Overview
Faith has a commercial chancery practice, with particular emphasis on insolvency, property, and contentious probate. She acts almost exclusively as sole counsel and as such operates well beyond her level of call.
She is ranked by both of the major directories:
“Faith Julian is just brilliant – fantastic on her feet and devilishly bright.”
“She is a rising star of the insolvency Bar.”
“Faith is very technical, a joy to work with and a barrister that can always be trusted to provide strong advice and get the job done.”
(Chambers and Partners 2024, Restructuring/Insolvency)
“Faith is a genuine star. She picks up work at short notice and masters complexities of fact and law with admirable ease.”
(Legal 500 2024 Insolvency)
Practice Areas
Faith acts for officeholders, directors, creditors, and individual debtors in all manner of insolvency litigation. Her recent experience includes acting (as sole counsel) in valuable misfeasance, breach of fiduciary duty, and wrongful trading claims, and also various applications to set aside antecedent transactions (whether preferences, transactions at an undervalue, or transactions defrauding creditors), and recover unlawful distributions.
She is also frequently instructed to advise and act in relation to administration applications, disputed winding up or bankruptcy petitions, and injunctions to restrain the same. In the past year she has acted in a number of high profile bankruptcies and winding up petitions, including those of Katie Price, the Thomas Cook Group, Bury Football Club, and the Force India Formula One Team.
Recent reported cases include Re Bedborough [2019] EWHC 3506 (Ch); [2019] All ER (D) 111 (Dec), and Sell Your Car With Us Ltd v Sareen [2019] EWHC 2332 (Ch); [2019] BCC 1211; [2019] All ER (D) 76 (Sep).
Faith regularly advises on and acts in property disputes including claims in respect of constructive trusts, proprietary estoppel, easements, restrictive covenants, boundary disputes, mortgages and the enforceability of charges, relief from forfeiture, and other landlord and tenant matters.
Faith acts in a wide variety of contentious trust and probate matters, with a particular emphasis on claims challenging the substantial validity of wills and codicils on grounds of testamentary capacity, lack of knowledge and approval, want of due execution, or undue influence, applications to remove executors, and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (for example, she acted for the defendant in the widely reported decision of Ames v Jones [2016] EW Misc B67 (CC)).
She has also developed significant expertise in disputes regarding burial and funeral arrangements, having – in her first year of practice – acted for the defendant in Anstey v Mundle [2016] EWHC 1073 (Ch); [2016] WTLR 931 (concerning a family dispute as to whether the deceased ought to be buried in the UK or Jamaica). She has since appeared or advised in relation to several other claims, including Y v Z [2018] EWHC 4026 (Ch); [2018] 11 WLUK 866.
Faith’s practice encompasses all aspects of commercial litigation. Last year she was instructed in the $5 billion Fundao Dam group litigation against BHP Group Plc, on behalf of businesses affected by the disaster.
Additional Information
Chambers and Partners 2023, Restructuring/Insolvency:
“Faith has an approachable working manner. She is an excellent communicator and can explain complex legal arguments simply and succinctly.”
“She is good with clients and in court.”
“Her level of service and commerciality is excellent.”
Legal 500 2023, Insolvency:
“Faith is bright, strategically astute, and works very well as part of a team.”
Chambers and Partners 2022, Restructuring and Insolvency:
“Faith has fantastic attention to detail, and is extremely user-friendly and a very clever advocate.”
“She has incredibly sharp technical knowledge.”
“Excellent – she keeps her cool on her feet and shows maturity beyond her years in difficult circumstances. She’s absolutely great.”
Legal 500 2022, Insolvency:
“An incredibly astute and confident barrister, able to quickly assimilate the detail of very complex issues and provide cogent and often innovative advice.”
Chambers and Partners 2021, Restructuring and Insolvency:
“Faith is an exceptional barrister and is very impressive in court. She has an uncanny ability to fight where necessary while always remaining entirely calm and unflappable.”
“She is a pleasure to work with, always makes herself available and is thorough and concise.“
Contributor, Insolvency Legislation: Annotations & Commentary (Louis Doyle & Professor Andrew Keay), 7th Edition (publication forthcoming)
Who pays? The costs of an appeal from a bankruptcy order (with Joseph Curl),
Corporate Rescue and Insolvency 2016, 9(6), 212
Office-holders commencing claims in the sanctionless era—Re Longmeade Ltd (in liquidation)
Lexis PSL
Who bears the cost of an unsuccessful appeal of a bankruptcy order? (Cooke v Dunbar Assets plc)
Lexis PSL
Assessing material irregularities in IVAs Setting aside a statutory demand (Dunbar Assets plc v Butler)
Lexis PSL
Practice Note: The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016—Part 17: Changes to creditors’ and liquidation committees
Lexis PSL
Practice Note: The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016—Part 11: Bankruptcy and debt relief restrictions orders and undertakings and the insolvency registers
Lexis PSL
Education and qualifications
2013: Called (Inner Temple)
2013: LLB, University of Law (1st)
2013: BPTC, College of Law (Outstanding)
2012: GDL, College of Law (Distinction)
2011: MA in Eighteenth Century Studies (University of York)
2010: BA in History (Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge)
Prizes and Scholarships
Exhibition Award – Inner Temple
European Vacation Trust Scholarship – Cambridge
Memberships
Chancery Bar Association
R3 Association of Business Recovery Professionals
Property Bar Association
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
Faith Julian is an independent self-employed barrister registered with the Bar Standards Board of England; whose practice is governed by the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales which code can be found at www.barstandardsboard.org.uk; has full professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited (ref BM 2930/070) (details of the world-wide cover are provided at www.barmutual.co.uk); is registered for VAT (reg. no. 222904628 ); and can be contacted during chambers opening hours by telephone at 02074045055 or by e-mail at clerks@9stonebuildings.com.