• Aviation

  (1) ILFC UK Ltd (2) AERCAP Ireland Ltd v Olympus Airways SA [2020] EWHC 221 (Comm), Jan 2020, Heather successfully represented the Defendants in varying default judgment in respect of sums due under an aircraft lease.

  Pakistan International Airlines Corporation v Times Travel (UK) Limited[2019] EWCA Civ 828.

  Heather, led by Philip Shepherd QC, represented Times Travel in the leading case on lawful act economic duress.

  https://xxiv.co.uk/philip-shepherd-qc-and-heather-murphy-in-leading-court-of-appeal-case-on-economic-duress/

  Times Travel (UK) Limited and Nottingham Travel Limited v Pakistan International Airlines Corp [2018] EWHC 1559 (Ch) and [2018] EWHC 1820 (Ch), on-going

  Heather acts, with Philip Shepherd QC, for the travel agents in a claim against PIA for remuneration. The claim involves questions of the IATA Regulations, relief from sanctions, disclosure of electronic documents and the taking of an account.

  Aquila WSA Aviation Opportunities II Limited v Onur Tasimacilik A.S. [2017] EWHC 1259 (Comm)

  Heather acted, with Stephen Cogley QC, for the defendant in a claim relating to the lease of an aircraft engine.

  Heather regularly appears in the High Court and County Court on aviation matters, including for airlines in relation to the EC Regulation 261/2004 and Montreal Convention.

  She has experience of cases involving delayed flights, cancelled flights as well as denied boarding, lost luggage and delays with extraordinary circumstances. She was counsel for the matter of Evans v Flybe Ltd (2014) where she successfully defended the defendant airline’s use of credit card charges.

  Heather has also dealt with matters arising in respect of aircraft mortgages, maintenance contracts and wet leases.

  Heather recently spoke at the 2015 Aviation Litigation Conference, London on the revised EU jurisdiction regime and implications for aviation claims.

• Banking and Financial Services

  Heather has experience in both investment and retail banking. She advised on the LIBOR investigation into a major global bank as part of her 6-month secondment to the FSA, which provided her with extensive regulatory experience.

  Heather also advises banks and customers. Some of her recent work includes:

  • advised on the scope of Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge (No 2) [2001] UKHL 44, in
    particular what, if any duties it imposed on the lending bank.
  • advised on a mis-selling case concerning consecutive and concurrent interest rate hedging products (IRHP,
    “swaps”).

  She has also advised on a number of cases of allegedly negligent advice in relation to investments, particularly unsuccessful tax schemes (such as the film partnership schemes).

• Civil Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery

  Heather has appeared on applications by liquidators and has experience of the appointment of receivers. She regularly appears in relation to charging orders and third party debt orders.

  Her recent work includes

  • advised on a transaction procured by emails from a hacked email account.
  • advised and acted in a matter relating to payment allegedly procured by fraudulent representations.
  • acted in relation to the recovery of overpaid legal aid.

  In Fame Hall Holdings v James Wilson [2015] she recently successfully resisted a relief from sanctions application that sought to obtain relief from the decision to strike out a defence under CPR 3.4(2)(c) and enter judgment worth approximately USD $11 million. The underlying claim was for breach of statutory or fiduciary duty against a de facto or de jure director defendant

  Heather also has experience of asset tracing and recovery through the prism of her insolvency work. She has been involved in cases in 2015 including:

  • acted to recover unlawfully declared and paid dividends.
  • the examination of company officers
• Commercial Litigation

  Heather advises and appears on a broad range of commercial litigation. Her recent cases include disputed contracts of hire and disputes relating to the supply of goods. She also has experience in issues arising from factoring agreements and guarantees, including successfully arguing for the non-enforceability under the Statute of Frauds 1677 of a guarantee.

  Her recent work includes:

  • successfully represented the defendant in Love Love Ltd v Glamour Plus (2014), a three-day trial concerning the manufacture and supply of fashion garments in the fast fashion industry;
  • in Frontier Estates v Berwin Leighton Paisner [2014] EWHC 4203 (Ch), appeared at first instance and was led on appeal on a matter which concerned an “in – time” application to extend the period for service of particulars of claim.
  • provided English law expert evidence on the nature and effect of a “put and call” option.
  • Fame Hall Holdings v James Wilson [2015]: successfully resisted a relief from sanctions application that sought to obtain relief from the decision to strike out a defence under CPR 3.4(2)(c) and enter judgment worth approximately USD $11 million.

  As well as final hearings, Heather is also experienced in procedural applications including applications for relief from sanctions, injunctions, security for costs, and civil restraint orders.

  She also has experience of disputes over commission payments, recruitment agency fees and recovery of solicitors’ fees.

  Heather has also been involved in a number of disclosure processes and has considered and advised upon issues that arise during disclosure, including questions of privilege.

• Company

  As well as appearing regularly on insolvency matters relating to companies, Heather has been involved in a number of cases involving shareholder agreements and breaches of directors’ duties.

  Her recent work includes:

  • appeared on a contested application for an injunction relating to confidential information and employee departures
  • advised trustees in relation to the disputed sale under a shareholders’ agreement of shares that were trust assets
  • acted in relation to the contested joint venture/share sale in relation to the development of property
  • acted in applications for company restorations in order to receive payments awarded under the interest rate hedging product redress scheme
  • acted in applications to rectify the Companies’ Register outside the scope of the Companies Act 2006
• Court of Protection

  Heather is Treasurer of the Court of Protection Bar Association.

  Heather’s recent work involves:

  • acting to recover property transferred by an attorney out of the donor’s control (on-going case in the Chancery Division);
  • acted for deputies in OPG investigations;
  • advised on gifts by attorneys and deputies;
  • advised on a dispute as to the adequacy of social services offers and P regaining capacity;
  • acted on a matter in which P was removed from the jurisdiction; and
  • acted in a contested application to appoint a property and affairs deputy

  Heather also advises as the consequences of lack of capacity in general civil litigation, including

  • advised on the loss of capacity of a party during proceedings, including the standard of capacity required to present a debtor’s bankruptcy petition;
  • advised on the removal of a litigation friend; and
  • obtained court approval of a settlement of insolvency proceedings by an infant.
• Insolvency
  Heather is regularly instructed on bankruptcy and corporate insolvency. She has also acted in petitions presented against partnerships. Further, she has also been involved in a number of applications to annul bankruptcies as well as extend administrations and to rectify the Companies’ Register outside the scope of the Companies Act 2006.

  Her recent work includes

  • acted to recover unlawfully declared and paid dividends.
  • acted to obtain court approval for a settlement by an infant of insolvency proceedings.
  • appeared on an application to cross examine company officers.
  • advised on the death of an insolvents and the assignment of claims which fell within the estate.
  • acted on an application to vary an injunction restraining the presentation of a petition.
  • acted on a contested bankruptcy on a foreign debt of a foreign national.

   Heather has also acted in bankruptcies to secure or prevent the sale of the bankrupt’s real property.
• Partnership and Joint Ventures

  Heather has advised on a number of partnerships, limited liability partnerships and joint venture matters, particularly in relation to ventures for development of property.

  Her recent work includes:

  • advised in relation to a venture to develop and market software and hardware;
  • acted in relation to the contested joint venture/share sale in relation to the development of property
  • acted in a joint venture dispute on the issue of the state of the account between the parties
  • advised in relation to the obligations and liabilities of a partner and the estate of the deceased after the death of one partner.
• Professional Negligence

  Heather has advised on a number of matters of professional negligence, particularly legal professionals. She has also advised on negligent investment advice in relation to purported tax efficient structures.

  Her recent work includes

  • advised in relation to allegedly negligent advice on the terms of a lease
  • advised in a number of cases on negligent advice given in relation to investments designed to reduce tax liabilities
• Real Estate Litigation

  Heather deals with both court and advisory aspects of real estate litigation. As well as applications for possession matters, charging orders and orders for sale, Heather has also acted on boundary disputes and relief from forfeiture matters.

  Her recent work includes

  • advised on the scope of Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge (No 2) [2001] UKHL 44, in particular what, if any duties it imposed on the lending bank. She also considered as part of that advice the role and scope of subrogation.
  • successfully represented the defendant in case where it was alleged that the burden of a positive covenant passed with the defendant’s land.
  • advised in relation to allegedly negligent advice on the terms of a lease.
  • advised on the contested sale of property by executor and beneficial owner.

  Heather’s other advisory work encompasses proprietary estoppel, rectification of trust deeds and potential easements.

• Trusts, Probate & Estates

  Heather has been involved in a number of disputes regarding trusts and proprietary estoppel.

  As sole counsel, she has advised on both the law and tactics arising in a question of contested domicile of the deceased in a cross-border probate dispute, as well as dealing with the rectification of deeds, post death variations and actions against Personal Representatives.

  She has also advised on questions of undue influence and questions of construction.

  In led matters, she has been involved in offshore trust disputes regarding mismanagement of trust funds, Beddoes applications, as well as the administration of a complex estate with a homemade will. She also has experience of questions involving mutual and mirror wills.

  Her traditional chancery practice extends to work in the Court of Protection, and her insolvency experience lends well to dealing with insolvent estates and the death of bankrupts.

  Trusts

  Her recent trusts work includes

  • advising on the cloak of mediation privilege;
  • assisted in an international trusts dispute regarding the mismanagement of the trust fund;
  • advised trustees in relation to potential conflicts of interest;
  • advised trustees in relation to the disputed sale under a shareholders’ agreement of shares that were trust assets;
  • considering questions of privilege in requests for disclosure of trust documents;
  • acted in a claim to recover trustee’s fees;
  • acted in a claim involving waiver of privilege;
  • assisted in a breach of duty claim against trustees for failure to supervise the investment of the trust fund;
  • advised on the revocation of a trust.

  Probate

  Heather’s recent work includes

  • advised on a claim against executors of a will, including allegations of undue influence
  • advised on the consequences of a failed testamentary gift to a charity
  • advised on contested sale of property by executor and beneficial owner
  • assisted with Larke v Nugus statements
  • advised on the retirement and replacement of executors
  • advised the death of an insolvent
  • advised on a case concerning the contested domicile of the deceased.

Other information

• Recommendations

  Aviation

  Legal 500

  “Heather is very diligent and thorough and takes every point available to her client.” (2022)

  Private Client: Trusts and Probate

  Legal 500

  “She is very focused on getting a good result for clients and not afraid to take novel points. Good at unpicking difficult issues.” (2022)

• Memberships
  • Chancery Bar Association
  • Court of Protection Practitioners Association
  • Court of Protection Bar Association (Treasurer)
  • COMBAR
• Lectures

  As well as speaking at many of Chambers’ conferences, Heather also regularly gives independent talks on her areas of expertise including:

  • The Lexis Nexis Commercial Law 2019 year review webinar discussing economic duress and the Disclosure Pilot
    • https://www.lexiswebinars.co.uk/legal/company-and-commercial-law/commercial-law-end-of-year-round-up-2019
  • Deputies Limited: the appointment of trust corporations and office holders as deputies
  • The revised EU jurisdiction regime and implications for aviation claims
  • Tricks and Traps in Wills
  • Insolvent Estates and Insolvent Deaths
• Publications

  Contracting “as trustee”: insolvency, indemnities and priority [2019] JIBFL 19

  Contributor: Atkin’s Court Forms – Companies – General Vols 8(4), (5) and (6) [2018]

  Sovereign bond collective action clauses: issues arising: Stephen Moverley Smith QC and Heather Murphy: [2015] 2 JIBFL 128A
• Academic history and scholarships

  BA (Hons) Law: Downing College Cambridge

  Lord Mansfield and Hardwicke Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn

Save as PDF