Serle Court Company Conference 2024
We look forward to welcoming many of our friends, clients and colleagues to our upcoming Company Conference on Wednesday, 25th September, 2024. The event will be held in the Large Pension Room at The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. This half-day event promises to be an enriching experience, featuring a wonderful line-up of distinguished speakers addressing key developments in company law.
Programme:
12:30 Registration opens
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Introductory remarks by Elizabeth Jones KC
14:05 Directors’ Liability to Third Parties After Lifestyle Equities v Ahmed [2024] UKSC 17, Lance Ashworth KC, Wilson Leung and Matthew Innes
14:50 Directors Duties: “Misfeasant Trading” and Causative Dissonance, Matthew Morrison and Jennifer Meech
15:35 Coffee break
15:55 Fielding on the Boundary, Daniel Lightman KC, Thomas Elias, Zahler Bryan and Max Marenbon
16:55 Top Tips for Resolving Company Law Disputes without the Need for a Trial, Jennifer Haywood
17:15 Breakout sessions:
Testing the Limits of Limitation in Unfair Prejudice Petitions Post Zedra, Dan McCourt Fritz KC, John Eldridge and Ramyaa Veerabathran
Issues in Shareholder Disputes: Information and Documents, David Drake, Thomas Braithwaite and Amy Proferes
18:00 Drinks reception in the Great Hall.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with our Business Development Team at +44 20 7242 6105 or email events@serlecourt.co.uk.
Related Barristers
Elizabeth Jones KC
Call: 1984
Silk: 2000
Lance Ashworth KC
Call: 1987
Silk: 2006
As part of a broad Chancery-Commercial practice, Daniel Lightman KC engages with challenging and novel issues of law and civil procedure, in particular concerning shareholder disputes (having appeared in a number of landmark unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims), company law (including in matrimonial proceedings), insolvency, civil fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and professional negligence.
Shortlisted for Company/Insolvency Silk of the Year in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Awards in both 2026 and 2024 and shortlisted for Chancery Silk of the Year in the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2026, Daniel is recommended in Band 1 for Silks for Company by both Chambers UK, 2027 and the Legal 500, 2027 – and in Band 1 for Chancery Commercial by Chambers. Chambers UK, 2027 describes him as “A go-to silk for high value, complex disputes who leads the pack on shareholder disputes. He has great judgement and always furnishes reliable advice” and praises him for “constantly identifying innovative solutions to complex problems” and building “outstanding relationships with the wider legal team.”
Daniel has an extensive international practice, including current or recent shareholder litigation in the courts of Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, Cayman, Guernsey and Qatar, and a multi-shareholder arbitration in Hong Kong.
Daniel Lightman KC
Call: 1995
Silk: 2016
Dan McCourt Fritz KC
Call: 2007
Silk: 2023
Matthew Morrison KC has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular expertise in civil fraud, company and partnership disputes, and insolvency litigation.
Described by Chambers UK 2027 as an “outstanding barrister” who is “technically brilliant, fantastic with clients and someone whose cross-examination is exceptional”, Matthew regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal and has acted in proceedings before the Grand Court and Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI), the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man High Court of Justice and the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. He also has significant experience assisting advocates before the Royal Courts of Jersey and Guernsey. He is generally admitted to the BVI Bar and is currently admitted ad hoc on a number of matters in the Cayman Islands.
Matthew is an established legal author. He has written widely read PLC practice notes on minority shareholder remedies and edits chapters on directors’ duties and disqualification, and insolvency, in Gore-Browne, Butterworths Corporate Law Service, Tolley’s Company Law Service and Tolley’s Company Law Handbook; and on unfair prejudice, misfeasance and disqualification in the Law of Limited Liability Partnerships (Whittaker and Machell (6th ed.), 2026).
Matthew Morrison KC
Call: 2004
Silk: 2025
David Drake
Call: 1994
Thomas Braithwaite
Call: 1998
Jennifer Haywood
Call: 2001
Jennifer Meech
Call: 2008
Thomas Elias
Call: 2008
Amy Proferes’ practice covers both traditional and commercial Chancery. She has particular interests in contentious probate, company, civil fraud, and property, and is experienced in dealing with cases where these areas overlap. She appears regularly in the High Court, often unled, but also enjoys working as part of a larger team.
Amy is ranked as a leading junior in Private Wealth & Probate by Legal 500 and in Chancery: Traditional by Chambers & Partners. The directories describe her as “remarkably versatile across company law and trust and estate disputes” and “very thorough, has an intricate knowledge of the law, and is also very approachable.”
Amy Proferes
Call: 2012
Zahler Bryan has a broad commercial chancery practice, with a particular emphasis on contentious trusts, civil fraud and financial disputes.
She regularly advises on a wide range of matters, with considerable experience in large-scale commercial and trust disputes spanning an extensive range of jurisdictions.
Zahler also has a particular interest in appellate work and has appeared in the Supreme Court and the Privy Council.
Described as “razor smart and a great asset to any team“, Zahler was awarded ‘Chancery Junior of the Year’ at the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023.
Zahler Bryan
Call: 2012
John Eldridge
Call: 2019
Max Marenbon is a commercial chancery barrister specialising in civil fraud, company and insolvency disputes. He is recognised by the Legal 500 directory as a ‘Leading Junior’ at the London Bar and a ‘Rising Star’ in the Middle East.
Max has appeared as sole counsel in significant cases, including a leading authority on the English courts’ jurisdiction to grant worldwide freezing orders against third parties. He has assisted with cases at all appellate levels. His Middle East practice is centred on the courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
He is interested in how the law treats new ways of doing business, has experience of cryptocurrency-related litigation, and is growing a practice in artificial intelligence litigation. He has acted as sole advocate in AI-related cases in the UK and Middle East, including the leading ADGM authority on the use of AI-generated documents in litigation.
Appointed to the UK Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown in 2024, Max previously qualified as a solicitor at a leading City firm and served as judicial assistant to Lord Wilson at the UK Supreme Court.
Max Marenbon
Call: 2020
Wilson Leung
Call: 2008 (Hong Kong, non-practising) 2022 (England & Wales)
Matthew Innes
Call: 2022
Ramyaa Veerabathran
Call: 2023
