues of Guernsey law.
Assisting Constance McDonnell KC with a multi-party, multi-jurisdictional probate dispute in relation to an estate worth upwards of USD 10 million which involved proceedings in Guernsey and Bermuda.

Professional Negligence

Acting as sole counsel for an accountancy firm defending a professional negligence claim brought by a shareholder-director in relation to a company’s financial statements.
Acting for a global investment bank in the arbitration of a professional negligence claim brought against a firm of engineers arising out of a technical due diligence report on a waste to energy power plant (as a solicitor).

Testimonials

“Ramyaa was excellent in the successful defence of a complex claim, providing clear and definitive advice at every stage. She is very responsive and incorporates strategic thinking as well as commercial sense into her advice. In court, Ramyaa is a strong and effective advocate.”

Partner, Clyde & Co

“Ramyaa is an exceptional junior advocate, with a bright future ahead of her. She is well prepared, extremely intelligent and an asset on any matter”

Contentious Trusts client

Latest

Recent Cases

Loveridge v Povey and Ors [2024] EWHC 329 (Ch)

Dan McCourt Fritz KC and Ramyaa Veerabathran successfully represented the respondent controlling shareholder, Ivy Loveridge, […]

Recent News

: Email Ramyaa
: +44 (0)20 7242 6105
: Contact Practice Managers
: vCard
: Download CV
: Shortlist

For general enquiries and instruction advice, please contact our Practice Management Team:

Call: +44 (0)20 7242 6105
or email: clerks@serlecourt.co.uk

Appointments

Solicitor Advocate, England & Wales (2020)
Solicitor, England & Wales (2017)
Advocate, India (2014)

Memberships

COMBAR
Chancery Bar Association
CONTRA

Education & Qualifications

B.A., LL.B (Hons), National Law School of India University (Class of 2014)

BSB Registration