Darragh Connell
Darragh deals with all aspects of commercial law with specific emphasis upon domestic and international contractual disputes, insolvency, civil fraud as well as crypto asset recovery. He has a busy commercial litigation practice regularly appearing in the High Court. Prior to joining the Bar, Darragh worked as an analyst with Goldman Sachs in London.
He holds a First Class Honours law degree from University College Dublin and he was the Swift MacNeill Scholar at the Honorable Society of the Kings Inns in 2008. Darragh also holds a Masters in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge (Gonville and Caius College).
Practice Areas
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2009
Membership
- Bar of England and Wales
- Bar of Republic of Ireland
Qualifications
- LL.M (Commercial)
- Bachelor of Civil Law
Education
- University of Cambridge
- University College Dublin
8 Contributions by Darragh Connell
PRACTICE NOTES
Civil recovery of cryptoassets: challenges, tracing, interim remedies, disclosure, persons unknown and POCA 2002 (England and Wales)
Civil recovery of misappropriated cryptoassets
This Practice Note outlines avenues to reclaim misappropriated cryptoassets and sets out the legal and technical hurdles arising from the characteristics of such assets and the speed with which fraudsters can deploy obfuscation tools to conceal them. It addresses the roles of following and tracing during recovery, the availability of interim relief in civil proceedings concerning cryptoassets, and the significance of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) to civil recovery in this field.
Crypto asset recovery
Crypto asset recovery means regaining access to digital property that is lost, stolen, or otherwise unreachable. Situations prompting recovery include lost wallet access, mistaken transactions—for example, assets sent to the wrong wallet address—or fraud.
Depending on the facts, potential approaches include:
Reconstructing passwords and seed phrases, using brute-force methods or partial backups
Conducting blockchain analysis to map transfers and pinpoint destination wallets
Using data recovery utilities to extract information from damaged or corrupted devices
Pursuing legal remedies, including civil claims and applications for injunctive relief...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Crypto and Digital Assets: UK civil disputes primer on definitions, blockchain mechanics, asset types, exchanges, and emerging FCA/FSMA regulation
This Practice Note on crypto and digital assets sets out:
the shared features of cryptoassets,
their emergence via the Bitcoin White Paper,
how cryptography functions,
the difference between public and private keys,
nodes and mining (including proof of work and proof of stake),
an outline of blockchain,
categories of digital asset,
how crypto exchanges typically operate,
and the developing landscape of regulatory duties.
It offers a quick-access primer for dispute resolution lawyers dealing with civil disputes concerning crypto and digital assets. For guidance on why cryptoassets matter to dispute resolution lawyers and the kinds of claim that may arise, see Practice Note: Cryptoassets for Dispute Resolution lawyers.
Workable definitions of 'digital asset' and 'cryptoasset'
The terms 'digital asset' and 'cryptoasset' are frequently used as synonyms. For this Practice Note, which considers digital assets from a legal practitioner's viewpoint, it is essential to adopt a practical understanding of the labels. The Law Commission's Digital Assets: Final report supplies a useful definition of 'digital assets' that underscores the breadth of this asset category...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Digital assets as property in England and Wales: from UKJT and AA v Persons Unknown to D’Aloia, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, tracing, remedies and limits
This Practice Note charts the pivotal stages in the evolution of the legal status of digital and cryptoassets under English law, explaining why that status is significant and how it has been refined through decisions and reform proposals.
The UKJT’s 2019 Legal Statement on Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts
AA v Persons Unknown (2019), confirming digital assets can be property in English law and why that matters
The step-by-step development of this proposition in subsequent case law
The Law Commission Report and the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill
D’Aloia v Persons Unknown, the first post-trial judgment to address digital asset status
For a primer on the technology and trading mechanisms, see Practice Note: Crypto and digital assets—what are they and how do they work?
The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce report (November 2019)
A natural point of departure is the UKJT’s Legal Statement published in November 2019. Its significance and practical relevance were highlighted in the foreword by the then Chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Vos (now Master of the Rolls)...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
EU Transparency Directive (and TDAD 2013/50): UK implementation (DTR), reporting and major shareholding disclosures, FSMA s 90A liability, and ESMA/EEAP/LEI developments—law as at February 2019
ARCHIVED
This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It offers an overview of the implementation and principal changes brought in by the EU Transparency Directive and the EU Transparency Directive Amending Directive in the UK. It reflects the law as at February 2019 and has not been revised to address the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It also briefly outlines Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament (15 December 2004) on the harmonisation of transparency obligations concerning information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market, and its amendment of Directive 2001/34/EC (the Transparency Directive), together with its background, substance and UK implementation.
History and implementation
The Transparency Directive emerged from the European Commission’s broader Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP), a programme designed to establish the legislative foundations for a single EU market in financial services. It harmonised transparency requirements across the EU with the aims of:
safeguarding investor confidence; and
enhancing the operation of efficient pan-European capital markets.
These aims are pursued by establishing a framework for companies...
Corporate
PRACTICE NOTES
House of Lords (UK): Composition, Constitutional Role, Procedure, Conventions and Reform to 2024, including the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
The upper chamber of the UK Parliament has, over the last century, seen major shifts in its membership and in the constraints on its authority, with the principal political parties pressing for further reform. Even so, it remains central to the scrutiny and revision of legislation. Its judicial functions ended on 30 July 2009; from 1 October 2009, the UK Supreme Court has carried out that role under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA 2005). For further detail, see Practice Notes on separation of powers—legislative, executive and judiciary—and on Judges. This Practice Note considers the House in its present guise within the UK legislature.
Origins of the
The concept of Parliament can arguably be traced to the eleventh century, with the ‘Witans’: an Anglo-Saxon political body of councils consulted by Saxon kings and attended by religious leaders, magnates and the king’s ministers. In the fourteenth century, two distinct Houses of Parliament emerged. Representatives of towns and counties began meeting separately as members of the House of Commons, while at the same time archbishops, bishops and sometimes abbots...
Public Law
PRACTICE NOTES
Royal Charters: UK framework on establishment, governance, judicial review, corporate powers and restrictions, amendment and surrender
What is a Royal Charter?
The meaning of the term ‘Royal Charter’ has shifted over the centuries. At first, it was the method by which the Crown bestowed corporate personality on bodies of persons undertaking activities for public, or private, benefit. In contemporary use it largely signifies an honorary status, awarded to distinguished professional bodies or charitable organisations that can show a record of achievement and are regarded as financially sound by the Privy Council. The expression is also applied to municipal charters, which create towns and cities.
Historical usage
Securing a Royal Charter was the earliest route to obtain corporate personality for bodies of persons carrying out activities for public, or private, benefit.
Key early grants included:
The University of Cambridge in 1231 for public benefit;
The Sadlers Company in 1272 for private benefit.
Beyond educational institutions, such as universities, and livery companies, the Royal Charter became increasingly associated with groups of persons practising a profession. This began with the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1518 and has since come to be synonymous with regulated, high standards. Charters were later granted to major economic institutions...
Public Law
PRACTICE NOTES
The Judiciary of England and Wales: structure, independence, integrity, recusal, open justice, appointments, discipline, and the roles of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice
The judicial branch
The judicial branch of government in England and Wales acts independently from the executive and legislature, and remains institutionally distinct, and comprises the Senior Courts: the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Crown Court. County Courts and the magistrates’ courts form another tier of the judiciary. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA 2005) made provision for a Supreme Court to serve as the UK’s ultimate court of appeal. The UK Supreme Court came into being in October 2009, supplanting the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the nation’s highest court. It stands apart from the Courts of England and Wales, as it also functions as the Supreme Court for Scotland and for Northern Ireland. Judges and magistrates are appointed by, and derive their authority from, the Crown. They must, however, exercise that authority lawfully, adhering to established and articulated procedures. Accordingly, the proper operation of the judiciary depends upon independence, neutrality and freedom from political or other influence, whether direct or indirect, when interpreting the law and resolving disputes at every level and in every forum. For further detail on the separation of powers, see Practice Note: Separation of powers: legislative, executive and judiciary...
Public Law
PRACTICE NOTES
UK constitutional monarchy and Parliament: the Crown’s powers, conventions, royal prerogative, State Opening, dissolution and prorogation, Royal Assent and consents, hung Parliaments, and succession
Who is the Head of State?
The monarch serves as Head of State and is formally:
the State’s Supreme Executive Officer
the Supreme Governor of the Church of England
the titular commander-in-chief of the three services of the armed forces (army, navy and air force)
the fount of justice and of all titles of honour, distinctions and dignities
Foreign affairs—including treaty-making and the declaration of war and peace—are carried out by the executive in the monarch’s name, known as the exercise of the royal prerogative. Without a single written constitution, the Crown stands as the State’s symbol, with the monarch acting as a figurehead through significant ceremonial roles, such as the State Opening of Parliament.
Relationship with Parliament
The Crown’s reliance on its people is mirrored in its relationship with Parliament. In earlier periods, the monarch personally exercised the State’s supreme executive, legislative and judicial authority. Through modern history—particularly after the enforced abdication of James II and the Bill of Rights 1688—the monarchy’s role has shifted to that of a public institution acting as...
Public Law
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