Jeremy specialises in commercial litigation with a particular emphasis on all aspects of contentious insolvency (corporate insolvency, LLPs, partnerships and bankruptcy), company law (including directors’ duties, shareholder disputes and unfair prejudice petitions), company directors’ disqualification proceedings and BROs, disciplinary, licensing and regulatory proceedings involving insolvency practitioners (acted for the ICAEW on boo.com) and bank recovery proceedings (charges, mortgages, guarantees and indemnities). He has appeared in over 25 reported insolvency and CDDA cases.
He has considerable practical experience of directors’ disqualification proceedings, having been appointed to the Attorney General’s CDDA provincial panel and is now appointed as Junior Counsel to the Crown Regional A Panel. He frequently represents directors, including in the high-profile World of Leather, Time Computers, Finelist, Farepak and UKLI disqualification cases. He is a contributor to Mithani: Directors’ Disqualification (Butterworths).
Jeremy is a Council Member of the Insolvency Lawyers Association and is a member of the ILA Technical Committee.
Insolvency & Restructuring
Jeremy is a specialist insolvency barrister. Insolvency work forms the majority of his practice and includes all aspects of company, LLP, partnership and individual insolvency. His experience ranges from applications to set aside statutory demands, bankruptcy petitions, administration applications, through clawback proceedings (misfeasance, TUV, preferences, s.423 IA 1986), unlawful dividends and distributions, CVA/IVA voting appeals/revocation/unfair prejudice applications to solvent members’ voluntary winding up, along with pretty much most things in between.
Company
Jeremy has considerable company law experience dealing with director’s duties, shareholder disputes, unfair prejudice petitions and just and equitable winding up petitions. His reported company cases include Wilton-Davies v Kirk [1998] 1 BCLC 274, in which he obtained an interim order for the appointment of a receiver in an unfair prejudice petition and Dyment v Boyden and Bishop [2005] 1 WLR 792, one of the few unlawful financial assistance cases under s.151 CA 1985 to reach the Court of Appeal, where he acted at first instance and in the appeal for the successful defendants.
Company Directors Disqualification
Jeremy has considerable specialist experience of disqualification cases under the CDDA 1986.
For many years he has acted for the Secretary of State / Official Receiver under his appointment to the Attorney General’s CDDA provincial panel and now as Junior Counsel to the Crown Regional A Panel, advising on and presenting disqualification cases at trial. In addition, he has substantial experience defending directors in disqualification proceedings, during the pre-issue investigation period, assisting with and drafting representations to avoid the issue of proceedings or narrow and clarify allegations, evidence in defence, defending directors at trial, disqualification undertakings and s.17 CDDA permission applications for leave to act as a director. He represented directors in the high-profile World of Leather, Time Computers, Finelist, Farepak and UKLI disqualification cases. He is a contributing editor to the specialist textbook Mithani: Directors’ Disqualification (LexisNexis).
Commercial
Jeremy has experience of a wide range of commercial litigation, including in particular bank recovery proceedings (enforcement of charges, mortgages, guarantees, LPA receivership), civil fraud (including dishonest assistance and knowing receipt), ROT, breach of warranty and general contractual disputes.
Professional Negligence and Disciplinary
Jeremy has particular experience dealing with Disciplinary and Regulatory matters involving IPs. He has advised and represented a number of the recognised professional bodies and insolvency practitioners in respect of disciplinary complaints and decisions to withdraw insolvency practitioners’ licences. He successfully represented the Investigation Committee of the ICAEW before the disciplinary committee (i) in a disciplinary complaint against 2 IPs concerning their appointment as provisional liquidators of boo.com, where there was a prior material professional relationship and (ii) in a disciplinary complaint against an IP concerning an invalid appointment as LPA receiver and duress and also acted before the Appeal Tribunal of the ICAEW in respect of that complaint. He successfully defended a solicitor/IP facing an investigation of a professional complaint by the Law Society and successfully represented an IP in an appeal to the Insolvency Service over their decision to withdraw his insolvency licence.
Called to the Bar (Lincolns Inn) 1989
Council Member of Insolvency Lawyers Association
Member of the Chancery Bar Association
Campbell College, Belfast
Pembroke College, Oxford (BA Jurisprudence 2.1)
Inns of Court School of Law