Aarushi practises in commercial, public and competition/EU law. She joined chambers as a tenant in September 2021 following the successful completion of pupillage supervised by Sarah Abram QC, James McClelland QC and Fred Hobson.
Before coming to the Bar, Aarushi was a dual-qualified solicitor in Australia and England & Wales. She worked as a Judicial Assistant to the Chief Judge in Equity at the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney, before training as a solicitor at Linklaters LLP in London.
Aarushi graduated with an LLB (First Class) from the University of Sydney in 2014 and an LLM (First Class) from the University of Cambridge in 2019. At Cambridge she ranked first in Legal History and the Economics of Law and Regulation, and was awarded the President’s Prize at Queens’ College.
Aarushi accepts instructions across all areas of commercial law, in particular banking and finance disputes, and conflicts of laws. Her recent experience includes:
Bank of St Petersburg v Arkhangelsky – retrial of an alleged fraud and conspiracy claim (with Tim Lord QC and Richard Eschwege)
SCOR v Barclays – a breach of confidence claim governed by French law (as a pupil, assisting Daniel Jowell QC and Fred Hobson)
OBEX v Cowen – a complex prime brokerage dispute (as a pupil, assisting Fred Hobson)
Acerus Pharmaceuticals v Recipharm [2021] EWHC 1878 (Comm) – a contractual dispute concerning a pharmaceuticals manufacturing agreement (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram QC)
Loreley 30 v Credit Suisse – a misrepresentation and fraud claim brought by CDO investors (as a pupil, assisting Tim Lord QC, Fred Hobson and Ben Woolgar)
Jukes v Facebook Ireland – a privacy class action relating to the Cambridge Analytica scandal (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram QC and Matthew Kennedy)
Aarushi is particularly interested in financial regulation and FinTech. She previously worked in the Financial Regulation and Derivatives & Structured Products teams at Linklaters LLP. She has also worked with the Financial Markets Law Committee, a think tank sponsored by the Bank of England, on a range of issues including emissions trading, Brexit, conflicts of laws and negative oil prices.
Aarushi accepts instructions across all areas of public law, civil liberties and human rights. She is especially interested in any novel “retained EU law” issues. Her recent experience includes:
R (Detention Action) v Lord Chancellor [2022] EWHC 18 (Admin) – a challenge to the lawfulness of a legal aid scheme in immigration detention (with Malcolm Birdling)
Advising an NGO on proposed changes to the UK GDPR and the impact on the EU Adequacy Decision (with Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC)
Advising the Centre for Women’s Justice on domestic remedies for victims of crimes committed overseas (with Paul Bowen QC and Allan Cerim)
Assisting and advising the FCA on proposed regulatory interventions.
R (Hughes) v Pension Protection Fund [2021] EWCA Civ 1093 – an appeal concerning a judicial review claim brought by pensioners against the PPF worth > £1bn (as a pupil, assisting Jemima Stratford QC and James McClelland QC)
R (Donegan) v Financial Services Compensation Scheme [2021] EWHC 760 (Admin) – a judicial review claim brought by investors against the FSCS’s decision to decline compensation in respect of “mini bonds” (as a pupil, assisting James McClelland QC, Tim Johnston and Charlotte Thomas)
Advising on Article 1 Protocol 1 rights in a proposed judicial review in the energy sector (as a pupil, assisting James McClelland QC).
Aarushi is developing a pro bono practice as well. Prior to coming to the Bar she worked in housing, public and equality law at the Mary Ward Legal Centre while on secondment from Linklaters LLP.
Aarushi has also volunteered at Liberty and as a representative with the Free Representation Unit. At the University of Cambridge, she worked on a Pro Bono Project for Redress, addressing the tracing of assets for the benefit of victims of human rights violations.
Aarushi accepts instructions in all types of competition law actions and investigations. Her recent experience includes:
Advising on a potential appeal against a CMA infringement decision (with James Flynn QC)
Allianz v HSBC – a damages claim concerning alleged collusion in FX markets (as a pupil, assisting Helen Davies QC, Sarah Abram QC and Tom Wood)
Vattenfall v Prysmian – a follow-on damages claim in respect of the alleged power cables cartel (as a pupil, assisting Aidan Robertson QC and Sarah Abram QC)
Trucks Litigation – a follow-on damages claim in respect of the alleged trucks cartel (as a pupil, assisting Mark Hoskins QC and Sarah Abram QC)
Education
2018-19: Master of Law (First Class) at the University of Cambridge
2010-14: Bachelor of Law (First Class) and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) at the University of Sydney
Scholarships and Prizes
John and Sophie Laws Scholarship (Bar European Group)
President’s Prize for significant distinction in Law (Queens’ College, Cambridge)
Foundation Scholarship (Queens’ College, Cambridge)
Sir Sigmund Sternberg LLM Studentship (Queens’ College, Cambridge)
Australia & New Zealand Banking and Financial Services Law Association Scholarship (BFSLA)
Justice Peter Hely Scholarship for further studies in commercial law and equity (University of Sydney)
Boulton Groom Postgraduate Scholarship (University of Sydney)
Professional Experience
2020-21: Pupil Barrister, Brick Court Chambers
2020: Judicial Assistant, High Court of England & Wales (in the Queens’ Bench Division for Mr Justice Chamberlain and in the Commercial Court for Mr Justice Butcher)
2020: Guest Teacher in Property I, London School of Economics
2016-18: Trainee Solicitor (Australian-qualified), Linklaters LLP
2015: Judicial Assistant to the Chief Judge in Equity, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia
Volunteer/Pro Bono
2020: Volunteer Representative, Free Representation Unit
2019: Researcher, Pro Bono Project at the University of Cambridge
2018: Researcher, Police Use of Force Project at the University of Cambridge
2018: Advice and Information Volunteer, Liberty
2018: Volunteer Judge, LSE-Featherstone LGBT Moot
2018: Case reviewer, Florida Centre for Capital Representation/Amicus (via Linklaters)
2017: Caseworker, UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group (via Linklaters)
Professional Qualifications
2020: Called to the Bar of England & Wales
2018: Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales
2015: Qualified as a solicitor in New South Wales, Australia
‘ABN Amro Bank NV v Bathurst Regional Council: Credit Rating Agencies and Liability to Investors’ (2015) 37(3) Sydney Law Review 437
‘An Awkward Situation: The Courts’ Approach to a Judicial Officer Suing for Defamation’ (2015) 20 Media and Arts Law Review 380
