Anja Lansbergen-Mills

Commercial

Anja specialises in commercial dispute resolution and insolvency. She is frequently instructed by insolvency office holders and their assignees in actions against directors and is well placed to act in shareholder actions and associated matters.

Anja’s strength lies in combining a forensic attention to detail with strong technical skill and sound commercial judgement. Clients have observed that she is “fantastic on her feet”, “always incredibly well prepared” and “a fearless fighter in court” (Chambers and Partners 2024) and have described Anja as “commercial and very pragmatic” and “very hard-working and articulate” (Chambers and Partners 2023). Anja relates well with clients and is astute in her pursuit of their objectives, generating feedback that she “really considers client requirements and aims” and is “really easy to work with and presents well before clients” (Legal 500 2023).

Anja has proved a popular choice for led work, through which she has acquired experience of drafting, advocacy and strategy formulation in high value and complex disputes. Led briefs include a c.£4m fraud claim in which she obtained a without-notice freezing order and proprietary injunction, and subsequent Norwich Pharmacal relief, and an application brought by administrators of a peer-to-peer lending platform concerning the treatment of security realisations.

Anja’s experience otherwise includes:

• Advising trustees in bankruptcy in respect of a purported secured debt of c.£1.5m;
• Advising on an intimated claim concerning misuse of confidential information, for damages of c.£500k-800k;
• Defending a claim for specific performance on the grounds of the contract being induced by misrepresentation, and counterclaiming for rescission or damages of c.£230k;
• Securing undertakings on an application for injunctive relief brought in the course of a s.994 petition, to restrain ongoing prejudicial conduct detrimental to the company;
• Successfully defending an application for an administration order brought on the basis of a contingent debt of circa £337k, where the contingent event was one of solvency (Interactive Digital Systems Ltd v VST Enterprises Ltd [2021] EWHC 887 (Ch)).

Anja has a firm grounding in matters of procedure. In 2018 she was appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a barrister member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, and thereafter was re-appointed for a second three-year term in 2021. Whilst a member of the Committee Anja has worked on projects including the re-write of Part 81 on Contempt, on which she presented to the Law Society alongside Mr Justice Kerr.

Anja was appointed as junior counsel to the Crown (regional panel C) commencing 1 March 2021, since which she has regularly appeared for the Secretary of State in director disqualification proceedings. Anja also sits on the advisory board to the University of Liverpool School of Law, which she was asked to join in 2024.

Called 2014

Middle Temple Inn; Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association; Northern Chancery Bar Association

BPTC, Manchester Metropolitan University (2014) Outstanding;
Baron Dr Ver Heyden De Lancey Prize, Middle Temple (2015);
Certificate of Honour, Middle Temple (2014);
Queen Mother’s Scholarship (Middle Temple Major Scholarship) (2013);
PhD, University of Edinburgh (2013);
Collaborative Doctoral Award, Arts and Humanities Research Council (2008) (Distinction);
James Madison Scholarship (2007); BA (Hons), Wadham College, University of Oxford (2007);
Erasmus year spent at the University of Bann, 2005-2006;
Wadham College Scholarship for Academic Achievement (2003-2007);
Sarah Lawrence Scholarship (2004)