Sarah Abram’s Full CV

Qualifications

  • Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law- Outstanding (2006)
  • Bachelor of Civil Law, Oxford University- Distinction (2005)
  • LL.B., Law and French, Bristol University- First Class Honours, finished 1st in year (2004); also finished 1st in first and second year examinations (2001 and 2002)
  • University of Poitiers, Diploma of French Law- Mention Très Bien (equivalent to First Class) (2003)

Practice Profile

Sarah Abram is a junior barrister with a broad range of experience in EU/ competition, commercial and public law matters. She has appeared in a wide variety of courts, including the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Competition Appeal Tribunal and various other specialist tribunals, the Crown Court and the Magistrates' Court. Sarah regularly appears, both led and unled, in the High Court and in County Courts.

Sarah has a broad-based commercial law practice spanning all areas of Chambers' commercial expertise and encompassing both litigation and arbitration. She is regularly instructed in "credit crunch" cases involving the banking and financial services sectors, as well as general commercial litigation; she has a particular interest in cases combining commercial and EU/ competition law elements.

Current high profile cases of note include the JPMorgan v BVG litigation, involving a CDO transaction worth in excess of $200million, which has so far reached both the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union on issues of jurisdiction. Sarah is currently instructed as junior counsel for the claimants in A Nelson & Co Ltd v Guna SpA, Commercial Court proceedings combining issues of commercial and competition law, in which the claimants have successfully obtained judgment on issues of liability ([2011] EWHC 1202 (Comm)). Sarah has also recently been involved in obtaining summary judgment in AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd v Birdi & ors ([2011] EWHC 1625 (QB)), an international fraud case involving breach of fiduciary duty and other equitable and common law claims; she has appeared unled in a substantial number of hearings in the course of that litigation.

Sarah also appears in a wide range of competition law disputes and has substantial trial experience. For instance, she acted for the successful appellant in Tomlinson v OFT ([2011] CAT 7), one of the challenges to the penalties imposed by the OFT's September 2009 Decision regarding cover-pricing in the construction industry. She was instructed as Junior Counsel in the High Court trial of the leading competition law case BAGS and ors v AMRAC and ors (2008] EWHC 1978 (Ch); [2008] EWHC 2688 (Ch)), concerning the validity of media rights agreements in the horseracing sector. She also appeared as Junior Counsel in the National Grid v Ofgem case ([2009] CAT 14), representing an Intervener supporting Ofgem's successful case that National Grid had abused its position of dominance in the gas metering market.

Sarah also practises in the field of public and administrative law, particularly where issues of EU law are involved. For instance, she is frequently instructed in matters relating to public procurement. In the field of judicial review, she appeared for instance for the successful claimant in Speciality Produce Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2009] EWHC 1245 (Admin), a case involving allegations of abuse of Community law as well as issues of domestic law.

Sarah was appointed to the Attorney General's C Panel in 2011.

Commercial Law

  • JPMorgan v BVG [2010] EWCA Civ 390; [2010] 2 WLR 690, [2009] EWHC 1627 (Comm) (with Tim Lord QC, Simon Salzedo QC and Simon Birt): credit crunch claim relating to a derivatives transaction (CDS/ CDO), raising issues of jurisdiction under the Brussels Regulation. The litigation between JPMorgan and BVG reached the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union at the jurisdiction stage.
  • AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd v Birdi & ors [2011] EWHC 1625 (QB) (with Harry Matovu QC): acting for the claimant in a fraud claim relating to allegations of diversion of funds, including claims for breach of contract and equitable and tortious wrongs. Proceedings involved (amongst other things) obtaining freezing injunctions against various defendants and dealing with complex issues of service out of the jurisdiction. Summary judgment was obtained against the defendants in June 2011.
  • A Nelson & Co Ltd v Guna SpA [2011] EWHC 1202 (Comm) (with Fergus Randolph QC): acting for the claimants in a breach of contract claim relating to the failure by a distributor to comply with contractual obligations to transfer registrations necessary for the sale of products in Italy as homeopathic. The Claimants successfully obtained judgment on issues of liability in the Commercial Court; appeal to Court of Appeal pending.
  • Substantial recent experience of arbitration, acting both led and unled, including in an ICC arbitration relating to the steel industry and an LCIA arbitration relating to an international supply contract.
  • Providing expert opinions (with Tim Lord QC) on the application of English law in proceedings in The Netherlands arising out of the syndicated loan financing of a telecoms joint venture.
  • UBS AG v Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig [2010] EWHC 2566 (Comm) (with Tim Lord QC and Stephen Midwinter): CDO dispute raising jurisdiction issues.
  • Fischer Advanced Composite Components v St Bernard Composites Ltd (with Simon Salzedo QC): commercial law claim involving allegations of breach of contract, intimidation and duress.
  • Carrington & ors v Baker Tilly & ors (with Tom Adam QC): professional negligence claim against tax accountants and barrister.
  • Sarah has been instructed (led and unled) in a range of commercial cases covering a wide variety of market sectors, from aviation to mortgage broking to pharmaceuticals.

Competition Law

  • Tomlinson v OFT [2011] CAT 7 (with Aidan Robertson QC): successful appeal to the CAT against a penalty imposed by the OFT on one of the addressees of its September 2009 Decision concerning cover-pricing in the construction industry.
  • A Nelson & Co Ltd v Guna SpA [2011] EWHC 1202 (Comm) (with Fergus Randolph QC): acting on behalf of the claimants, successfully contested a competition law Euro-defence, aimed at preventing enforcement of the contract which was the subject of the claim.
  • BAGS and ors v AMRAC and ors ([2008] EWHC 1978 (Ch); [2008] EWHC 2688 (Ch)) (with Nicholas Green QC, Pushpinder Saini QC and Mark Hoskins QC): competition law claim involving challenges to the validity of various agreements for broadcast media rights to live horseracing.
  • National Grid v Ofgem [2009] CAT 14 (with Fergus Randolph QC): instructed for an intervener in National Grid's appeal against a Decision by Ofgem finding that National Grid had abused its position of dominance in the market for domestic gas metering.
  • Koninklijke Philips and ors v Amino Communications Ltd (with Jemima Stratford QC and Nicholas Saunders): proceedings raising issues of what terms would be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) in the licensing of intellectual property rights.
  • Experience of cartel damages actions.
  • Advisory work on issues of competition law.

European Law

  • Speciality Produce Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2009] EWHC 1245 (Admin) (with Aidan Robertson QC): successful claim for judicial review, raising issues of alleged abuse of Community law and entitlement to payments under the Common Agricultural Policy.
  • Represented an appellant Producer Organisation (unled) in a Stage 2 appeal against a decision of the Rural Payments Agency to refuse certain payments under the Common Agricultural Policy.
  • Door 2 Door Services Ltd v Burton NHS Trust (unled): public procurement claim relating to a procuring body's withdrawal of a tender process, acting for the claimant.
  • Hargreaves Industrial Services Ltd v Yorkshire Forward (with Robert O'Donoghue): defending a public procurement claim relating to a decision to award the contract to another tenderer.
  • JPMorgan v BVG: jurisdiction dispute, in which the Supreme Court made a preliminary reference to the ECJ on questions of the interpretation of the Brussels Regulation (for judgments below, see [2010] EWCA Civ 390; [2010] 2 WLR 690, [2009] EWHC 1627 (Comm)) (with Tim Lord QC and Simon Salzedo QC). UBS AG v Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig ([2010] EWHC 2566 (Comm)) (with Tim Lord QC and Stephen Midwinter) also raised issues of jurisdiction under the Brussels Regulation.
  • Advisory and contentious work in the fields of public procurement and commercial agency.

Public and Administrative Law

  • Appointed to the Treasury C Panel in 2011.
  • Speciality Produce Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2009] EWHC 1245 (Admin) (with Aidan Robertson QC): successful claim for judicial review, raising issues of European Community law.
  • Judicial Review proceedings generally.
  • Public law advisory work.
  • Frequent pro bono work: Sarah acted on a pro bono basis for a professional pianist challenging the terms of a noise abatement order prohibiting her from playing the piano at home. The challenge to the order was successful before the Magistrates' Court at a trial in November 2009; the local authority ultimately withdrew its further Crown Court appeal.

Career

  • Tenant, Brick Court Chambers (2007-present)
  • Pupil, Brick Court Chambers (2006-2007)
  • Tutor in Law of Trusts and Equitable Remedies, King's College London (2005-2006)
  • Guest Panellist on Anita Anand show, Radio 5Live (2005-2007)
  • Legal Research Assistant to Theresa Villiers MEP (Summer 2004)

Further Information

Languages

  • Fluent French

  • Good German

Scholarships and Prizes

  • Grays Inn Tax Chambers Award for highest mark in the law of Personal Taxation on the BCL (2005)
  • AHRB Postgraduate Award to fund study on the BCL (2004-2005)

  • Freshfields Prize for Trusts for highest mark in Trusts Law (2004)

Professional Memberships

  • Bar Pro Bono Unit
  • Bar European Group
  • COMBAR
  • ALBA