Bethanie Chambers
Bethanie Chambers

Bethanie Chambers

Call: 2019

Bethanie joined Chambers in October 2022, following the successful completion of her pupillage supervised by Andrew Holden, Hugh Miall, Owen Curry and Erin Hitchens. As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including commercial disputes, arbitration, civil fraud, company, insolvency and trust litigation. Most recently, she worked with members of Chambers on an aviation dispute in which losses in excess of US$20 million were claimed: Optimares v Qatar Airways [2022] EWHC 2461 (Comm).

Bethanie is regularly instructed on behalf of Defendant airlines for hearings in relation to Regulation 261/2004 claims (as amended by the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019).

Bethanie graduated with a first-class honours in Law from Murray Edwards College, Cambridge and subsequently completed the BCL at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. During her studies, Bethanie received several University and College prizes and was also awarded the Blues Sporting Award for commitment to university tennis. Bethanie later received the Astbury Scholarship in respect of the Bar Professional Training Course where she went on to obtain an Outstanding.

Before coming to the Bar, Bethanie was a judicial assistant to Lord Justice McCombe and Lady Justice Carr in the Court of Appeal. Most notably, she assisted in the case of Dargamo Holdings Limited v Avonwick Holdings Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1149 in which the Court addressed the interaction between the law of contract and the law of unjust enrichment as well as the operation of the ‘failure of basis’ ground of restitution.

Areas of experience

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  • During pupillage, Bethanie gained experience of a number of mediations in a commercial, insolvency, probate, and trusts context.

  • Arbitration

    As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience of the following:  

    • Assisting with a section 67 arbitration challenge (as a pupil, assisting Emma Hughes and Steven Thompson KC).
    • Advising on the jurisdiction of the LCIA to adjudicate a contractual dispute (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Drafting statements of case in an LCIA arbitration (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Advising on whether minority shareholder actions fall within the scope of an LCIA arbitral clause (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
  • Aviation

    During pupillage, Bethanie has experienced a number of aviation disputes, including:

    • Acting as sole counsel for defendant airlines in EU Regulation 261/2004 claims.
    • Optimares v Qatar Airways (as a pupil, assisting Emma Hughes and Edward Cumming KC), which concerned the airline’s decision to terminate programmes for the design and manufacture of business class and economy aircraft seats; losses in excess of US$20m were claimed.
    • Assisting with an LICA Arbitration concerning the manufacture of electronic components for flight refueling systems (as a pupil, assisting Emma Hughes and Steven Thompson KC).
  • Civil Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery

    Bethanie has experience of the following:

    • Assisting with a civil fraud claim involving, amongst other things, allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of trust and conspiracy (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Advising on the enforcement of a judgment against property with disputed beneficial ownership (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Drafting statements of case in relation to claims for dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, conspiracy, unjust enrichment, proprietary claims and breach of directors’ duties.
    • Assisting with freezing and proprietary injunction applications (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall and Owen Curry).
  • Commercial Litigation

    During pupillage, Bethanie was involved in a range of commercial matters, some of which raised questions of jurisdiction and issues of private international law, including:

    • Advising on the provisions of service and the merits of an application to set aside permission to serve out of the jurisdiction in relation to a claim for breach of contract and restitution of unjust enrichment (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Drafting statements of case in relation to the enforcement of a foreign judgment at common law (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Advising on the merits of a breach of contract claim (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Assisting with freezing and proprietary injunction applications (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall and Owen Curry).
    • Advising on the use to which documents obtained in Norwich Pharmacal proceedings can be put in foreign proceedings (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Assisting with research on the Court’s willingness to accept evidence of past dissipation of assets in a freezing injunction application (as a pupil, assisting Steven Thompson KC).
    • Advising on whether a claim brought and dismissed for limitation in one jurisdiction is barred by res judicata from being brought in another jurisdiction with more generous limitation periods (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
  • Company

    During pupillage, Bethanie gained experience of a range of company law matters, including:

    • Advising on claims involving breach of fiduciary duty against company directors (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Advising on shareholder disputes under s 994 of the Companies Act 2006 (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall and Erin Hitchens).
    • Advising on the merits of a range of minority shareholder actions including derivative claims and just and equitable winding up (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
  • Insolvency

    As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience of:

    • Advising on the merits of an application to set aside a statutory demand pursuant to s 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as a pupil, assisting Hugh Miall).
    • Drafting statements of case in disputes concerning ss.238-239 and s. 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
  • International & Offshore

    As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience of:

    • Drafting evidence in response to a disclosure application in Guernsey (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Advising on the Court’s jurisdiction to restrain the exercise of fiduciary powers pending the determination of a claim under Bahamian law (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Assisting with research concerning trustee powers of addition and removal of beneficiaries in light of the Bermudian Court of Appeal judgment in Grand View Private Trust Co Ltd v Wong (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
  • Professional Negligence

    As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience of drafting statements of case in relation to a claim concerning negligent misstatement (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).

  • Trusts, Probate & Estates

    As a pupil, Bethanie gained experience of the following:

    • Advising on claims in relation to the validity of wills, on grounds of lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval, and undue influence (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).
    • Advising on the liability of executors and solicitors to beneficiaries in relation to loss caused to the estate of a deceased (as a pupil, assisting Owen Curry).
    • Drafting statements of case in proceedings concerning a donatio mortis causa of registered land (as a pupil, assisting Owen Curry).
    • Assisting with a Category 2 Public Trustee v Cooper application (as a pupil, assisting Owen Curry).
    • Advising both trustees and unborn beneficiaries on the prospects of applications to rescind a trust instrument under Pitt v Holt (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden and Owen Curry).
    • Advising whether property, ineffectually disposed of in a will, falls into the residuary estate or passes to the next of kin on a partial intestacy (as a pupil, assisting Owen Curry).
    • Assisting with a claim in relation to the partition of thousands of acres of farmland (as a pupil, assisting Owen Curry and Elspeth Talbot Rice KC).
    • Advising on the petition of a trust estate pursuant to s 7 of TOLATA (as a pupil, assisting Andrew Holden).

Other information

  • Academic (and professional) History
    • Court of Appeal, Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice McCombe and Lady Justice Carr (2020-2021)
    • BCL (with merit) (Commercial Remedies, Restitution of Unjust Enrichment, Conflict of Laws and Competition Law), St Hugh’s College, Oxford (2019-2020).
    • BPTC LLM (Outstanding), BPP Law School (2018-2019)
    • BA Law (First Class), Murray Edwards College, Cambridge (2014-2017).
  • Scholarships & Prizes
    • Astbury Scholarship (a ‘Major Award’ from Middle Temple for members of Oxford and Cambridge, 2018).
    • Excellence Award (for academic excellence, BPP University, 2018).
    • Practice Ready Scholarship, (for demonstrating leadership skills, BPP University, 2018).
    • Rosemary Murray Scholarship, (for achieving a First in Law Tripos Part II, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, 2017).
    • COMBAR Access to the Bar Award (2016).
    • Blues Sporting Award, (for commitment to university tennis, University of Cambridge, 2015-16).
    • Rosemary Murray Scholarship, (for achieving a First in Law Tripos Part IA, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, 2015).
    • Squire Academic Scholarship, (for achieving a First in Law Tripos Part IA, University of Cambridge, 2015).