Bethanie Chambers, James Kane and Rachel Carver join XXIV Old Buildings

We are delighted to announce that Bethanie Chambers, James Kane and Rachel Carver have joined XXIV Old Buildings as tenants, following the successful completion of their respective pupillages.

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. 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). Bethanie is looking forward to building a broad commercial and chancery practice.

James graduated with a first-class degree in Japanese from Oxford, where he received college scholarships and a University prize for coming top of his year. He then worked as a civil servant in London and Brussels and for a think tank before coming to the Bar. He obtained Distinctions while studying the GDL and the Bar Training Course and was awarded the Inner Temple’s top scholarship for the Bar Training year, as well as winning the Times Law Awards. During pupillage, James has gained experience across Chambers’ practice areas, including working with members of Chambers on an aviation dispute in the Court of Appeal (Times Travel (UK) Ltd v Pakistan International Airlines [2022] EWCA Civ 415) and litigation with industry-wide implications for claims under the Financial Ombudsman Scheme (Shop Direct Finance Ltd v Official Receiver [2022] EWHC 1355 (Comm)). He looks forward to building a broad commercial and chancery practice.

Rachel graduated with a First-Class degree in History from the University of Oxford, and achieved Distinctions in the GDL and BVS. She was awarded scholarships by her Oxford college and Gray’s Inn, as well as winning a number of academic prizes. As a pupil, she  gained experience across the full spectrum of Chambers’ practice areas, including company law, commercial dispute resolution and trusts, probate and estates litigation. Most recently, she provided assistance during the trial of Shop Direct Finance Co Ltd v Official Receiver [2022] EWHC 1355 (Comm), a case with potentially industry-wide ramifications for the bringing of payment protection insurance claims. Prior to coming to the Bar, Rachel worked as a professional harpist. She has performed at most of the country’s major concert venues, as well as making appearances as a soloist and in orchestras on BBC TV and classical music radio stations. Rachel welcomes instructions in all of Chambers’ core practice areas.

Please contact Paul Horsfield, James Ladbrook or Lyndon Tiller for further details, or to discuss any aspect of Bethanie, James, or Rachel’s practices.