Practice Areas

• Commercial Chancery
• Insolvency
• Property

Degree/ qualifications

• MA (Hons) History and Politics (First Class Honours), University of Edinburgh

• LLB, City University

Susannah appears regularly in the High Court and county courts, representing clients in interim and final applications as well as at trial and on appeal.

In addition, Susannah is experienced at giving advice in relation to a range of contentious and non-contentious matters.

PRACTICE AREA: COMMERCIAL CHANCERY

Susannah has extensive experience in commercial and banking law with a notable emphasis on issues surrounding guarantees, mortgages and receiverships. She also has particular experience acting for banks and finance providers in the context of hire purchase and credit agreements.

In her general chancery practice she has a keen interest in the administration of trusts, contentious probate and issues surrounding the co-ownership of property.

Current and recent work

• Represented buyers in a claim for breach of warranty in share purchase agreement which settled at mediation;
• Successfully acted for receivers on an application to restrain sale of security;
• Acted for lender seeking to enforce a mortgage where the borrower alleged fraud.

Susannah has also advised:

• A business owner in connection with a professional negligence claim against his former solicitors arising out of a hire purchase dispute;
• An insured on the interpretation of an exclusion in a policy of insurance and successfully argued (at first instance and on appeal) that the loss did not come within the scope of the exclusion;
• Beneficiaries on an application to remove a custodian trustee.

Other relevant practice areas

Professional Liability: Susannah acts in professional negligence claims, where they arise from chancery related, companyand commercial matters including appearing before the disciplinary panel of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

PRACTICE AREA: INSOLVENCY

Susannah enjoys all aspects of insolvency matters. Her experience includes applications to set aside statutory demands; contested bankruptcy and winding up petitions; applications for possession and sale of property; applications to annul; challenges to office-holder’s remuneration; and the liability of directors upon winding up, both under statute (including fraudulent and wrongful trading) and common law.

Current and recent work

• Successfully applied to appoint Provisional Liquidators in the High Court;
• Acted for the Local Authority in an appeal against a decision of a District Judge adjourning a bankruptcy petition for a period of 3 months (Nottingham City Council v Pennant [2009] EWHC 2437 (Ch); [2010] BPIR 430);
• Advised liquidator on potential claims against former directors under s 212, 213, 214 and 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986;
• Acted for individual bankrupts on applications to challenge the level of fees incurred by their trustee in bankruptcy.

PRACTICE AREA: PROPERTY

Susannah has a fast developing practice in this area and continues to forge relationships with many property solicitors. She has advised or acted in cases involving, rights of way, boundary disputes, adverse possession, co-ownership, proprietary estoppel, mortgages (including mortgage fraud and remedies on borrower default) and landlord and tenant (both residential and commercial).

Her clients range from individual householders to large property developers, landowners and local authorities.

Current and recent work

• Advised landowner on rights of way acquired by prescription and a connected boundary dispute;
• Advised one member of a family on the acquisition of an interest in property held by his son and the illegality defence;
• Acted for local authorities on applications for anti-social behaviour injunctions and claims for possession;
• Advised residential landlords in connection with service charge disputes and the right to manage legislation.

Papers and Publications

In late 2010, Susannah co-authored with a solicitor from Charles Russell an article in Estates Gazette on the impact of the repeal of the Land Exclusion Order from the Competition Act 1988.

Relevant Professional Memberships

• Property Bar Association
• Chancery Bar Association