Pépin Aslett
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Personal Profile
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Call: 1996
PRACTICE OVERVIEW
Pépin's main areas of specialism are commercial, insolvency and property litigation. He aims to bring a new perspective to complex cases with clear, practical and commercial advice drawing on his wide experience. His practice is almost exclusively contentious and clients include lenders, multinationals, small to medium sized companies, professional firms, trusts, property management companies and individuals, including high net worth clients.
In particular his practice includes:
COMMERCIAL
Banking (enforcement under guarantees; breach of mandate; letters of credit)
Insurance
Business break-ups
Intellectual property (copyright, trademarks, passing off, internet law, privacy and data protection)
Fraud and asset tracing
General commercial
CONSUMER CREDIT
INSOLVENCY
Corporate - acting for and against office-holders, injunctions to restrain
Personal - applications to set aside, contested petitions, IVAs
PROPERTY
Real property disputes
Commercial landlord and tenant
Construction
PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION
Pépin is recommended in the Legal 500 for Chancery and Commercial litigation and has previously been described by the Legal 500 as having “an excellent eye for fine detail” and "a star in the making; very bright and clear on paper as well as being a clever advocate".
CALL / QUALIFICATIONS
Call: 1996 (Lincoln's Inn)
Called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Bermuda in 2000
LL.B (Hons.), University of Buckingham; Merit Prize
Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law
Previously an Attorney in Bermuda.
Regularly lectures and delivers in house seminars on a wide range of topics. Previously an Associate Lecturer with the Open University and has taught Advocacy as part of the Manchester Bar Vocational Course.
Areas of Expertise:
Email: clerk@stjohnsbuildings.co.uk
Telephone: 0161 214 1500
Commercial
IMPORTANT CASES
Currently acting for parties in a multi-million pound family trust dispute comprising four main High Court actions concerning issues of undue influence, breach of trust and construction of documents: (R v R).
Led by Christopher Nugee Q.C in the Court of Appeal on the issue of whether a person serving a notice to complete in a land transaction was themselves ready to complete in circumstances where they were seeking more money: (Oakglade Investments Ltd and Others v Dhand).
Acted for the debtor in an appeal against a refusal to set aside a statutory demand successfully significantly reducing the debt from over £1m owing to a finding that the burden of proof in unfair relationship claims in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (as amended) is with the creditor: (Bevin v Datum Finance Ltd [2011] EWHC 3542 (Ch) (Peter Smith J)).
Securing judgment of over £1.4m at trial against a director and de facto director guilty of misfeasance and wrongful trading: (Re Idessa (UK) Ltd [2011] EWHC 804 (Ch); [2011] B.P.I.R. 957).
Acted for a lender in respect of a disputed debt of £36m on the issue of certainty of contractual obligations (Hodgson v Lipson [2009] EWHC 3111 (QB)).
Led by Clive Freedman Q.C in an appeal and preliminary issue on the appropriate limitation period applicable to claims to re-open a credit agreement as an extortionate credit bargain under the Consumer Credit Act 1974: (Nolan v Wright [2009] EWHC 305 (Ch); [2009] 3 All ER 823; [2009] BPIR 854).
Acted in a case on jurisdiction in insolvency appeals where a High Court Judge sits in the County Court: (Tatch & Anor v Claughton (CA) [2007] EWCA Civ 559).
Successfully struck out an application to set aside judgment as being an abuse of process: (Nolan v Devonport [2006] EWHC 2025 (QB); [2007] 1 WLR 1025).
Led in the Court of Appeal by Barbara Dohmann Q.C and David Berkley Q.C in a leading case on the meaning of 'suspicion' in s 328(1) Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and whether evidence to be provided by Bank as to 'suspicion': (K Ltd v National Westminster Bank plc (HM Revenue & Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency intervening) [2006] EWCA Civ 1039; [2006] 4 All ER 907; [2006] 2 Lloyd's Rep 569).
Acted in the leading case on e-mail signatures in guarantee cases: (Mehta v J P Fernandes S.A [2006] EWHC 813 (Ch); [2006] 1 WLR 1543; [2006] 2 All ER 891; [2006] 2 Lloyd's Rep 244; Times 16/05/2006).
Represented the Claimant in a claim involving whether a constructive trust existed in a residential property sale: (Ikram v Latif N.P.C 22; LTL 21/03/06).
Acted for debtor on an appeal against a bankruptcy order due to a filed IVA (Bradburn v Kaye [2006] BPIR 605 (Ch); LTL 19/04/2006).
BF & M Litigation - Advice and representation of seventeen individual shareholder defendants in Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company Limited (in Liquidation) and Others v. BF & M Limited and Others, a multi-million dollar reinsurance insolvency case ultimately settled for $35m.
MEMBERSHIPS
Northern Circuit
Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association
PUBLICATIONS
'Cross-Border Asset Protection: An Offshore Perspective' Journal of Financial Crime 2003 Vol. 10 No. 3 229
"The Destruction of Commercial Documents" The Company Lawyer 2003 Vol. 24 No. 12 35