Rebecca Farrell
Year of Call: 2016
Email Address: rebecca.farrell@3pb.co.uk
Telephone: 020 7583 8055
Commercial
Rebecca Farrell is a junior member of 3PB’s Commercial team and has a busy practice advising on insolvency, breach of trust, general commercial litigation and contractual disputes, company law, partnership disputes and financial services litigation including consumer credit regulations.
Insolvency
Rebecca regularly advises and acts for petitioners; insolvency practitioners; supporting creditors and debtors on matters concerning personal and corporate insolvency. She is frequently instructed to appear on bankruptcy petitions, winding-up petitions and other applications in both the High Court and County Court. ‘Other applications’ include applications to set aside statutory demands; applications concerning transactions at an undervalue and preferences and third-party applications generally.
Rebecca has also acted on matters concerning Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA’s) and administrations including the appointment of an interim manager. Rebecca has some experience of disputes which have a dimension outside of this jurisdiction and associated challenges to the court’s jurisdiction.
Alongside other members of the Commercial Team during the Pandemic, Rebecca published news items and delivered a webinar on updates to insolvency law and practice in light of Covid-19. This included coverage of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020.
Examples of recent work includes:
- Successfully acting for a Petitioning Creditor in relation to a multi-million-pound bankruptcy petition
- Successfully obtaining urgent injunctive relief to restrain presentation of winding-up petitions in the High Court
- Assisting leading counsel in relation to an application to stay a liquidation and compel the removal of liquidators
- Successfully obtaining various orders for examination and delivery up of documentation
Breach of trust litigation
Rebecca has experience of dealing with high value breach of trust claims in both domestic and business contexts. She also offers expertise in seeking associated relief, for example; orders for an account and inquiry and tracing. She recently worked with leading counsel on an application for a worldwide freezing order in a claim concerning breach of duty and deceit/civil fraud.
Rebecca has also dealt with a number of enforcement matters such as obtaining charging orders and orders for sale. She has obtained good results in disputes where the beneficial ownership of charged assets have arisen.
Commercial litigation and contractual disputes
Prior to qualifying as a Barrister, Rebecca worked as a paralegal in an international law firm on a reinsurance matter, where she developed a strong grounding in commercial disputes. Subsequently Rebecca worked as a Legal Editor at FromCounsel, a publishing company that provides an excellent online resource for corporate lawyers.
Rebecca acts for a range of clients including; national and international companies; education organisations; law firms and individuals.
Recent matters include:
- Assisting with a royalties dispute involving a high-profile band
- Assisting with a complex shipping dispute involving the carriage of goods
- Assisting with an advice on an appeal against an arbitral body appointed by a commodities association
- Drafting a claim concerning the misuse of funds entrusted to an agent
Company law, business and other entities
Rebecca has a specific interest in this practice area, often dealing with the practical effect corporate structures and/or bodies have on obtaining legal redress in other areas. Examples of her work include:
- Acting in a number of company matters including unfair prejudice petitions; company restorations; the reuse of company names; the rectification of the register; and partnership disputes
- Assisting with a restitution claim under FSMA 2000
- Assisting with a directors’ disqualification matter in the High Court: see The Official Receiver v Brett Jolly [2017] (Companies Court)
- Advising on the lawfulness of membership termination and changes to the constitution of an unincorporated association.
Financial Services
Rebecca has experience of disputes concerning the regulation of financial services and the conduct of investors. She was recently instructed to settle grounds of appeal to the Court of Appeal in a dispute concerning consumer credit regulation and a procedural issue connected with the dispute.
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Publications -
No duty to exercise option reasonably or in good faith in engine maintenance agreement
24th Jul 2020View PublicationNo duty to exercise option reasonably or in good faith in engine maintenance agreement
Rebecca Farrell analyses Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd v Lufthansa Technik AG, in which the High Court found that there was no duty of good faith or duty to act reasonably in respect of an option to withdraw engines from a maintenance agreement.
This article was first published by Lexis®PSL on 21 July 2020.
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Pandemic Petitions: Winding up under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and the associated Practice Direction
10th Jul 2020View PublicationFollowing the introduction of the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 (“the CIGA 2020”) and the associated Insolvency Practice Direction, 3PB’s specialist commercial law barristers Charles Irvine and Rebecca Farrell consider winding up petitions in this context.
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The price of an unreasonable refusal to engage: ADR, Litigation and cost consequences
8th Jun 2020View Publication3PB’s specialist commercial law barristers David Parratt QC and Rebecca Farrell review the cost consequences for lawyers and their clients of a refusal to engage in ADR.
The article includes a recent case law review which demonstrates a particular trend whereby Courts will examine closely the actions of the parties in relation to offers of ADR as to whether they are ‘reasonable’ or not. Even the failure to respond to a Part 36 Offer alongside an offer to mediate, can of itself potentially signify an unreasonable refusal to engage with ADR.
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Daniel Brown and Rebecca Farrell review court decision on Carluccio’s administration
23rd Apr 2020View PublicationFollowing the recent decision of Re Debenhams Retail Ltd (In Administration) [2020] EWHC 921 (Ch) which applied Re Carluccio’s Limited [2020] EWHC 886 (Ch), 3PB’s specialist Employment and Commercial Barristers Daniel Brown and Rebecca Farrell join forces to review the Carluccio’s decision.
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Substituted service of a bankruptcy petition not available retrospectively
14th Mar 2019View PublicationCommercial update: Substituted service of bankruptcy petitions
The High Court has ruled that permission to serve a bankruptcy petition by a substituted means cannot be given retrospectively. Rebecca Farrell analyses the decision Ardawa v. Uppal and Jordan [2019] EWHC 456 (Ch) and considers how it changes the law.
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Recommendations "I am a Solicitor and have so been since 1974-and once appeared in many criminal and civil cases. Just to say that Rebecca (whom I had never known of or met) was first class in her dealings with the Court witnesses and conducting the case. Hopefully she will go far”
Client"I am writing to thank you for representing me yesterday. As you know following the mix up on my last court date I was quite anxious about yesterday's hearing. As soon as we met, you immediately put me at ease and it was clearly obvious that you had given a lot of time in familiarising yourself with my case. This proved to benefit us both. I was impressed by your professionalism and knowledge in the court room that led to a positive outcome. I have let [X firm] know how good you are and that they should be confident in you representing their clients in the future.”
Client
Academic qualifications
- Law (LLB), The University of Durham: First Class Honours
- BPTC, The University of Law: Very Competent
Scholarships
- Exhibition Award – Inner Temple
- Advocacy Scholarship – The University of Law
- Quarter-finalist at the National Rounds of the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2014
Professional bodies
- Chancery Bar Association
- Property Bar Association (associate member)
- London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association
- International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
Direct Access
Rebecca Farrell is qualified to accept instructions directly from members of the public and professional clients under the Direct Public Access scheme.
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