Rebecca Fairbairn

Practice
Rebecca has a dual practice which has evolved organically since she was called in 2000. She spent her pupillage at a renowned circuit set before accepting a tenancy in a London set, from which she joined One Paper.

Family
Rebecca appears in proceedings across the entire practice area – from Children Act public law proceedings to Ancillary Relief hearings before the High Court. Her experience also includes private law Children Act matters, international child abduction, TOLATA claims and injunctive relief and enforcement; from the Family Proceedings Court to the High Court. Rebecca has the rare ability to communicate with clients from all walks of life and is equally at ease representing both the affluent and the less well advantaged. She has demonstrated a sound knowledge of case law and procedure and brings with her a well developed and persuasive advocacy style in contested hearings.  Although slightly weighted in favour of childcare matters, Rebecca retains a significant ancillary relief practice – an area in which she is particularly interested and which she intends to develop.

Crime
Rebecca brings an impressive criminal practice to One Paper Buildings, covering both prosecution and defence work. She has built a reputation as a determined and effective advocate for the defence and her recent instructions in more serious cases illustrates this.

She has a reputation as a fearsome but fair prosecutor and her experience ranges from robbery to section18 trials, to the Administrative Court on points of law.

Her defence practice has burgeoned of late and she has recently been led in the defence of  the largest ever FSA prosecution for insider trading, a multi million pound drug importation, a multi handed drugs conspiracy and a murder case involving a 16 year old boy.  Recent examples of cases she has been instructed or acted upon in her own right are the acquittal of a 15 year old boy charged with possession of a loaded handgun (found at the end of his bed) and she is currently instructed in relation to a young woman charged with murder.

Rebecca is a Grade 3 CPS Prosecutor.

Notable Cases

Public law family

X v X 
Instructed by parent where allegations of non-accidental injuries caused.

X v X
Represented parent in contested VHCC lasting several weeks and involving numerous serious allegations and a large number of experts.

Ancillary Relief

X v X
Succesful contested hearing where argued to ringfence “pre-marital assets”

X v X
Appeared on behalf of intervenor on contested AR and established 50% interest in former matrimonial home

C v O
Contested final hearing in the High Court which included very serious allegations of conduct where represented party had falsely held themselves out as a member of the judiciary.

Reported cases

Court of Appeal:  Regina v Alan Austin & Ali Tavikolinia (2011) before L J Thomas, Wilkie J & Macur J.
Rebecca was praised for her “’clear and concise” nature when putting submissions.

Duff v CPS (2009)
EWHC 675 (Admin) Instructed by the Crown on case stated before Divisional Court.

Cases in the press

R v Littlewood, Littlewood &Sa’aid (2011)
– one of the largest insider trading cases. See links:

1. Business Times
2. Financial Times
3. BBC
4. Reuters
5. Daily Telegraph

R v Steven Allott (2009)
– Cyber Paedophile – see link

1. Telegraph & Argus

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