James Kane

Areas of experience

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• Aviation
  • Setting aside default judgment obtained against an airline in a claim for compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004.
  • Assisting in preparation for an appeal in the Court of Appeal against an account of commission due from a defendant airline to a claimant travel agency (Times Travel (UK) Ltd v Pakistan International Airlines [2022] EWCA Civ 415).
• Banking and Financial Services
  • Assisting in preparations for a reference to the Upper Tribunal against disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • Advising on restrictions on disclosure of information obtained from the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • Assisting in preparations for a claim for declaratory relief in relation to the limitation period governing complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (Shop Direct Finance Ltd v Official Receiver [2022] EWHC 1355 (Comm).
  • Advising an environmental NGO on potential breaches of duty by underwriters of bonds for fossil fuel projects.
• Civil Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery

  Assisting at a four-day application hearing in a claim in relation to the misappropriation of funds

• Commercial Litigation
  • Securing the setting aside of a sham declaration of trust as part of proceedings to enforce a judgment debt
  • Acting (with Sarah Bayliss) for a respondent in an application for security for costs of an unfair prejudice petition (Re Solid Star Ltd [2023] EWHC 93 (Ch))
  • Advising (with Tim Sherwin) the defendant to a claim to enforce a personal guarantee
  • Setting aside a default judgment against a defendant airline
  • Acting for an unsuccessful claimant in costs proceedings: despite an order having been made against the claimant for costs on the indemnity basis, James succeeded in reducing the award by over 80% of the costs claimed
  • Drafting pleadings in a claim for unpaid fees in respect of a licensing agreement Drafting pleadings in a claim to enforce a foreign judgment
• Company and partnership
  • Acting (with Sarah Bayliss) for a respondent in multi-million pound unfair prejudice petitions involving allegations of fraud and questions concerning directors’ obligations to scrutinise their co-directors (Re Solid Star Ltd [2023] EWHC 2277 (Ch))
  • Acting (with Rachael Earle of Wilberforce Chambers) for a solicitor facing allegations of breach of partnership duty from his former partner
  • Advising the petitioners in a petition under s 994 Companies Act 2006
  • Advising a company limited by guarantee in relation to allegations of electoral malpractice in a contested election for new directors
  • Advising in relation to a proposed unfair prejudice petition and/or application for winding up on the just and equitable ground in Gibraltar
• Insolvency

  James regularly appears for both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy and winding-up petitions.

  In addition, he has experience of:

  • A petition to wind up a company already in voluntary liquidation
  • A contested administration application involving allegations of bias against the proposed administrators
  • An application for the extension of an administration
  • A claim against insolvent company directors for transactions at an undervalue and defrauding creditors
  • Assisting at the trial of a claim to recover property allegedly transferred by a bankrupt at an undervalue or defrauding creditors (Hinton v Wotherspoon [2022] EWHC 2083 (Ch))
• International & Offshore
  • Advising in relation to a proposed unfair prejudice petition and/or application for winding up on the just and equitable ground in Gibraltar
  • Assisting in a judicial review of the decision of a Guernsey public body
• Real Estate Litigation
  • Acting for the claimant tenant in a claim for damages for breach of a tenancy agreement
  • Acting for the claimant in a claim for nuisance caused by water damage
• Trusts, Probate & Estates
  • Acting (with Elspeth Talbot Rice KC) for the beneficiaries of a trust in a claim for breach of trust against current and former trustees in multiple jurisdictions
  • Acting for the administrators of an estate in an interest claim brought by a relative of the intestate deceased
  • Advising (with Tim Sherwin) the executors of an estate in relation to claims of lack of capacity
  • Assisting in an application to remove executors
  • Advising on a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

Other information

• Academic history

  BA Oriental Studies (First Class), The Queen’s College, Oxford

  MA International Relations (Mention excellent), College of Europe, Bruges

  Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction), BPP Law School

  Bar Training Course (Distinction), BPP Law School

• Professional history

  Before coming to the Bar, James worked as a civil servant for six years in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Cabinet Office and on secondment to the European Commission in Brussels. He then worked on trade policy at the Institute for Government, an independent think tank, and remains an Associate of the Institute.

• Scholarships and Prizes

  College Scholarship (The Queen’s College, Oxford)

  Gibbs Prize (highest mark in year, University of Oxford)

  Lauréat de la promotion (highest mark in year, College of Europe, Bruges)

  GDL Major Scholarship (Inner Temple)

  Peter Taylor Scholarship (Inner Temple’s top Bar Course award)

  Times Law Awards, winner

• Languages

  French (proficient)

  Japanese (proficient)

  Mandarin Chinese (moderate)