Rachel Lane

Examples of Rachel’s recent private client work include: 

• Advising on and drafting an application for the removal and replacement of trustees.  

• Advising personal representatives on a range of estate administration issues, including disputes concerning the recovery of costs and the sale of estate assets.  

• Advising on and drafting a claim arising from the negligent preparation of a will, including a claim pursuant to the principles established in White v Jones. 

During pupillage, Rachel gained experience across the full spectrum of Chambers’ contentious and non-contentious private client work. Examples include: 

• 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. 

• Assisting Josh Lewison in a claim arising from a disputed posthumous variation of a will, including the preparation of a mediation position statement. 

• Assisting Josh Lewison in a high-profile civil fraud and estates dispute involving an application to approve a litigation funding arrangement and the successful resistance of a cross-application to remove a personal representative appointed under CPR 19.12. 

• Gaining experience of applications under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, particularly those involving minor beneficiaries and inheritance tax planning considerations. 

• Shadowing Nathan Wells on a broad range of private client matters, including: 

• Advising on and drafting a claim concerning the validity of a will. 

• Preparing a response to a summons issued under Rule 44 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987. 

• Researching issues relating to assents and the vesting of legal and beneficial title to shares within estates and trusts. 

Rachel is regularly instructed across a wide range of property disputes. Her recent experience includes: 

• Representing parties in possession proceedings, including claims brought under the Housing Act 1988 and forfeiture actions.  

• Advising on complex land registration issues, including the merits of an application for first registration founded on adverse possession and encroachment.  

• Providing advice and drafting pleadings in a broad range of landlord and tenant disputes, including claims involving breaches of repairing obligations, tenant covenants, and related contractual and proprietary issues.  

• Appearing in charging order applications. 

During pupillage, Rachel gained experience across the full spectrum of real property and landlord and tenant law, including: 

• Drafting Particulars of Claim seeking possession of residential property situated on farmland, injunctive relief to restrain unlawful entry and use, and declaratory relief concerning the dissolution of a farming partnership. 

• Drafting a Reply and Defence to Counterclaim raising issues of proprietary estoppel, common intention constructive trusts and resulting trusts. 

• Shadowing Amber Turner in an application for a vesting order under section 44(ii)(c) of the Trustee Act 1925 in respect of a dissolved company’s interest in leasehold property. 

Rachel has a busy insolvency practice spanning both corporate and personal insolvency. She is regularly instructed by insolvency practitioners, creditors, debtors, companies and directors in contentious insolvency proceedings. 

Her recent instructions include: 

• Appearing in the High Court on behalf of creditors and debtors in winding-up petitions. 

• Appearing regularly in applications to set aside statutory demands, prosecute and defend bankruptcy petitions, annul bankruptcy orders and rescind winding-up orders. 

• Appearing in the ICC urgent interim applications list in connection with the conversion of an administration into a liquidation. 

• Advising on and drafting claims brought by liquidators and assignees arising from alleged breaches of directors’ duties, transactions at an undervalue, preferences and unlawful dividends. 

• Advising on urgent injunctive relief on behalf of a liquidator in relation to assets alleged to have been dissipated by a former director. 

Rachel’s practice is underpinned by experience gained during pupillage on a wide range of complex restructuring and insolvency matters, including: 

• Assisting Adam Deacock in Pagden v Fry [2025] EWHC 2316 (Ch), a two-day hearing before Mr Justice Thompsell concerning the extent to which liquidators may limit their personal liability for breaches of duty committed whilst in office. 

• Gaining experience from both Dawn McCambley and Martin Ouwehand on a range of contentious matters, including: 

• Preparing a Defence to claims under sections 216 and 217 of the Insolvency Act 1986 alleging the use of a prohibited company name and seeking to impose personal liability on a director for company debts. 

• Drafting a skeleton argument on behalf of joint administrators seeking directions under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986. 

• Drafting skeleton arguments and attending hearings for applications seeking administration orders and to extend company administrations. 

Rachel’s practice frequently involves complex issues of company law arising within insolvency, shareholder and commercial disputes. She has experience drafting pleadings and witness statements in matters concerning the rectification of company registers, breaches of directors’ duties and associated equitable and statutory remedies. 

During pupillage, Rachel gained experience in a broad range of corporate disputes, including: 

• Shadowing Andrew Brown in CNG Ltd v Zog Energy Ltd [2025] EWHC 86 (Ch), which included the first judicial consideration of whether time continues to run for limitation purposes during a modern administration following the reforms introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002. 

• Shadowing Andrew Brown in a trial concerning alleged breaches of fiduciary duty by directors arising from the investment of pension assets by a corporate trustee. 

• Drafting a Defence in a multi-party commercial dispute involving allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation, deceit and unlawful means conspiracy. 

Rachel has gained experience in a range of injunction applications, including: 

• Attending a hearing with Jonathan Edwards in which proprietary and freezing injunctions were sought after trustees had failed to account for assets that were the subject of an ongoing claim under the 1975 Act. 

• Shadowing Natalie Pratt in an application for an injunction against persons unknown relating to an encampment outside the offices of the ECHR, which raised sensitive issues given that many of the protestors were believed to be minors. 

• Shadowing Lauren Kreamer on an urgent freezing injunction application concerning claims against a director, where proprietary and other relief was sought in relation to alleged breaches of directors’ duties and transactions at an undervalue. 

• 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.