The Legal 500

Position

Elaine Palser has a broad chancery and commercial practice. Her principal areas of practice include: (a) insolvency; (b) property; (c) commercial; and (d) private client. Elaine undertakes a wide range of drafting and advisory work. She is an experienced advocate, appearing regularly in the High Court, county courts, and tribunals, as well as in mediations. She has represented several high profile companies, banks, and private individuals. Elaine is recommended for Insolvency in the Legal 500 (2011 edition) where she is described as 'technically excellent' and 'no shrinking violet when it comes to advocacy'. Recent insolvency cases:successfully representing several football clubs in insolvency matters, including Cardiff City Football Club in its heavily publicised dispute against HMRC in 2010; acting successfully in applications for administration orders; acting successfully in applications for validation orders; advising on applications to restrain advertisement of petitions; acting successfully in applications to set aside statutory demands. Recent property cases: settling proceedings on behalf of a leading property developer for a declaration that a landlord unreasonably withheld consent to assign several leases; advising professional indemnity insurers on a potential multi-million pound claim arising from hundreds of defective appointments of LPA receivers; successfully representing a major trade company in proceedings for the forfeiture of commercial premises; advising a purchaser on the potential defective transfer of several hundred commercial properties; advising a major international bank on an ongoing basis on property matters; representing a residential property owner in an ongoing boundary dispute; ruccessfully acting in an application for a stay after execution of a warrant for possession: Mortgage Express v Da Rocha-Afodu [2007] All ER (D) 276 (Feb). Recent commercial cases: acting for a high profile individual and company in a multi-jurisdictional dispute worth over US$100 million concerning mining, joint ventures, loans, and securities; settling proceedings and representing a commercial agent in a successful mediation of a multi-million pound damages claim; acting for a partner in an ongoing dispute over the settlement of partnership accounts; settling proceedings for rectification of the register of members and directors in a fraud case; settling proceedings and acting successfully in an application for a declaration that a property transfer was void pursuant to s.423 Insolvency Act 1986; advising on the enforcement of a foreign judgment in England. Recent private client cases: advising on and settling proceedings in claims for family provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975; acting successfully in claims to substitute personal representatives; advising on and settling proceedings in claims to challenge the validity of wills; advising on and settling proceedings in constructive trust claims; acting successfully in deputyship applications in the Court of Protection.

Career

Called 2002, Middle Temple. Lecturer in Law (Exeter College, Oxford University) (2004-09). Elaine lectures on a wide range of subjects for her solicitors. For example, she was invited by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP to give a lecture entitled 'Law of Property Act Receivers' to real estate, banking and restructuring lawyers. Publications include: 'Appointing administrators out of court: validity problems and retrospective administration orders' [2011] Insolvency Intelligence 24(8) 113; 'Law of Property Act Receivers' seminar (for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (2009); 'The duty of care in gross negligence manslaughter' (with J Herring) [2007] CLR 24 (described by the Court of Appeal as 'an illuminating analysis' in R v Evans [2009] EWCA Crim 650); 'Shutting the door on negligence liability: Lawrence v Pembrokeshire County Council and L v Reading Borough Council' [2009] 3 CFLQ 384; 'Rectification for unilateral mistakes: how heavy is the burden of proof' [2006] LMCLQ 139; 'Equity' chapter in 'Discovering the Law', ed S Butler, Law Matters [2006]; 'Owusu v Jackson - the End for Forum Non Conveniens' [2006] 15(1) Nott LJ 32; 'Bankruptcy Petitions' [2006] SJ 150(5) 152; and 'Turning Back the Clock' (The setting aside of trustees) decisions in the light of Sieff v Fox) [2005] NLJ 1592.

Member

Chancery Bar Association.

Education

MA (Oxon); MA (Cantab); BBusSc Hons (Cape Town).

Practice Areas

Insolvency and corporate reconstruction; Property - litigation; Private client - probate, wills and family provision