Louis Grandjouan

Louis is instructed in his own right as counsel in commercial chancery claims and to advise on commercial law issues. Recent instructions include:

• Advising a firm of City headhunters in respect of a potential breach of contract claim against a law firm.
• Advising energy generators in respect of potential claims against a broker for misrepresentation, negligent misstatement, and breach of contract.

Louis also gained exposure to a variety of commercial, company and partnership disputes during his time as a pupil, including:

• Musst Holdings Ltd v Astra Asset Management UK Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 3432 (Ch) and [2022] EWHC 629 (Ch): a dispute between two hedge funds relating to non-payment of fees.
• BNM Parkstone LLP v Khazai [2022] EWHC 345 (Ch): allegations of breach of fiduciary duty in the context of membership of an LLP and a form of joint venture agreement.
• Drafting a defence and counterclaim to a claim to enforce provisions of a board observer agreement.
• Derivative action (by way of counterclaim) against a director to establish the beneficial ownership of land held for a family-owned business.
• Professional negligence claims against solicitors, Jersey advocates, and accountants.

As judicial assistant to Lord Stephens, Louis worked closely on a number of important commercial chancery cases, including:

• CPS v Aquila Advisory [2021] UKSC 49 (whether proprietary claim brought by company against directors in breach of fiduciary duty can be asserted in priority to confiscation order).
• Matthew and others v Sedman [2021] UKSC 19 (correct approach to calculation of limitation periods in midnight deadline cases).

Louis has appeared as sole advocate in the High Court and County Court in relation to winding-up petitions, bankruptcy petitions and insolvency applications (most recently in a successful application to extend the administration of TML Realisations Ltd, formerly T.M. Lewin).

As a pupil, Louis was exposed to a wide variety of insolvency litigation, including:

• Re Li Shu Chung [2021] EWHC 3346 (Ch): application for the recognition of Hong Kong bankruptcy proceedings under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006.
• A complex application under para 71 IA 1986 to sell a property development free of security.
• Various interim hearings, including a successful application to strike out a claim brought by liquidators against directors and alleging fraudulent breaches of duty.

As a solicitor and attorney, Louis worked primarily on cross-border finance and restructuring transactions, including:

• advising the ad hoc committee of senior secured noteholders in relation to the financial restructuring and recapitalisation of a UK-based offshore and subsea services group.
• advising a US-based offshore drilling group in Chapter 11 bankruptcy on its refinancing and restructuring.
• advising a UK and Netherlands-based multinational capital goods group in respect of its debt programmes.
• advising a Netherlands-based multinational health technology group in respect of the establishment of, and subsequent issuances under, a debt programme.
• advising a Canadian mining group in respect of a project financing for a gold mine in Mauritania.

Louis has a particular interest in trusts and welcomes instructions in this area.

As a pupil, Louis gained exposure to a wide variety of contentious and non-contentious trusts work, in relation to both commercial and private trusts, including:

• Claims for rectification of pension trust deeds, including Mitchells & Butlers Pensions Ltd v Mitchells & Butlers Plc [2022] EWHC 3017.
• Drafting a defence and counterclaim to a claim that personal pensions were held on express or constructive trusts by the employee for the employer.
• Applications to remove trustees.
• Claims for breach of trust.
• Applications under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
• Claims for accounts and recovery of assets.
• Advising on questions of construction.

As judicial assistant to Lord Stephens, Louis worked closely on:

• Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd v Halabi (Jersey) and ITG Ltd and others v Fort Trustees Ltd and another (Guernsey) (status of a trustee’s right of indemnity in relation to a Jersey law trust; and order of priorities as between trustees and trust creditors: decision of the Board forthcoming).
• Rittson-Thomas and others v Oxfordshire County Council [2021] UKSC 13 (scope of trustees’ powers of sale in respect of a charitable trust of land).

Louis has gained exposure to a variety of contentious and non-contentious wills and estates matters during his pupillage, and he is currently instructed in a number of cases in his own right.

During his time as a pupil Louis shadowed members working on:

• Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975
• Advice and drafting relating to the taxation of trusts and estates, principally in relation to IHT and CGT.
• Various claims against administrators and executors.
• A claim alleging that an estate was held on mutual wills

As a pupil, Louis was exposed to a variety of tax matters, both contentious and non-contentious, including:

• A number of high-value and complex tax disputes involving avoidance schemes, including the Ingenious litigation when last before the Court of Appeal (Ingenious Games LLP and ors v HMRC [2022] EWCA Civ 1015: application under CPR r.52.30 to seek to re-open the refusal of permission to appeal).
• An appeal where the taxpayer sought relief in respect of a late notification under the Registered Pension Scheme (Enhanced Lifetime Allowance) Regulations 2006 (Ketley v HMRC [2021] UKUT 218 (TCC)).
• Advice and drafting relating to the taxation of trusts and estates, principally in relation to IHT and CGT.

As judicial assistant to Lord Stephens in the Supreme Court, Louis worked closely on R (Haworth) v HMRC [2021] UKSC 25 (interpretation of HMRC’s obligations under follower notice regime).

Louis regularly advises on property law issues (including landlord and tenant law) and has been instructed in a range of property law disputes, including possession claims and disputes relating to service charges.

Louis graduated from the University of Oxford with a first-class degree in Law (Jurisprudence) in 2016. He was an exhibitioner, and subsequently a scholar, of University College, Oxford and was awarded the Alan Urbach Memorial Prize for Jurisprudence.

Louis is bilingual in French and is happy to accept instructions in French.

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