LEXLAW Solicitors & Barristers
The High Court set aside a £16.3 million bankruptcy petition and alternative service order against a Qatari billionaire who owned a £115m property portfolio on Queen Anne’s Gate in Westminster. Property ownership cannot act as a procedural shortcut for valid territorial service when the debtor was residing in Doha. Substantive jurisdiction cannot substitute for a valid service strategy.
In complex civil litigation, lower courts can commit critical procedural errors, such as deciding an application based on arguments that were never formally pleaded by the parties. As demonstrated by the High Court’s ruling today in Arran Coghlan & Anor v Lexlaw Ltd, an appellate strategy that holds a lower court to the boundaries of civil procedure can successfully reverse an irregular judgment.
When a company enters liquidation, the liquidator investigates the conduct of its directors and can pursue personal claims for misfeasance, wrongful or fraudulent trading, preferences, transactions at an undervalue and transactions defrauding creditors. This succinct guide explains each claim and, crucially, how a director can defend it.
Unfair prejudice petitions under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 offer minority shareholders a powerful legal route to challenge misconduct by those controlling a company. Whether you are being excluded from management, denied information, or having your shareholding diluted, the law provides real remedies. This guide explains everything you need to know about unfair prejudice claims and how LEXLAW’s specialist litigation lawyers can help you pursue or defend one.
Directors who continue trading after they knew, or ought to have concluded, that there was no reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvent liquidation or administration may face personal liability under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986. During the period in which a company is insolvent or nearing insolvency, directors’ decisions may also come under closer scrutiny, particularly where losses to creditors increase.
Growing scrutiny of regulatory oversight has reignited claims that small businesses were exposed to hidden liabilities through complex lending structures, raising significant legal questions around misrepresentation, regulatory accountability, and SME redress.
Our client, Dr Elizabeth Donald represented by Jaron Dosanjh, told The Times that MFS’s collapse had been a “nightmare” in regards to her personal portfolio. Barclays, Santander and Wells Fargo are some of the institutions thought to be caught up in the Mayfair lender’s collapse — but what about individuals? Article by James Hurley, Assistant Business Editor, The Times
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 gives UK authorities wide powers to freeze and recover assets without a criminal conviction. This guide explains how POCA affects directors and businesses, common enforcement tools, legal defences, and steps to protect corporate and personal assets.
CPR Part 36 is a powerful tactical mechanism within the Civil Procedure Rules that can dramatically shift litigation risk and costs. A compliant, well‑timed Part 36 offer can unlock indemnity costs, enhanced interest and Jackson uplifts for claimants, while giving defendants a crucial tool to cap exposure and force serious engagement with settlement.
The Court of Appeal in London International Exhibition Centre plc v Allianz & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 1026 upheld the High Court’s ruling that policyholders can recover COVID-19 business interruption losses under “at the premises” disease wordings, holding that each case of COVID-19 at the insured premises formed part of the concurrent cause of national closure orders.