UNIDROIT is a respected international organisation dedicated to the improvement of commercial law across its 65 member nations and beyond, and will be recognised by more established members of the invoice finance community (ie. older readers!) for its Convention on International Factoring which was adopted in 1988.
A recent decision in the Commercial Court provided some comfort to invoice financiers facing technical arguments in litigation as to the accuracy of invoices submitted to debtors
Rachael joined Bermans in May 2023 as a Solicitor in our Asset Based Lending team in Manchester.
Rachael graduated with a First Class Law Degree from Sheffield Hallam University in 2015. Following this, she attended BPP Law School, where she obtained a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course. She then qualified as a Solicitor in 2020.
She is experienced in real estate finance, general corporate finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.
Outside of work, Rachael enjoys travelling, going on walks in the Lake District and spending time with friends.
There are a few very few cases in the law reports dealing specifically with factoring or invoice discounting, so we always pay particular attention to those that are reported, and in this respect it is worth reflecting upon the recent decision of the High Court in Elevar Finance SPV Photon LLC v Mr Sabesan Somasundaram [2023] EWHC 151(Ch).
The Industry Working Group on Electronic Execution of Documents set up by the Government in response to the 2019 Law Commission Report has published its final report.
There has been understandable focus recently on the question of virtual witnessing of documents such as Deeds of Guarantee which require the presence of a witness, a topic dealt with in our last Briefing and to which we will return later in this one. It is important however to remember that the vast majority of Deeds are still executed by wet signatures and in this regard there has been an important recent decision of the High court favourable to financiers.
Jenny joined Bermans in April 2023 as a paralegal and is currently a Trainee Solicitor in our Asset Based Lending team based in Manchester.
She graduated with a Law Degree in 2021 and the LPC with Business and Management MSc in 2022 at Liverpool University. She also has previous experience in corporate law.
Jenny assists on a range of asset finance, invoice finance, and general corporate finance for lenders and financial houses.
Outside of work, Jenny likes to stay active being a keen runner, skier and gym go-er.
In our autumn 2019 Briefing we welcomed the Law Commission’s final report on Electronic Execution of Documents and set out our views on certain practical matters including the crucial question of whether those documents requiring attestation of the primary signature by a witness necessitated the physical presence of the witness at the point of signature.
Our summary of the requirements for formalities of contracts likely to be encountered by invoice financiers referred to above also explains the circumstances in which certain contracts executed as deeds require formalities such as in some cases the presence of a witness.