Rory Brown

Overview

• Represented a solicitor's firm in the High Court at the trial of the following issues a) whether a defective statutory demand for unpaid solicitor's fees, being based on an unliquidated sum, could be cured by a later admission prior to the bankruptcy petition by the debtor that said sum was due and owing, b) whether a debtor having admitted the debt was estopped from arguing that the demand was defective as against the petitioner who had relied to its detriment on his admission
• Defended an Italian UK resident in the High Court against a petition brought by his wife based on an order for instalment payments in Italian family proceedings.
• Represents multiple corporate clients on urgent applications to restrain presentation or advertisement of petitions and for validation orders

• Represented a shipper at a trial in the Mercantile Court on the scope of the duty of care of a shipping agent in relation to the shipper's freight
• Appeared in the Court of Appeal on the question of whether, notwithstanding the statutory invalidity of a wagering contract, a person entrusting money to an agent to bet on the horses might recover that money in a restitutionary action when the agent misappropriates the money for his own purposes
• Represented in a trial in the County Court a garage owner accused of diluting his diesel in an action for damages to a van by a double-glazing company
• Defended a corner shop owner at trial in the County Court on the basis that a hire-purchase contract for an Automated Teller Machine had been frustrated by the intervening incompetence of a bank
• Appeared for a holiday operator in the trial of a) its claim against another travel agent for breach of contract and b) the travel agent's counterclaim in breach of contractual/tortious duty for providing a San Tropez apartment during a heatwave without adequately functioning air-conditioning
• Prosecuted a hire-purchase company's claim for contractual damages against a hirer who had failed properly to take care of and/or to return the equipment hired
• Appeared for the claimant in the trial of a contractual and restitutionary action against a London accounting school based on its failure to refund course fees on the refusal of a prospective student's application for entry permission to the United Kingdom
• Represented a builder at trial in his contractual action against a home owner who asserted she had accepted a repudiatory breach of contract upon the builder abandoning site
• Appeared for an asset-financier at the trial of its contractual action against an ice cream vendor for breach of a hire agreement

• Acted for the tenant at trial in the Chancery Division on the issue of whether the court had jurisdiction in light of an arbitration clause in a commercial lease
• Before Norris J, represented a publican against whom an application for committal for contempt of court had been brought for buying out of his lease in breach of an earlier order
• Represented a pub company at the trial of its action for possession and damages against a defaulting commercial tenant under several leases of public houses
• Prosecuted a tenant's claim in a County Court trial to determine whether a gutter exclusively served a property, rendering the tenant liable to pay service charges
• Acted for the Landlord Respondent in a tenant's appeal to a Circuit Judge against the dismissal of her application to suspend a warrant of possession
• Represented two brothers in a county court trial of the issue of beneficial ownership of a residential property and whether an order for sale ought to be made in favour of a claimant beneficiary of a final charging order

• Acted for the appellant in an appeal as to whether the Gender Recognition Panel had misdirected itself in law, failed to consider relevant considerations or breached articles 1, 6, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, read together, by denying a post-operative transsexual certification of her acquired gender.
• Represented a student who had been expelled by a University in her case that the expulsion decision was reached after having taken into account irrelevant considerations.
• During pupillage, assisted Treasury Counsel with the government's appeal against a determination of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal where it was argued that the Tribunal had it approached the issue in a manner more suitable for removal than for deportation arising in the context of a criminal offence.

• Represented a daughter of a testator disenfranchised by his second will in her action to set aside the second will on the bases of knowledge of want and approval and/or undue influence
• Acted for beneficiaries in respect of their allegation against a firm of solicitors that it had intermeddled in their Father's will.

• 2009 - PhD (European University Institute) - Philosophy of Law and War
• 2006 - MRes (European University Institute, Italy) - European, Comparative and International Law
• 2004 - Mae (Cantab.) (Double First Class Hons.) - Law (including year at Regensburg University, Germany)

• 2007 - Visiting Scholarship (Columbia Law School, NYC)
• 2006 - Fully funded PhD Award, European University Institute
• 2004 - Foundational Scholar of Jesus College, Cambridge
• 2004 - Russell Vick Prize
• 2003 - Major Inner Temple Award
• 2002 - Erasmus Scholarship

• Inner Temple
• Bar Pro Bono Panel
• Chancery Bar Association
• Hawks Club