Marlena has a wide-ranging practice across all of Chambers’ main areas of work, with a particular emphasis on commercial disputes, civil fraud, public law, financial services, and sport. She has appeared in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, and Upper Tribunal. Marlena also has an offshore practice, and has worked on substantial commercial cases in the Cayman Islands and the BVI.

Recent highlights of Marlena's practice include acting for:

  • An asset management company resisting winding up petitions and allegations of serious misconduct in relation to a $500m investment, with concurrent proceedings in the Cayman Islands, the BVI, the English High Court, and the LCIA
  • The claimants seeking the largest ever account of profits at the quantum stage of a dispute concerning the management of the estate of Arkadi “Badri” Patarkatsishvili, a deceased Georgian billionaire
  • Leicester City Football Club, successfully challenging the jurisdiction of the Premier League Disciplinary Commission to consider an alleged breach of the profitability and sustainability rules
  • The Duke of Sussex in a judicial review over the decision to remove his State security
  • A hedge fund, in a challenge to the FCA's decision to impose a penalty and a requirement to pay redress of over $700m to customers on the basis of the fund's management of an alleged conflict of interest
  • A person seeking recognition of their foreign-acquired non-binary gender
  • A university in a claim alleging a substantial and complex fraud in the higher education sector
  • Persons recognised as potential victims of modern slavery, in a judicial review of the Secretary of State's decision to disqualify them from receiving support on the basis of previous convictions

Before coming to the Bar, Marlena worked for a variety of legal charities and taught public law at the University of Oxford. She also spent a year as the judicial assistant to the Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, where she worked on a range of commercial, public, and EU law appeals.

Experience

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Commercial

Marlena has a predominantly commercial practice and does a range of commercial work. Her practice ranges from heavy and high profile commercial litigation where she works as part of a large team to acting and advising on matters on her own in the Commercial Court and county court. She has significant experience with cross-border and multi-forum disputes.

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Civil Fraud, Asset Recovery & Injunctive Relief

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of civil fraud, asset recovery, and injunctive relief. Many of her cases have a cross-border dimension and she is experienced in fraud claims alleging breaches of foreign law.

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Public & Regulatory

Marlena frequently acts and advises on public and regulatory matters. She previously taught public law at the University of Oxford. Marlena's public law practice includes significant and complex human rights claims as well as claims which tie into her commercial and financial services practice.

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Financial Services & Banking

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of financial services law. 

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of civil liberties and human rights. Before coming to the bar, Marlena worked for legal charities acting within the fields of LGBT rights, asylum law, and national security law. She has a commitment to acting pro bono in appropriate cases.


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Sport

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of sports law, and has particular experience in disputes relating to football (both in the Premier League and the English Football League), boxing, cycling, and athletics.

Marlena is a member of the Sports Resolutions Pro Bono Panel.

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Public International Law

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of public international law.

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Discrimination

Marlena accepts instructions in all areas of discrimination law.

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Achievements

Education

  • MPhil in Law (Distinction), University of Oxford
  • BCL (Distinction, top of year), University of Oxford
  • LLB Hons (First Class), University of Edinburgh

Prizes & Scholarships

  • Bedingfield Scholarship (Gray's Inn)
  • Clarendon Scholarship (Oxford)
  • Vinerian Scholarship for best performance on the BCL (Oxford) 
  • Law Faculty Prize for Comparative Equality Law (Oxford)
  • Law Faculty Prize for Children, Families, and the State (Oxford)
  • Jesus College BCL Prize (Oxford)
  • Best performance in final year law exams (Edinburgh)
  • Best performance in Criminal Law, EU Law, and Jurisprudence (Edinburgh)

Other relevant experience

Before coming to the bar, Marlena taught public law at the University of Oxford and worked for a variety of human rights organisations, including the Human Dignity Trust and Rights Watch UK. Marlena also spent six months in Greece working pro bono for Refugee Legal Support-Athens, Khora Community Centre, and Refugee Law Clinic-Samos.

Marlena was a keen competitive debater at university and has taught debating and public speaking around the world. She was the winner and best speaker of a number of debating competitions and was a two-time Grand Finalist of the European Universities Debating Championships.





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