OVERVIEW

Rachael is a commercial disputes lawyer and her practice focuses primarily on banking and commercial disputes. She was promoted to Senior Associate in January 2022.

Expertise

As well as her experience gained at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts and Kennedy’s, she held the position as a Judge’s Clerk at the High Court of New Zealand and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Auckland.

Recently, Rachael practiced as a senior solicitor at boutique litigation firm, Wilson Harle, and advised TLT LLP as a consultant on a banking project managed by their banking litigation team, where she helped investigate the treatment of small and medium enterprise customers and made redress recommendations.

Clients

During her career, Rachael has advised and worked with a broad range of clients including retailers, personal lenders, telecommunication companies, public bodies, private individuals and corporates.

Working towards a diverse, equitable and inclusive work force is paramount to Rachael who is an active member of Hausfeld's Women’s Alliance group.

EDUCATION

Professional Legal Studies, College of Law
Conjoint degree BHSc/LLB (Hons), University of Auckland

LLM (Distinction), London School of Economics and Political Science

Rachael has received several awards. These include:

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Writing Prize, 2014
Faculty of Law Dean’s Academic Excellence Award and First in Evidence, 2012
AJ Park Intellectual Property Prize, First in Intellectual Property and Marylyn Eve Mayo Endowment Scholarship, 2011

BAR ADMISSIONS

Rachael is a registered foreign lawyer in England and Wales.
Barrister and Solicitor, High Court of New Zealand, 2013

AFFILIATIONS

Member - New Zealand Law Society

PUBLICATIONS

Contributor to the New Zealand Shipping Gazette Special Industry Review - vol 20 issue 77, 2017

“Court of Appeal sheds light on new approach to penalties in Torchlight decision” - International Law Office, 2017

“Unravelling trust assets – trustee powers deemed relationship property” - International Law Office, 2015

"A Square Peg in a Round Hole: Systemic Negligence in the Public Sector” - 20 AULR 39, 2014

“Judicial Restraint When Reviewing Health Care Rationing Decisions: A Healthy Approach?” - 18 AULR 137, 2012

Experience

Commercial & Financial Disputes

At Hausfeld, Rachael has been a pivotal member of the team acting:

on behalf of Phillip Evans in FX Claim UK, a proposed collective action against 8 global banks in respect of FX spot trading cartels.
for the claimant in R (on the application of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking) v Financial Conduct Authority, in its application to challenge the lawfulness of the decision of the FCA not to establish a mechanism of redress following the exclusion of bank customers from the FCA’s IRHP compensation scheme. Permission was won in June 2023 (reported at [2023] EWHC 1616) and the upcoming trial is one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases’ of 2024

Experience that Rachael obtained prior to Hausfeld includes:

Advised public bodies on strategic pre-action matters and the avoidance of litigation in contract and procurement disputes.
Advised clients on the disclosure of official information.
Advised on equitable tracing of property, negligence claims, applications for High Court directions and insurance coverage.
Advised on fair trading laws, credit contracts legislation and regulatory compliance.
Defended applications for the disclosure of a client’s customer information in the civil and criminal jurisdiction.
Defended a regulatory prosecution.
Advised on contract, tort, private international and intellectual property cases.
Acted in debt recovery proceedings, including a cross-border claim.
Advised public bodies on licensing and prosecutorial decisions.

Technology & Data Breach

At Hausfeld, Rachael is a member of the team which filed a CPR 19.6 representative action in the High Court against Marriott International on behalf of Martin Bryant, representing millions of affected individuals concerning a major data breach involving the Starwood guest reservation database when unknown persons gained access to hundreds of millions of guest records between July 2014 and September 2018.

Rachael Baillie-Barnes