Samuel Lane (Pupil)

During pupillage, Sam has gained experience of a wide variety of commercial and civil fraud work, including:

• Assisting Zachary Kell (led by Christopher Parker KC), who appeared for the Third Defendant (the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Ukraine) in WWRT v Tyshchenko, a £65 million civil fraud claim concerning complex issues of Ukrainian law and their application to contractual interpretation.
• Assisting Zachary Kell (leading Harmish Mehta) in Arif v Sanger, a preliminary issue trial as to whether claims in fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation were not time-barred by virtue of s.32(1) of the Limitation Act 1980.
• Shadowing Alexander Kingston-Splatt in a successful summary judgment application following non-payment of a commercial debt.
• Assisting Zachary Kell in a contested specific disclosure application heard by the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man. The underlying claims are for alleged minority oppression regarding a fintech company, misuse of confidential information, and secret commissions.
• Drafting a Reply in a case about the assignment and enforceability of a commercial debt.

Sam has experienced a broad range of private client and trusts matters during pupillage, including:

• Shadowing James Morgan KC, Marcus Flavin, and Josh Lewison in FS Capital Limited & Ors v Adams & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 53, a case concerning the sale of loan assets from insolvent Jersey trusts, and the question of whether the exercise of a power for an improper purpose is void or merely voidable.
• Assisting Joshua Winfield in an application for a grant of administration under s. 116 of the Senior Courts Act.
• Drafting a Particulars of Claim alleging that a Will was invalid on the basis of lack of capacity and want of knowledge and approval.
• Drafting a Letter of Claim in a dispute about whether a farmer’s son had acquired an interest in farmland through proprietary estoppel.
• Writing an opinion about whether the transfer of a house could be set aside on the basis of undue influence.
• Writing an opinion about the prospects of a prospective claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.
• Writing an opinion about the construction of a home-made, holographic Will.

Sam has seen a variety of insolvency work during pupillage, including:

• Shadowing Alexander Kingston-Splatt in MBS Recovery Ltd v Quinney [2025] EWHC 546 (Ch), an appeal to the High Court about whether an ICC Judge improperly set aside two statutory demands.
• Assisting Zachary Kell with a Berkeley Applegate application.
• Shadowing Zachary Kell in an oral hearing for permission to appeal against a winding-up order on the basis that the debt was genuinely disputed on substantial grounds.
• Drafting an advice note about whether a judgment debtor was entitled to request information from a receiver.

During pupillage, Sam has worked on numerous charities matters, including by:

• Assisting Joshua Winfield with Mond v Charity Commission of England and Wales [2025] FTT 103 (GRC), a successful appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to disqualify an individual from serving as a charity trustee.
• Shadowing Joshua Winfield in a hearing about the chairmanship, timing, and organisation of a religious charity’s election.
• Drafting a letter of claim in a dispute about whether a charity’s trustees were properly elected and whether amendments to its constitution were validly passed.
• Writing several opinions about the validity of charitable gifts in Wills.
• Writing an advice note about the construction of a Jersey charity’s trust instrument.

During pupillage, Sam shadowed Natalie Pratt in Teledyne UK Limited v Gao & Ors [2024] EWHC 3538 (KB), a successful application for an injunction to restrain trespass and public nuisance at six industrial sites.

While sitting with Joshua Winfield, Sam was exposed to a range of tax matters, including:

• Advising on the tax consequences of a beneficiary collapsing a trust under the rule in Saunders v Vautier.
• Advising on the tax consequences of using the Residential Nil-Rate Band.
• Advising on the tax consequences of a deed of variation.
• Advising on a potential professional negligence claim against tax advisors.

• Bar Vocational Studies – Distinction (ranked first in year), City, University of London (2024)
• GDL – Distinction (ranked second in year), City, University of London (2023)
• DPhil in History – Pass (without corrections), Christ Church, Oxford (2023)
• MSt in Medieval History – Distinction (ranked first in year), St Cross College, Oxford (2016)
• BA (Hons) in History – First Class, Christ Church, Oxford (2015)

• Buchanan Prize (Lincoln’s Inn) (2024)
• Senior Scarman Scholarship (City, University of London) (2024)
• Oxford University Press Prize for Excellence in Advocacy and Procedure (City, University of London) (2024)
• Winner, Property Bar Association Essay Prize (2024)
• Dean’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence (City, University of London) (2023)
• Residential Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) (2023)
• Lord Mansfield Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) (2023)
• Winner, City Law School GDL Moot (2023)
• City Law School Scholarship for Academic Excellence (City, University of London) (2022)
• Lord Bowen Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) (2022)
• Dixon Scholarship (Christ Church, Oxford) (2016)
• Gladstone Prize (Christ Church, Oxford) (2015)
• Finals Prize (Christ Church, Oxford) (2015)
• Slade Prize (Christ Church, Oxford) (2015)
• Open Scholarship (Christ Church, Oxford) (2013)

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