Profile
Rebecca is an in demand senior junior in construction, commercial and sports law, known for combining intellectual rigour with commercial instinct. Renowned for handling complex, high-value disputes, Rebecca has been described by Legal 500 as “A very sharp junior punching above her call”, “energic and efficient, with a razor-sharp mind. She is capable of thinking on her feet and gets to grips with complex technical issues very quickly”, and by Chambers and Partners as “absolutely phenomenal and so is her work rate”.
Her expansive practice means that clients often instruct her for cases requiring understanding of a range of areas of law. Rebecca is equally at home in court, adjudication and arbitration. Chambers & Partners have described her having “a tenacity in court generally associated with someone of a much more senior call”. Rebecca is experienced in leading large teams of experts and witnesses, described by Chambers & Partners as “very easy to work with and a to-the-point advocate”, and Legal 500 have said “Her team spirit proves vital on long-running matters”.
Shortlisted for the Legal 500 Construction Junior of the Year in 2025, Rebecca is widely acknowledged as one of the leading construction juniors at the Bar. She has extensive experience in Court, as well as domestic and international arbitrations, adjudication, and adjudication enforcement. She has been described in Chambers & Partners as “a very safe pair of hands in any construction case”. Having previously lectured as an Honorary Professor at University College London to undergraduates on the NEC, JCT and FIDIC contracts, her construction knowledge is wide-ranging.
Rebecca is equally well regarded for her commercial work, where her practice covers domestic and international commercial dispute resolution, including contractual claims, banking & finance disputes, civil fraud claims, shareholder disputes, and arbitrations and related proceedings. Rebecca has particular expertise and experience in civil fraud and related interlocutory proceedings, including freezing orders, disclosure orders, and contempt of court. Rebecca has also spent 5 years as one of the senior legal advisers to the Foskett Panel, assessing the redress due to the victims of the £250 million fraud committed at HBoS.
As an experienced equestrian and cyclist, Rebecca is often instructed in sports law disputes requiring technical knowledge in these specialities. In particular, Rebecca’s equine experience spans appeals against Olympic selection, sale and purchase of high value horses, and contractual and fraud disputes involving bloodstock.
Contact Us
Harvey Scott
Senior Practice Manager
Lucy Harvey-Sked
Assistant Practice Manager
Appointments
- CEDR accredited Mediator
- TECBAR accredited Adjudicator
Additional Information
Before coming to the Bar, Rebecca worked at Norton Rose in the Project Finance division of the Banking department. She assisted in arranging finance for a range of large construction projects.
Appointments
- CEDR accredited Mediator
- TECBAR accredited Adjudicator
Additional Information
Before coming to the Bar, Rebecca worked at Norton Rose in the Project Finance division of the Banking department. She assisted in arranging finance for a range of large construction projects.
Contact Us
Harvey Scott
Senior Practice Manager
Lucy Harvey-Sked
Assistant Practice Manager
Areas Of Expertise
‘She is a very safe pair of hands in any construction case.’ Chambers and Partners, 2023
Rebecca specialises in high value commercial and construction disputes, both as a junior and as sole counsel. She appears regularly in complex cases in the TCC and the Commercial Court and in arbitrations, both domestic and international. Rebecca is particularly experienced in international arbitrations, in particular in the Middle East and Far East.
Recent examples include:
- Acting in an LCIA arbitration concerning the legitimacy of a demand on a bond;
- Acting as sole counsel in a 5 day Dubai construction arbitration worth AED 30,000,000 under DIAC rules with complex questions of jurisdiction necessitating 2 sets of pleadings;
- Acting in an ICC arbitration concerning solar energy in a dispute with a Danish company;
- Acting for Bahraini marine engineering contractors against a Singapore main contractor in a dispute arising from the construction of a Desalination Plant in Algeria. The case involved issues of the validity of determination of the contract by the main contractor, including pipe design engineering issues, adequacy of environmental permitting and issues of Algerian law;
- Being instructed in a multi million pound arbitration in Trinidad, where she was acting for an oil and gas company a in relation to payment disputes over payment for changes, and delay and disruption;
- Acting as sole counsel by solicitors in Dubai in relation to an arbitration in accordance with the laws of DIFC;
- Acting in a multi million pound ICC Arbitration in relation to a project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq;
- Acting ain a multi million pound ICC Arbitration on behalf of a Kuwaiti contractor in relation to a large plant in Qatar;
- Acting as sole counsel in a 6 day trial concerning water damage to allegedly the world’s largest collection of Russian art, in which she was successful at first instance and successful (as junior to Adam Robb KC) on appeal, reported at [2019] EWHC 186;
- Acting as sole counsel for a group of claimants concerning alleged failure by transactional solicitors to properly advise and/or breach of duty in a failed hotel investment scheme;
- Acting as sole counsel in an international multi million pound construction dispute in Ghana and Burkina Faso, at an estimated cost of €3 million against an Israeli telecommunications company;
- Acting as sole counsel in ICC enforcement proceedings for a £20m arbitration;
- Acting as sole counsel in a 4 day trial concerning water damage to a long leasehold flat and breaches of covenant;
- Advising on a dispute concerning the construction of a hotel in Courchevel 1850;
- Successfully striking out a Claimant in a claim concerning complex questions of assignment and successfully obtaining security for costs against the remaining Claimant.
Rebecca also has extensive adjudication experience, both in adjudications and in adjudication enforcement proceedings in the TCC. The majority of her adjudications are high value and complex, often over £10m. Her experience includes:
- Successfully acting as lead counsel in a £10m payment dispute;
- Successfully acting in a nuclear power dispute;
- Successfully acting in adjudication enforcement proceedings in Penten Group Ltd v Spartafield Ltd [2016] EWHC 317 (TCC)
- Successfully acting in multi million pound PFI disputes concerning hospitals, schools, and motorways
Cases of Note
- Rochford v Kilhan [2020] EWHC 941 – Rebecca was successful in obtaining judgment in this part 8 claim that under the HGCRA 1996 the final date for payment must be a fixed period of time from the due date, and cannot be linked to the provision of invoices. Judgment
- Rabilizirov v A2 Dominion And Others [2019] EWHC 186 – Led by Adam Robb KC, Rebecca successfully defeated an appeal brought by sub-contractor Ground Construction Limited. The case concerned an indemnity given by A2 Dominion’s contractor, Durkan, and a further indemnity given by Durkan’s sub-contractor, GCL, in relation to defective building works to a warehouse housing what was allegedly the world’s largest private collection of Russian art and antique rugs. Judgment
Rebecca’s practice covers domestic and international commercial dispute resolution, including contractual claims, banking & finance disputes, civil fraud claims, shareholder disputes, breach of directors’ duties, company director fraud, and arbitrations and related proceedings.
Rebecca has particular experience in commercial fraud, contempt, asset tracing and obtaining injunctions in support of the same, both domestic and worldwide. She was junior counsel to James Ramsden KC in a series of Court cases in relation to which they succeeded in an application for committal for contempt in relation to Orders made under S.25 CJJA in aid of proceedings before the Commercial Court in Kiev and the Respondent was sentenced to 18 months in prison. During the proceedings Rebecca obtained multiple emergency orders and interim injunctions as sole counsel.
Rebecca also has particular experience in bonds, indemnities, and insurance disputes, and is frequently asked to advise on their construction and enforcement.
Rebecca is part of the legal team advising the Foskett Panel, the independent panel assessing the direct and consequential losses suffered by victims of the fraud committed at the HBOS Impaired Assets unit based at Reading.
Recent cases include:
- Advising the Government on the operation of a billion pound commercial contract which involved questions of civil fraud;
- Acting for a group of claimants in relation to a fraudulent investment scheme;
- Successfully acting as sole counsel in a multi-million pound fraudulent helicopter purchase scheme;
- Successfully acting as sole counsel in a large scale Bitcoin fraud case, which was the first ever case over which a freezing and disclosure order was obtained over crypto assets in the UK
- Acting as junior counsel to James Ramsden KC in the Commercial Court in a matter concerning a $250m global fraud, where assets of that fraud include rare supercars stationed in England worth in excess of $50m.
- Acting as junior counsel to James Ramsden KC acting for the Claimants in Green v Vossen Capital Partners LLP, where they were successful for the claimants in their £45m civil fraud claim;
- Advising in relation to breach of directors’ duties in a £40m claim involving a mandatory injunction;
- Advising on the interpretation of a health insurance policy.
Cases of Note
- Euler Hermes SA v Mackays Stores Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 1918 (Comm) – Rebecca Drake represented the successful claimant in Commercial Court proceedings concerning the interpretation of HMRC’s standard guarantee for deferred tax payments. JudgmentIn a judgment dated 25th July 2022 Philip Marshall KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, found for the Claimant on both issues tried, holding that the demand made by HMRC under its standard Guarantee was a valid demand, and so Euler was correct in complying with that demand. The Court further held that, even if that demand was incorrect as contended for by the Defendants, the Defendants were in any event obliged to indemnify the Claimant under the relevant indemnity. The Court paid particular attention to the meaning of the “conclusive evidence” clause of the Indemnity. The Court also made important findings in relation to the meaning of “manifest error”, upholding the decision in Flowgroup Plc v Co-operation Energy Ltd [2021] EWHC 344.The judgment will be of wider significance for the interpretation of HMRC’s standard guarantee for deferred tax payments, as well as having important implications for the interpretation of indemnities and guarantees more widely.
Rebecca has a wide range of experience relating to cases involving energy and natural resources.
Examples include:
- Acting in an ICC arbitration concerning solar energy in a dispute with a Danish company;
- Acting for Bahraini marine engineering contractors against a Singapore main contractor in a dispute arising from the construction of a Desalination Plant in Algeria. The case involved issues of the validity of determination of the contract by the main contractor, including pipe design engineering issues, adequacy of environmental permitting and issues of Algerian law;
- Being instructed in a multi million pound arbitration in Trinidad, where she was acting for an oil and gas company a in relation to payment disputes over payment for changes, and delay and disruption,
- Successfully acting in a multi million pound nuclear power dispute;
- Successfully acting in a complex long-running dispute about an explosion caused by an anaerobic digestion facility.
Rebecca has a wide range of experience in sports law. As an experienced horsewoman and owner and cyclist, Rebecca has particular experience in these areas. These include:
- Instructed to advise on the effects of a doping investigation on an Olympic team;
- Acting for an equestrian in relation to a selection appeal for the 2022 Olympics;
- Acting in disputes in relation to ownership of, and payment for, racehorses;
- Claims concerning alleged doping of racehorses;
- Acting for both purchasers and vets in claims relating to negligence in pre-purchase veterinarian examinations.
Rebecca is a CEDR accredited mediator who practises across the spectrum of civil law. She has particular expertise in construction disputes and is happy to deal with multi-party matters.
