William Kitchen

William has significant experience of commercial disputes, including heavy international matters:

• ACL Netherlands v Lynch: Acting for the estate of Dr Mike Lynch at the consequentials hearing of the HP / Autonomy litigation resisting a US$ 750 million claim for pre-judgment interest (led by Richard Hill KC and Sharif Shivji KC).
• Drafting pleadings for a £2 million breach of contract claim against a provider of vehicle auditing services (led by Joseph Wigley).
• Adie v Ingenuity Digital Ltd [2024] EWHC 2902 (Ch): Drafting a skeleton argument for a Part 8 disposal hearing regarding an M&A dispute in which the sellers challenged the calculation of deferred consideration (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Assisting with a complex jurisdiction challenge under the LCIA Arbitration Rules arising out of inconsistent arbitration / exclusive jurisdiction clauses. The underlying dispute regarded the sale of a company for an alleged undervalue of US$ 85 million and involved serious allegations of conspiracy, fraud, and dishonesty (as a pupil, assisting Donald Lilly KC).
• Advising on an appeal under sections 67-69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 in relation to an ad hoc arbitration concerning the construction of an oral contract (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).
• Assisting with the cross-examination of a foreign law expert witness in relation to a major international patent dispute (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).
• Assisting with proposed anti-suit injunctive proceedings in an offshore jurisdiction (as a pupil, assisting Alexander Cook KC).

William regularly appears as sole counsel in personal and corporate insolvency matters in the County Court and the High Court. He has been instructed on winding up petitions (including ‘double-barrelled’ petitions), bankruptcy petitions, applications to set aside a statutory demand, and applications for substituted service. His further experience includes:

• Advising on the scope of orders vesting after-acquired property pursuant to section 307 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Re Pan Sutong: Assisting with a contested application in what is believed to be the largest deficit bankruptcy in the world (c.£14 billion) for the recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006. The purpose of the application was to investigate whether a £55 million flat in Knightsbridge fell within the insolvent estate (as a pupil, assisting Donald Lilly KC).
• Re Petropavlovsk plc [2025] EWHC 1147 (Ch): Drafting a skeleton argument for a contested application to discharge the former joint administrators of a company from liability following the sale of the company’s assets for US$ 619 million (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Advising on a potential application for the suspension of discharge from bankruptcy under section 279 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Advising a company on the scope of insolvency set-off and strike out for want of prosecution (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Advising a company on the power of a sole director to appoint an administrator out of court (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Advising joint liquidators on the scope of their investigatory powers under sections 234-236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).

William has experience of a variety of company law matters, especially unfair prejudice proceedings:

• Ming v Ming: Assisting with an appeal against a $50 million buyout order made in BVI unfair prejudice proceedings, raising issues as to the circumstances in which it is appropriate to apply a minority discount to shares in a non-quasi-partnership post Shanda Games and the proper approach to quasi-interest (as a pupil, assisting Donald Lilly KC).
• Drafting an unfair prejudice petition involving allegations of misappropriation, breach of fiduciary duty, and quasi-partnership in relation to a property development group (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Assisting with a dispute over the governance of a substantial offshore company with its business in the People’s Republic of China (as a pupil, assisting Alexander Cook KC).
• Advising on fiduciary duties in relation to climate change (as a pupil, assisting Sharif Shivji KC).
• Advising a company on the validity of convertible notes issued in excess of its authorised share capital (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).

Further to his experience working as an interest rate derivatives trader, Williams has been instructed on banking & finance matters including:

• Acting for the defendant at the trial of a claim to set aside £250,000 of interest payable under a secured loan pursuant to the unfair relationship provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and/or on the basis that the lending was unauthorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
• Drafting a skeleton argument for a hearing to determine disclosure and strike out applications in relation to a multi-million dollar claim in the DIFC for the misselling of investment products (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).
• Power Projects Sanayi Insaat Ticaret Ltd Sirketi v Star Assurance Co Ltd [2024] EWHC 2798 (Comm): Assisting with a hearing to resist an application to convert a claim for the payment of a performance bond into a Part 8 claim (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for a proposed claim to redeem a mortgage over shares (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).

William has worked on several matters with a civil fraud element:

• Barclays Bank plc v Dylan [2025] EWCA Civ 265: Drafting a skeleton argument in opposition to an appeal against the appellants’ committal for contempt of court for breach of freezing orders (as a pupil, assisting James Knott and Karl Anderson).
• Assisting with a complex jurisdiction challenge under the LCIA Arbitration Rules arising out of inconsistent arbitration / exclusive jurisdiction clauses. The underlying dispute regarded the sale of a company for an alleged undervalue of US$ 85 million and involved serious allegations of conspiracy, fraud, and dishonesty (as a pupil, assisting Donald Lilly KC).
• Assisting with advice in connection with a proposed claim in which it was alleged that a purchase agreement had been induced by deceit (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).
• Drafting an unfair prejudice petition involving allegations of misappropriation, breach of fiduciary duty, and quasi-partnership in relation to a property development group (as a pupil, assisting Joseph Wigley).

William has worked on disputes in various offshore jurisdictions:

• Re Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd [2026] SC (Bda) 13 Civ: Acting for the dissenters in discovery and case management applications made in ongoing Bermudian appraisal proceedings arising from a US$ 5.5 billion transaction to restructure the Jardine group (led by Sharif Shivji KC).
• Assisting with an appeal in unfair prejudice proceedings against the decision of the BVI High Court not to apply a minority discount and to award quasi-interest when making a US $50 million buyout order (as a pupil, assisting Donald Lilly KC).
• Assisting with a claim in ongoing multi-billion dollar insolvency proceedings in the BVI (as a pupil, assisting Alexander Cook KC and Andrew Rose).
• Drafting a skeleton argument for a hearing to determine disclosure and strike out applications in relation to a multi-million dollar claim in the DIFC for the misselling of investment products (as a pupil, assisting James Knott).
• Assisting with a US$ 17 million contested winding-up petition in Antigua (as a pupil, assisting Alexander Cook KC).

• ‘The Hamblin Cases – a Solution to a Puzzle?’ (2025) 40(8) JIBFL 562 (co-authored with George Bompas KC)
• ‘Beyond Physical Integration: Distinguishing ‘Other Property’ from the ‘Thing Itself’’ (2022) 11 Oxford University Undergraduate Law Journal 129

Qualifications

• ICCA Bar Course
• BA Law with Senior Status, Harris Manchester College, Oxford (First Class)
• BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University College, Oxford (First Class)

Academic Prizes (Law)

• Gibbs Prize for best overall performance in private law (Contract, Tort, Land and Trusts)
• Law Faculty Prize for best performance in Constitutional Law
• Falcon Chambers Prize for best performance in Land Law
• Second Undergraduate Degree Scholarship

Academic Prizes (Philosophy, Politics and Economics)

• College Prize for best overall performance in Finals
• College Prize for best performance in Economics Finals
• Academic Exhibition

Other Awards

• Lord Bowen Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
• Times Law Awards 2022 (2^nd place)