XXIV Old Buildings

Jessica has a broad commercial chancery practice encompassing domestic and international litigation, arbitration and mediation of business and private client disputes. Jessica was called to the bar in 1997 and since then she has gained considerable experience of large scale, complex cases led by leading silks and on her own account.

Jessica is often involved in the leading trust and inheritance disputes of the day.  She is currently acting in a significant Inheritance Act dispute, and, together with Alan Steinfeld QC, is instructed in a second round of litigation in Oakhurst v Blackstar following their successful defence of trustees' remuneration in Oakhurst v Blackstar [2013] EWHC 1363 (Ch).  She is representing the sons' interests in the estate of Hassib Sabbagh [2014] EWHC 3233 (Comm) in an appeal in a heavyweight jurisdiction challenge led by Alex Layton QC.  She was involved in the preparation of the successful case before the Court of Appeal in Patel v Mirza concerning the defence of illegality which has recently been endorsed by the Supreme Court [2016] UKSC 42.

In recent years she represented the daughters' interests in the estate of Lord Lambton [2013] EWHC 3566 (Ch) involving the complex area of conflict of laws governing succession to his estate, and has acted for other high net worth families in resolving inheritance disputes. She has been instructed in a number of Inheritance Act cases, mediated out of court.

Jessica’s cases often have an international or offshore element and she has had experience of litigation in USA, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, China and Samoa, and arbitration in Nigeria, South Africa, Denmark, Sweden, India and Kazakhstan.  In addition her trust cases have involved her in the following offshore jurisdictions: British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar and the Bahamas. Although she has good experience of international and offshore jurisdictions, her mainstream practice remains based in London.

In addition to the core areas of her practice which have historically focused on commercial and trust litigation, a number of her cases have involved aspects of insolvency and company law and she has had recent exposure to financial services and hedge funds litigation as well as professional negligence.

Called 1997, Lincoln’s Inn.

Chancery Bar Association Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

MA (Hons) Oxford Denning Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn Hardwicke Entrance Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn Mansfield Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn