Edlyn has a thriving commercial chancery practice and accepts instructions across all of Chambers’ practice areas, including commercial, civil fraud, company, partnership, insolvency, real estate and private client. She has appeared regularly led and unled in the High Court and the County Court including, on several occasions, on an urgent basis.
Edlyn has significant commercial experience, having worked at Rolls-Royce for six years prior to her legal training in the aviation, shipping and energy industries, during which she completed six-month secondments in Singapore and the USA. In her final role, as a Commercial Manager, she negotiated major contracts for the supply of equipment to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and assisted with contract delivery for around two years. Her business acumen, creative problem solving skills and attention to detail are of particular value to clients in large-scale commercial disputes.
Edlyn read English Language and Literature at Balliol College, Oxford. She completed her GDL and BPTC at City, University of London, obtaining distinction and outstanding grades. She has also taught contract law on the City GDL course. She was called to the Bar as a Stephen Chapman Scholar, the Inner Temple’s second most prestigious award.
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Expertise
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Commercial Litigation & Arbitration
Commercial litigation is a core part of Edlyn’s practice and she is instructed regularly (led and unled) in large-scale disputes and in smaller matters. Examples include:
- Currently instructed in an LCIA arbitration raising issues of breach of fiduciary duty, unfair prejudice and contractual interpretation in the context of a large-scale family business (led by Andrew Westwood KC and Rebecca Page).
- Acted for a member of the Al-Sanea family, a prominent Saudi family, to assist with preparing grounds of appeal from the decision in Al-Subaihi v Al-Sanea
[2021] EWHC 2609 (Comm) including on issues of breach of fiduciary duty, duress, undue influence and contractual interpretation (led by James Aldridge KC and Duncan McCombe).
- Assisted with a two week trial in the BVI concerning the interpretation of a New York law agreement to purchase shares in a Caribbean energy company, including whether there had been a breach of an implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing and issues of causation and quantum (led by David Mumford KC).
- Successfully defended a major national charity against a claim for alleged breach of contract (unled).
- Represented a national league football club at two interim hearings in a contractual claim against the club’s former sponsors (unled).
- Represented a real estate intermediary in a claim for unpaid commission, including a successful amendment application (unled).
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Civil Fraud
Many of Edlyn’s cases (led and unled) include a civil fraud element. She has acted for clients making and defending serious allegations, including of breach of fiduciary duty, bribery, forgery, sham agreements, illegality, duress, undue influence and unjustified dissipation and has advised and/or appeared on applications for interim relief based on this type of allegation, including on an urgent basis. Examples include:
- Acted in the long-running Koza litigation to oppose the amendment of an interim regime governing the management of a company pending resolution of a dispute over its control and the grant of an anti-suit injunction and ancillary disclosure orders. This included appearing at three hearings, including a two day return date in January 2023 (led by Siward Atkins KC).
- Acted for a member of the Al-Sanea family, a prominent Saudi family, to assist with preparing grounds of appeal from the decision in Al-Subaihi v Al-Sanea [2021] EWHC 2609 (Comm) including on issues of breach of fiduciary duty, duress, undue influence and contractual interpretation (led by James Aldridge KC and Duncan McCombe).
- Assisted with a two week trial in the BVI concerning the interpretation of a New York law agreement to purchase shares in a Caribbean energy company, including whether there had been a breach of an implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing and issues of causation and quantum (led by David Mumford KC).
- Advised (pro bono; unled) on an urgent basis on varying a without notice freezing injunction which had been obtained shortly before the start of a one week trial to enable her client to release sufficient assets to pay for legal representation at trial (which her client then won).
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Company & Partnership
Company and partnership work is a significant part of Edlyn’s practice. Examples of her experience include:
- Acted in a dispute over a family partnership which had run several pubs and off-licences, including settling her client’s trial witness statement and appearing (unled) at a successful half-day hearing in the High Court dealing with the provisions of PD 57AD and complex issues of privilege and waiver, at which she obtained wide-ranging disclosure orders and an injunction restraining the use of certain documents.
- Acted in the long-running Koza litigation to oppose the amendment of an interim regime governing the management of a company pending resolution of a dispute over its control and the grant of an anti-suit injunction and ancillary disclosure orders. This included appearing at three hearings, including a two day return date in January 2023 (led by Siward Atkins KC).
- Currently instructed in an LCIA arbitration raising issues of breach of fiduciary duty, unfair prejudice and contractual interpretation in the context of a large-scale family business (led by Andrew Westwood KC and Rebecca Page).
- Assisted Catherine Addy KC in a dispute connected with an unfair prejudice petition.
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Insolvency & Asset Recovery
Edlyn is instructed regularly in insolvency matters and has a particular interest in cases with a real estate or property development angle and in advising companies facing insolvent liquidation in more complicated cases involving asset realisation, restructuring, re-financing, disputed debts or alternative insolvency procedures.
Notable cases include appearing for the applicant shareholders on an urgent application to rescind or stay winding up orders against 21 group companies involved in the development of the Royal Albert Dock in London (led by Siward Atkins KC).
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Offshore & Trusts
Edlyn welcomes instructions to assist with offshore work. Her experience includes assisting with cases in the BVI and/or involving BVI law, including a two week trial led by David Mumford KC.
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Real Estate
Edlyn has acted on various real estate matters including possession proceedings; 1954 Act lease renewals; dilapidations; and claims for rent arrears and damages. She also has experience from her pupillage of leasehold covenants; freehold covenants; proprietary estoppel; constructive trusts; rent charges in the context of a modern housing development; professional negligence in the context of conveyancing; and injunctions against persons unknown to restrain trespass.
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Professional Negligence
Edlyn welcomes instructions on professional negligence matters and has experience of this area from her pupillage.
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Private Client
Edlyn’s experience includes:
- Advising on and drafting an (ultimately successful) application to remove the administrator of an estate.
- Dealing with difficult issues of capacity, including appearing on an urgent application to adjourn a one week trial on the basis that her client might lack capacity and assisting with arranging a capacity assessment and appointing a litigation friend (unled) and appearing for an equity release finance provider opposing allegations that a trust deed was void or should be set aside because the deceased settlor had allegedly lacked capacity and/or had been unduly influenced (unled).
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Charities
Edlyn welcomes instructions on charities matters and has experience of this area from her pupillage.
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