Leticia Jennings

Litigation Team of the Year 2021

The Lawyer Awards
Your complete grasp of the issues, your competence and diplomatic skills were all essential

Client feedback
We were incredibly fortunate in having you working for us, and especially at mediation

Client feedback
Your contribution was way over the call of duty and over lawyer's standard obligations

Client feedback
Thank you so much for your support, advice and skill over the last 2 and a bit years in dealing with a complete nightmare

Client feedback
She is excellent

Client feedback
Always very impressed with the advice and guidance provided by Leticia Jennings.

Client feedback
Pragmatic, commercially-minded and appreciates the reputational sensitivities that charity clients are conscious of.

Client feedback

Experience

I am a partner in Bates Wells’ Dispute Resolution & Litigation team, where I lead on a variety of contentious matters with a particular focus on litigation relating to charities, charity governance, charity legacies and charity fraud. I regularly speak at industry events and contribute commentary and know-how to leading publications on these issues.

My other practice areas include contract disputes, shareholder disputes, claims brought under the False Claims Act, asset recovery and the enforcement of judgments.

I am an experienced Supervising Solicitor appointed by the High Court on the execution of search orders, and often work in conjunction with other members of the team on complex, multi-venue searches.

I acted for global philanthropist – and successful appellant - Jamie Cooper in the leading charity law case Cooper v Lehtimaki & Ors

This hard-fought case focussed on the role and status of members in charitable companies. The Supreme Court’s decision represents the leading authority on the extent of the court’s inherent jurisdiction to control members and supervise the administration of charities. The successful outcome of the case unlocked $360M of charitable funds and secured an additional $80M for the UK charity sector ([2017] EWHC 1379 (Ch); [2018] EWCA Civ 1605; [2020] UKSC 33).
I acted for the Advisory Council of the world-renowned Warburg Institute

The University of London brought the claim as trustee to clarify - for its own benefit - its obligations to house, fund and maintain the Warburg Institute as a separate centre of learning. With support from the academic community around the world, we successfully defended the claim, preserving the Warburg Institute for generations of scholars to come (University of London v Professor Prag and another [2014] EWHC 3564 (Ch); [2015] WTLR 705].

I acted for a major international development charity in a dispute with executors who had wrongly paid the charity’s legacy to a third party. I negotiated full payment of the legacy from the executors personally plus a significant contribution towards the charity’s costs, avoiding costly and time-consuming court action.
I advised and acted for a care home (a registered charity) in relation to the recovery of sums fraudulently misappropriated by a former senior manager. I secured full recovery of the sums taken plus legal costs, and worked to protect the client’s reputation by advising on communications with the Charity Commission, CQC, staff and residents. I also advised on an audit of systems to avoid a repeat situation in the future.
I advised and acted for an international global relief charity to recover significant sums fraudulently misappropriated by a senior member of staff over a number of years. I obtained a full admission of liability and put in place a payment plan which resulted in the charity recovering the vast majority of the misappropriated funds plus costs. This was a particularly sensitive and high profile case and much of my advice related to reputational management.
I regularly advise charities (in particular NGOs) in relation to allegations of fraud and claims brought under the False Claims Act (FCA).