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Privilege update: Privy Council confirms the shareholder principle no longer applies in England & Wales
Hannah Fitzwilliam
"An associate to watch"
The Legal 500 UK, 2021
Hannah is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team. Hannah advises on a broad range of contentious matters for clients that include individuals, corporates, trustees and professionals. Hannah regularly advises on complex and high value disputes, including those with a cross-border element. Hannah has a particular interest in civil fraud matters and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) litigation.
Hannah’s commercial litigation experience includes advising on asset tracing investigations, obtaining and opposing freezing injunctions, shareholder disputes, professional negligence claims, insolvency litigation and internal investigations. Hannah also has extensive experience of preparing cases for trial, including litigation in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the General Regulatory Chamber.
Hannah is involved in a number of initiatives alongside her commercial practice. She is an active member of Kingsley Napley’s Charities Committee and volunteers as a caseworker for Amicus.
Areas of expertise:
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Insolvency Litigation
Recent work
- Acting for Aquila Advisory Ltd in its successful defence in the Supreme Court of a claim involving breach of fiduciary duty, attribution and illegality (Crown Prosecution Service v Aquila Advisory Ltd [2021] UKSC 49);
- Advising two companies in relation to ICO investigations into alleged data breaches;
- Acting on behalf of a claimant company in a multi-million pound case involving claims of misrepresentation and fraud;
- Pursuing professional negligence claims against solicitors and other professional advisors;
- Acting on behalf of a company in a shareholder dispute that included a claim by an individual purporting to be a director/shareholder of the company;
- Defending an individual against allegations of fraud relating to the running of a company;
- Representing an individual in defending a freezing order obtained (without notice) by an overseas bank, with a value of over EUR 60 million; and
- Acting for the corporate trustee of an off-shore trust in a high value cross-border dispute involving allegations of dishonesty, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty.
Professional societies and memberships
- Commercial Litigators Forum (CLF) Associates Committee
- Young Fraud Lawyers Association
- Junior LSLA