Rae Cohen

Rae Cohen

  • Year of Call: 1981
  • Lincoln’s Inn
Practice

Rae Cohen is a highly experienced barrister, having risen to the forefront of the profession since starting in practice 30 years ago. His practice encompasses Family Law, where he specialises in ancillary relief, and Civil Law, where his strengths lie in chancery and commercial litigation.

Family Law 

Rae joined Broadway House Chambers in 2007 as part of a group of leading family law barristers. He has been routinely recommended by the national legal directories as being an exceptional practitioner in ancillary relief, handling cases of deep complexity where the value of the asset pool runs into tens of millions of pounds. Rae has been instructed in cases involving substantial singularly- and jointly-owned property portfolios and businesses, assets located overseas, discretionary and charitable trusts, and disputes surrounding inherited wealth.

Civil Law

Rae is well known for being one of the leading authorities on the North Eastern Circuit on wills, contested probate and the law of inheritance. It is this aspect in particular which characterises both his family and civil law practices, as Rae has appeared in high-profile cases on inheritance, both in the Chancery Division and in the Court of Appeal. In addition, Rae is able to rely upon his intricate knowledge of business across the various strands of his civil practice, which extend from standard contractual and commercial transactions through to trusts and major land ownership disputes.

 

What The Directories Say

 

Legal 500

"Effective counsel" - 2011

"Highly recommended for high-value ancillary relief cases" - 2009 & 2010

"Martin Wood has been joined by Paul Isaacs and Rae Cohen to create an impressive trio of senior juniors for ancillary relief instructions" - 2008

 

Chambers & Partners UK

"Assured, good with numbers and able to keep a firm grasp on the pertinent issues" - 2011

"A solid practitioner with an assured grasp of matrimonial finance" - 2010

"Lauded for his expertise in all aspects of matrimonial finance work and highly regarded for his 'sensible and pragmatic view'" - 2009

Rae Cohen is "a commercial litigator... 'Measured and careful', [he] wins repeat instructions from solicitors due to his 'really comfortable relationship with clients'" - 2008

 

Professional Memberships

 

Family Law Bar Association 

 

Notable Cases


Court of Appeal

Booth v Booth and others [2010] EWCA Civ 27

Will – Residue – Division – Husband transferring interest in farm to wife – Farm treated as part of wife's estate on her death – Husband undervaluing wife's estate – Husband appropriating deceased wife's property to himself – Husband's will bequeathing estate to son – Daughters bringing first claim disputing validity of husband's will – First claim dismissed – Daughters bringing second claim for residue of wife's estate – Judge finding second claim not abuse of process – Judge finding farm part of wife's estate – Whether judge erring –
Administration of Estates Act 1925.

Evans v Malley Organisation Ltd t/a First Busines Support [2003] IRLR 156

Contract - Contracts of employment - Terms of employment and commission arrangements - Terms of employment, annual leave and holiday pay - Method of calculation - Whether in breach of the Working Time Regulations - Whether non-payment constitutes unauthorised deduction.

Ward Evans Financial Services Ltd v Fox [2002] IRLR 120

Companies - Contract - Contracts of employment - Contract of service – Breach of contract – Employees forming competing company during employment with employer – Company dormant until after termination of employment – Whether employees in breach of contract.

Thornton v Abbey National Plc (1993) Times, 4th March

Contract - Where a claim for breach of contract turned on the construction of a particular clause, the defendant was not debarred from relying on a construction which would allow him to derive an advantage from his own breach if no disadvantage was suffered by the claimant. The presumption that no man could take advantage of his own wrong did not apply in those circumstances.

Re G (a minor) (1992) (unreported)

Children Act 1989 - Contact - Whether contact should be supervised or unsupervised - Whether variation from supervised to unsupervised appropriate - When variation should take place - Whether judge in error.

Wood v Gahlings (1992) (unreported)

Negligence - Personal injury - Admission of new evidence - Whether admission permissible - Defendant driving during course of employment - Whether employment material.

 

High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

Chase Manhattan Equities Ltd v Goodman [1991] BCLC 897

Director – Transfer of shares – Whether the transfer was a sham – Whether the director should have informed the company of the gift – Sale of the shares that were so transferred – The effect of the Model Code for Securities Transactions by Directors in Listed Companies – Whether the director was in possession of undisclosed price sensitive information – Whether the sale of the shares was unenforceable for illegality – Company Securities (Insider Dealing) Act 1985, ss 1, 8(3)

 

High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division)

GS Laundry Equipment Ltd v Health and Safety Executive 

Employer's liability - Health and safety - Discharge of employer's duties under s.6 Health and Safety at Work (etc.) Act 1974.

 

Recent Articles & Seminars

 

Dealing With "Risk-Laden Assets" In Difficult Economic Times (Broadway Quarterly, November 2010) - An examination of the effect of the recent economic crisis on matrimonial property and ancillary relief applications following Myerson v Myerson [2009] EWCA Civ 282.