Rachel Bale

Rachel Bale

Year of Call: 2019
Email Address: [email protected]
Telephone: 01865 793 736

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Clerks Details

  • Clerk Name: Patrick Robson
  • Clerk Telephone: 0330 332 0773
  • Clerk Email: [email protected]
  • Clerk Name: Matthew Scanlan
  • Clerk Telephone: 020 7583 8055
  • Clerk Email: [email protected]

Probate and Estates

Rachel is a specialist chancery junior with a strong focus on trusts. She is regularly instructed in complex and high-value matters beyond her year of call and is recognised for her ability to handle technically demanding disputes across trusts and estates, wills and probate, private client property, charities, and financial remedy work

Rachel is a go-to junior for solicitors seeking clear, decisive advice on difficult issues. She is valued for her robust legal analysis, pragmatic no-nonsense advice and practical judgment particularly in fast-moving or sensitive disputes. She is instructed by a broad range of leading and boutique firms.

She is able to aptly adapt to the individual needs of her clients, deploying her ethos of providing “order to the chaos”, whether it be in advising a professional and corporate trustees, high-net-worth individuals, and a vulnerable client in the midst of an emotionally challenging familial dispute.

Solicitors frequently praise Rachel’s meticulous, analytical approach alongside her approachable disposition with clients which results in a strong advocacy style to robustly fight for her client’s interests/ She receives excellent results, including high settlements in mediation and ADR appearing across the entire breadth of tribunals nationwide, including County Courts, Property Tribunals, High Court (Chancery and Family Division) and successfully drafted pleadings for the Court of Appeal.

Prior to the Bar, Rachel received a First-Class Degree in Law and French Law having studied at the infamous University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2016 as well as Distinction for her LLM. She has received multiple scholarships and prizes in recognition of his academic achievements.

Further to her practice, Rachel is a trusted member of chambers acting as an elected member on internal management decisions within PolCom. She also has commercial experience of running of her own company, having founded the award-winning “Her Bar” in 2021, the online Hub for aspiring and practising women barristers.

Rachel is a member of the Chancery Bar Association and the Contentious Trusts Association.

Trusts

Rachel has a thriving trusts practice and is regularly instructed in disputes concerning interpretation of trust deeds, constructive and resulting trusts and trusts of land, including enforcement of such orders.
His recent article entitled “Smoke and Mirrors: Shams and Illusory Trusts in Divorce Proceedings” appeared in Ors” appeared in Summer Issue 2, 2025 – Financial Remedies Journal.
Her work includes:

  • Bringing and defending TOLATA 1997 claims, including equitable accounting, occupation rent proprietary estoppel and enhanced remedies pursuant to the
  • Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1970, s37 and Married Women’s Property Act 1882, s17.
  • Advising and acting in claims for removal or substitution of trustees;
  • Pursuing and opposing orders for sale involving trustees in bankruptcy and divorcing couples.
  • Drafting of trust instruments and related documentation, including Deeds of Variation
  • Claims to set aside or rectify deeds, wills and other documents
  • Advising on the implications of a trust fund in financial remedies proceedings, for both beneficiaries and excluded spouse

Wills & Probate

Rachel has a thriving practice in both contentious and non-contentious will & probate matters. She regularly advises executors, beneficiaries, and interested third parties in all stage of litigation, from initial advice and pre-action strategy to representation in ADR and trials. Her work includes

  • Challenging the validity of wills on grounds such as lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, undue influence, and fraudulent calumny.
  • Enforcement of settlement agreements which include cross-jurisdictional clauses
  • Claims between beneficiaries and trustees or personal representatives, including applications for directions by trustees or personal representatives, removal applications, possession of property, rectification, breaches of trust and claims for accounts
  • Drafting and advising on the interpretation and validity of wills, codicils and trust instruments
  • Advising on disclosure and privilege, including Larke v Nugus requests
  • Bringing claims for resealing of grants from foreign jurisdictions

Family Provisions - Inheritance Act 1975

Rachel is frequently instructed in claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. She advises claimants across all statutory categories, as well as beneficiaries and executors, at every stage of proceedings, from pre-action strategy through to final hearing

She has experience advising on estates ranging from modest values to multi-million-pound estates and is valued for delivering clear, strategic advice in financially and emotionally sensitive disputes.

As an established remedies’ practitioner, Rachel has a unique advantage of current knowledge of the considerations weighed in the family courts to be able to give robust advice on the principle of ‘divorce fiction’ pursuant to section 3(2) in spousal/civil partnership 1975 Act claims for spouses

Her work includes:

  • Advising and representing spouses, former spouses, adult children, cohabitants and those being maintained.
  • Advising on disclosure and privilege, including Larke v Nugus requests
  • Advising on interim maintenance under s5
  • Advising on, drafting and reviewing Deeds of Variation and Deeds of Settlement;
  • Evaluating settlement offers and preparing counteroffers in a commercial and strategic manner; and

Private Client

Rachel is regularly instructed by personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries and other interested parties across a wide range of non-contentious private client matters. His practice covers the full spectrum of trust and estate administration and will-drafting.

Her growing experience includes

  • Advising executors/ administrators as to rights and obligations in administering estates, including possession of rental properties;
  • Advising and pleading CPR Part 64 proceedings, including Beddoes and Benjamin Orders
  • Advising on all aspects of the administration of trusts and estates such as the exercise of powers, and the appointment and retirement of trustees.
  • Advising on and preparing section 116 Senior Courts Act 1981 passing-over applications.
  • Applying for formal accounts and inventories of estate assets
  • Advising and preparing applications for revocation of grants

Mediation & ADR

Rachel has significant experience representing clients across a range of ADR processes, including mediation, early neutral evaluation, and round-table negotiations. She is known for a pragmatic, strategic approach focused on achieving efficient, commercially sound outcomes while minimising cost, risk, and disruption for clients.

Her cases frequently settle at or shortly after mediation, with the process at least often serving to narrow issues and clarify positions prior to litigation.

She is often instructed to:

  • Draft documents in preparation for mediations.
  • Providing strategic advice in formulating, advising upon, and drafting offers and counteroffers.
  • Prepare and review Deeds of Settlement, Tomlin Orders, Deeds of Variation and other formal documents once a compromise has been reached;
  • Draft enforcement pleadings in the event breach of compromise arises

 

  • Recommendations

    “Another great example of a rising star at 3PB! First class service, great with the client, meticulous and the result speaks for itself on this case” – Instructing solicitor

    "Rachel approached my case meticulously. She explained everything to me in a very concise manner, which gave me a lot of confidence before we went into court. She is an asset to your services at 3PB.” - Lay client following possession matter

    “Rachel is an outstanding advocate and provided valuable and thorough advice in this matter. Her intricate scrutiny of the Claimant’s claim in a short timescale assisted us in achieving a positive result for the Client.” - Instructing solicitor

    “Rachel dealt with a last-minute hearsay application notice completely in her stride in a cool calm and collected manner. She went above and beyond her instructions achieving a winning outcome for the client. I would not hesitate to instruct her again.” – Instructing Solicitor

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