Lynne Counsell
Lynne has been in traditional Chancery practice for some thirty years, specialising in probate matters, construction of wills and trusts and also financial services and drafting.
Lynne was for some years counsel for Tower Hamlets, representing them on landlord and tenant cases and counsel for Bedford Building Society representing it on mortgage cases.
Lynne has written or updated over fifty books, including writing the initial volume of Atkin’s Court Forms “Financial Services” and updating Halsbury’s Laws on Injunctions. Lynne was also co-author of two editions of “Insider Trading” and co-editor and one of the writers of “Chancery Practice and Procedure.”
Articles include “Marketing of Investments” for the Law Society Gazette and “The Doctrine of Mutual Wills” for the Trust Quarterly Review. Lynne won one of the few cases on mutual wills in the last fifty years – Charles v Fraser (2010).
Lynne has drafted the standard unit trust for the government of Nigeria, the rules and related documentation for various building societies and clubs, shareholder agreements, company takeovers compliance documentation for certain banks as well as wills and trusts.
Lynne was awarded the 2017 Corporate international Magazine Global Award – “Investment Contracts Barrister of the Year in England”.
Practice Areas
Panels
- Case Analysis Panel
- Contributing Author
- Q&A Panel
Qualified Year
- 2006
Membership
- Chancery Bar Association
Education
- History BA (Hons) 2:1 Bedford College. University of London
- Diploma in Law City University, London
10 Contributions by Lynne Counsell
PRECEDENTS
Pre-action letter of claim template for restitution (money had and received) under the CPR Practice Direction: Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols—England and Wales
[ To appear on the claimant’s solicitors’ headed notepaper ]
Our ref: [ insert your file reference for this matter ]
FAO [ RELEVANT NAME ]
[ NAME OF PROPOSED DEFENDANT’S SOLICITORS, IF ANY ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]
[ DATE ]
Dear [ insert name ]
RE [ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]
LETTER OF CLAIM
[ Further to our correspondence dated [ insert date of previous correspondence, if any ] ]. We represent [ insert client’s full name ], of [ insert full address ]. This document is our client’s letter of claim, issued in line with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols under the Civil Procedure Rules (the Practice Direction). For ease, a copy is enclosed. Please note the closing section of this letter sets out the timeframe for your reply and the ramifications of not providing a proper response within that period. [ Your client should inform their insurer of this claim without delay ]...
Dispute Resolution
PRECEDENTS
Precedent CPR-compliant pre-action letter of claim: fraudulent misrepresentation—rescission and damages (England and Wales)
[ To be printed on the claimant solicitors’ letterhead ]
Our ref: [ insert your file reference for this matter ]
FAO [ RELEVANT NAME ]
[ NAME OF PROPOSED DEFENDANT’S SOLICITORS, IF ANY ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]
[ DATE ]
Dear [ insert name ]
RE [ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]
LETTER OF CLAIM
[ We refer to our earlier correspondence dated [ insert date of previous correspondence, if any ]. ]
[ As you are aware, we ] act for [ insert client’s full name ], of [ insert full address ].
This correspondence serves as our client’s letter of claim, issued in line with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols to the Civil Procedure Rules (the Practice Direction), and a copy is enclosed for your convenient reference.
Please review the closing section of this letter, which sets out the timeframe within which you must respond and the repercussions of any failure to provide a proper reply in that period.
[ Your client should inform their insurer of this claim immediately. ]...
Dispute Resolution
PRECEDENTS
Precedent: CPR-compliant pre-action letter of claim for negligent bank misstatement on a third party’s financial standing (England and Wales)
[ ON THE HEADED NOTEPAPER OF CLAIMANT’S SOLICITORS ]
Our ref: [ insert your file reference for this matter ]
FAO [ RELEVANT NAME ]
[ NAME OF PROPOSED DEFENDANT’S SOLICITORS, IF ANY ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]
[ DATE ]
Dear [ insert name ]
RE [ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]
[ [ Further to our correspondence dated [ insert date of previous correspondence, if any ] ] . ]
[ As you are aware, we OR We ] represent [ insert client’s full name ], whose address is [ insert full address ]. This document is our client’s letter of claim issued in line with the Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols of the Civil Procedure Rules (the Practice Direction), and for ease of reference we enclose a copy.
Please review the final section of this letter, which specifies when your reply must be received and the implications of failing to provide an adequate response within that timeframe.
[ Your client should inform their insurer of this claim immediately. ]...
Dispute Resolution
PRECEDENTS
Precedent: Force majeure notice to claim relief and reserve termination rights
Dear [ insert name of Party B or its representative ]
[ insert name and date of agreement ]
[ Our client: [ insert client name ] OR [ Insert name Party A ] ]
[ Your client: [ insert client name ] OR [ Insert name Party B ] ]
[ [ As you will know, we OR We ] represent [ insert client name ] ([ insert short name Party A ]). ]
[ This correspondence formally confirms the information relayed to you by [ letter OR e-mail OR telephone call ] dated [ insert date ], from [ insert sender ] to [ insert recipient ]. ]...
Commercial
PRECEDENTS
Template notice of contract frustration and termination, triggering contractual post-termination provisions and possible restitutionary claims under the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943
Dear [ insert Party B’s name or that of its representative ] [ insert the agreement’s title and date ] [ Our client: [ enter client name ] OR [ Enter Party A’s name ] ] [ Your client: [ enter client name ] OR [ Enter Party B’s name ] ]
1
[ [ As you will be aware, we OR We ] act on behalf of [ enter client name ] ([ enter Party A’s short name ])....
Commercial
PRECEDENTS
Template pre-action letter of claim: damages for failure to correct continuing misrepresentation after change of circumstances (Misrepresentation Act 1967; CPR Pre-Action Conduct) — England and Wales
[ ON THE LETTERHEAD OF THE CLAIMANT’S SOLICITORS ]
Our reference: [ insert your file reference for this matter ]
FAO [ RELEVANT NAME ]
[ NAME OF DEFENDANT OR DEFENDANT’S SOLICITOR IF KNOWN ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]
[ DATE ]
Dear [ insert name ]
RE [ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]
LETTER OF CLAIM
[ We refer to our correspondence dated [ insert date of previous correspondence, if any ] ]. [ As you are aware, we OR We ] represent [ insert client’s full name ], of [ insert full address ]. This letter constitutes our client’s claim and is issued in accordance with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols of the Civil Procedure Rules (the ‘Practice Direction’), a copy of which is enclosed for your convenience. Please review the closing section of this letter, which specifies the deadline for your response and explains the consequences of failing to respond appropriately within that timeframe...
Dispute Resolution
Q&As
Can LPA attorneys renounce probate to enable substitute executor?
Mental incapacity of executor
Mental capacity may justify excluding an executor from probate (see Evans v Tyler (1849) 163 ER 1266 at [131] (not reported on LexisNexis®)). The position for a sole executor who is incapacitated is governed by the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (NCPR 1987), SI 1987/2024, r 35...
Under the NCPR 1987, SI 1987/2024, the usual course is for the district judge or the registrar to issue a grant of administration (formerly termed a ‘durante dementia’) for the use and benefit of A, to continue until further representation is granted or otherwise as the district judge or registrar directs. See also NCPR 1987, SI 1987/2024, r 31...
Further, r 35(2) of the NCPR 1987, SI 1987/2024, prescribes the order of priority for a grant where the executor lacks mental capacity...
Private Client
Q&As
Contracting out of or waiving CCR 2013 cooling-off period
The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013) apply to agreements between a trader and a consumer made on or after 13 June 2014. Under CCR 2013, SI 2013/3134, reg 5, three forms of contract are identified:
off-premises contracts — regulation 5 sets out four types of off-premises contract
distance contracts
on-premises contracts — defined as neither off-premises nor distance, meaning a contract concluded at business premises
Contracts are further classified, in reg 5, as:
sales contracts
service contracts
digital content contracts
CCR 2013 requires the trader to provide the consumer with specified information and, in certain situations, grants a right to cancel. Where a cancellation right exists, the information supplied must include a cancellation notice in the model form, or details of how the consumer can access that form...
Commercial
Q&As
Life interest trust: cash appropriation for remainderman; time limit and SDLT higher rates major interest in a dwelling
Acquisition or appropriation of remainderman's interest
Under a life interest trust, the life tenant is entitled to live in the property or take the income it produces. The scenario assumes the life tenant might acquire the remainderman’s interest in the property, thereby converting their position into an absolute interest. In such a case, the remainderman would receive cash in exchange for their reversionary interest. Where the Will trust does not confer an express power on trustees to reallocate or modify beneficial interests, the life tenant and the remainderman may agree a variation pursuant to the rule in Saunders v Vautier, so long as they are both of full age and have capacity. This route is unavailable if any minors or unborn persons have, or may have, an interest under the trust. If there are potential beneficiaries of that kind, an application can be made to the court to approve the arrangement under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958. For further guidance, see: Termination of trusts—overview...
Private Client
Q&As
Limits on automatic renewal provisions in B2B and B2C contracts
Automatic renewal clauses
Automatic renewal clauses may present in various formats to the following overall effect:
open-ended contract subject to notice—“This Agreement will remain in force for a term of [three] years from the commencement date...”
Commercial
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