Catherine Newman QC says she received money in full despite featuring in administrators statement
A commercial silk has told Legal Cheek that a news story which states she is owed £200,000 in legal fees following the collapse of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is “totally untrue”.
Earlier today, The Lawyer (£) reported that three Maitland Chambers barristers “are owed a total of £284,000” by the now defunct Europe, UK & the Middle East (EUME) arm of KWM. Citing a recent administrator report, the publication names Catherine Newman QC as the barrister who has been hit in the pocket the hardest. Legal Cheek has seen the report and the top barrister does indeed feature, appearing to be owed £201,000.
However, having contacted Newman for comment, she told us she had been “fully paid” and the report was “totally untrue”. Stressing that she had not made any administration claim against KWM EUME, she continued:
I have not seen any report or been asked to comment on any suggestion that they [KWM EUME] owe me money. I did have a case for them which was coming up to trial at the time of the collapse and monitored my exposure to them carefully. There was a very smooth handover of the case to Covington & Burling and I have been paid in full.
A large number of chambers and law firms are listed as unsecured trade creditors in the administrators statement, which would suggest that they are to lose huge sums as a result of KWM EUME’s untimely demise. These include Brick Court Chambers, One Essex Court Chambers, Dentons, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Goodwin Procter.
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