Rachel Lane (Pupil)

Throughout pupillage, Rachel has been exposed to a range of private client work, including:

• Shadowing Kate Selway KC in an application for a claim to be tried on the written evidence which concerned a fraudulently obtained Grant of Probate.
• Drafting a mediation position statement for a claim arising out of a disputed posthumous variation to a Will and shadowing Josh Lewison at the mediation.
• Attending a consequentials hearing with Josh Lewison regarding an application to remove the executors of several Wills.
• Shadowing Dan Thorpe in a hearing which sought to approve a settlement on behalf of a protected party in relation to a Will dispute.
• Drafting a Deed of termination in respect of a Will trust under the rule in Saunders v Vautier.

Rachel has gained a wide range of experience in various trust matters, including:

• Shadowing James Morgan KC, Josh Lewison and Marcus Flavin in the Court of Appeal case of FS Capital Limited & Ors v Alan Adams & Ors[2025] EWCA Civ 53 which concerned the sale of assets from Jersey trusts to a private company. The question arose as to whether the exercise of a power for an improper purpose was void (as opposed to voidable).
• Drafting an opinion on the rights of an excluded beneficiary to obtain trust documents and the merits of a claim for breach of trust.
• Drafting an opinion advising executors on the enforcement of a US judgment against the estate and the distribution of assets in the UK.
• Drafting a skeleton argument and attending a hearing with Josh Lewison regarding an application made by a minor to vary a Will trust under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.

Examples of Commercial work that Rachel has been exposed to during Pupillage include:

• Drafting a defence for Andrew Brown in a case alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, deceit and conspiracy arising out of a contractual relationship.
• Attending a summary judgment application with Martin Ouwehand in respect of a claim for breach of guarantee which primarily concerned the construction of contractual documentation.
• Assisting Martin Ouwehand in a claim for breach of contract and misrepresentation.

During pupillage, Rachel has worked on numerous restructuring and insolvency matters, including by:

• Drafting an opinion in a matter concerning potential constructive trusts over funds held by an insolvent company.
• Drafting written submissions regarding the costs position in a claim concerning funds held by an insolvent company.
• Drafting an opinion on the merits of a claim for breach of warranty in respect of a Share Purchase Agreement.
• Drafting a skeleton argument and attending a hearing with Martin Ouwehand in a contested application to set aside a statutory demand where the capacity of the debtor was in issue.
• Drafting several skeleton arguments seeking Administration Orders pursuant to Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Drafting a claim form, witness statement and skeleton argument in respect of an application to strike out a claim arising from a Share Purchase Agreement.
• Assisting Martin Ouwehand in a matter concerning conflicting claims of ownership over assets purportedly sold by an insolvent company pursuant to a business and asset sale agreement.
• Assisting Martin Ouwehand in resisting an application for a Moratorium pursuant to section A4 of Part A1 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Shadowing Andrew Brown in an insolvency matter which concerned proofs of debt, contractual interpretation and limitation.

Examples of civil fraud matters that Rachel has been involved in during pupillage include:

• Assisting Josh Lewison in a high-profile civil fraud and estates matter in which approval of a funding arrangement was sought and a cross-application to remove a personal representative appointed under r. 19.12 of the CPR was resisted.

• BVS – Distinction – City, University of London (September 2023 – April 2024)
• BA Law – Double First Class – The University of Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College (October 2019 – June 2022)

• Barstow Scholarship – City, University of London (2024)
• Academic Excellence Scholarship – City, University of London (2023)
• Princess Royal Scholarship – Inner Temple (2023)
• Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award – Inner Temple (2023)
• Sir William McNair Prize for Law – Gonville and Caius College Cambridge (2020 & 2022)
• Senior Scholarship – Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (2021)
• Winner, Fledglings Quadrant Chambers Moot – The University of Cambridge (2020)
• Winner, Sir William McNair Moot – Gonville and Caius College Cambridge (2020)

• £39 (2023) (Audible, National Theatre London)
• Fiduciary Duties (2022) (Cambridge Per Incuriam)
• Protecting Migrants under Article 8: Destined to Disappoint? (2022) (Pembroke Law Journal)

• Read Rachel’s Privacy Notice, Data Protection Policy and Disposal Policy.