Carla Fischer

Carla has a significant interest in all areas of commercial law, including contract claims, shareholder disputes and civil fraud claims. Carla’s experience includes:

• Assisting (Nick Goodfellow and Stuart Sanders) in contempt of court proceedings arising out of underlying proceedings for unlawful means conspiracy;
• Acting (with Nick Goodfellow and Stuart Sanders) for the Claimants in a long running civil fraud case in enforcement and remedy proceedings in the High Court;
• Representing (as sole counsel) a Claimant in ongoing County Court proceedings for breach of contract, including at the CMC, a one-day mediation, the pre-trial review and a two-day final hearing;
• Representing (as sole counsel) a Claimant in an ongoing civil fraud case with a claim value over £200,000;
• Representing (as sole counsel) a Defendant in ongoing breach of contract proceedings including at a strike out application hearing and the final hearing;
• Assisting (Alexander Halban) in drafting Particulars of Claim asserting the existence of a binding and enforceable partnership agreement in a dispute between company directors and shareholders;
• Representing a Defendant in an application to set aside an order for payment of an alleged outstanding judgment debt;
• Successfully appearing in the High Court for several charging order applications; and
• Regularily drafting pleadings in the county court on the intermediate and multi-track.

During her pupillage, Carla assisted Adam Solomon KC and Alexander Halban with preparation of a three-week trial against the government in the Chancery Division involving allegations of misfeasance of public office including drafting a section of closing submissions addressing an allegation of fraudulent data manipulation involving complex statistical evidence.

• Domestic & General Group Ltd & ors v Premier Protect Holdings Ltd & ors [2026] EWHC 2084 (KB)
• Marples v Secretary of State for Education [2025] EWHC 2794 (Ch)
• Safe Transport (South West) Ltd v Pallet Network Ltd [2025] EWHC 396 (Ch)

Carla acted as sole counsel in a one week Employment Tribunal case for unlawful dismissal, wrongful dismissal, harassment and victimisation.

Carla successfully defended a claim for race discrimination in a two-day Employment Tribunal case as sole counsel.

Carla (assisting Lucy Bone) drafted Particulars of Claim, Replies and Defences to Counterclaims against multiple defendants in a High Court case for breach of contract, breach of post-termination restrictions, breach of confidence and unlawful means conspiracy.

Carla acted in a speedy trial in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court (led by Gavin Mansfield KC) for a director defending claims for breaches of restrictive covenants and fiduciary duties.

Carla represented an employer before the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) on the determination of an appropriate bargaining unit for the purposes of collective bargaining issued by a union.

Carla regularly appears before the Employment Tribunal for both claimants and respondents in final and preliminary hearings including applications for amendments and strike out, as well as judicial mediations.

Carla has experience in settling pleadings in the High Court and Employment Tribunal in disputes involving allegations of unfair and wrongful dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of contract, breach of confidence and breach of fiduciary duties.

• Friend Media Technology Systems Limited & Anor v Jonathan Norman Friend & Anor [2025] EWHC 2897 (KB)
• Benn v PGMOL [2025] UKET 2303129/2024
• Ali v Staffline Recruitment [2026] UKET 6008610/2025

Carla (as sole counsel) represented WSL referee Lisa Benn in a widely reported employment tribunal claim against Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) for unfair dismissal, harassment and victimisation.

Carla (assisting Lydia Banerjee) is acting pro bono for a former Paralympic athlete in a pay dispute.

Carla advised a professional football player in relation to breaches of the FA’s safeguarding regulations.

Carla was instructed by QPR in Bansal-McNulty v QPR, Yems and Crawley Town FC to assist Centrefield and Joel Wallace with case preparation.

Carla has a keen interest in sport. She has played several sports at competition level including traditional Taekwon Do, Latin Ballroom dancing and slalom skiing. She won a silver and bronze medal at the German National Taekwon Do Championships in 2011. She also won a gold medal and several silver and bronze medals with her skiing club in Austria. Carla is a keen tennis player and has taught Ballroom and Latin Ballroom lessons at Gray’s Inn over the last two years.

During her secondment to Melbourne, after attending a pre-liminary final at the MCG, Carla has become an Australian Rules Football fan, barracking for the Hawthorn Hawks.

• Bansal-McNulty v QPR, Yems and Crawley Town FC
• Benn v PGMOL [2025] UKET 2303129/2024

Carla has a keen interested in developing an international practice and is undertaking a two month secondment with the Victorian Bar Association in Melbourne through the Pegasus scholarhip working on commercial, common law and sports dispute.

Carla (led by Mohinderpal Sethi KC) is acting as junior counsel in an appeal brought by a foreign state on the interpretation of s5 State Immunity Act 1978 before the Court of Appeal, representing the appellant state.

Carla (assisting James Bickford Smith) is acting on behalf of a Claimant in DIFC proceedings for breach of contract which involves novel arguments for breaches of the law of obligations (DIFC Law No. 5 of 2005).

Carla assisted James Bickford Smith in preparing witness statements for complex breach of contract proceedings in the DIFC.

Additionally, Carla has worked on several commercial cases involving complex conflict of laws issues such as the enforcement and recognition of foreign judgments pursuant to Dicey Rule 45, the impeachability of foreign judgments for fraud pursuant to Dicey Rule 51 and the rules governing registration of foreign judgments.

• Government of the State of Kuwait v Mohamed
• Drelle v Servis Terminal [2025] EWCA Civ 62

Carla has a keen interest in international arbitration and has gained extensive experience in international commercial and investment arbitration.

Carla (led by Louis Flannery KC) is acting in a DIS administered international commercial arbitration.

As a research associate with CMS Hasche Sigle, she regularly worked on investor-State disputes concerning direct and indirect expropriation representing different States. She is familiar with UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, PCA and ICSID administered arbitrations. During her time at CMS, Carla also undertook work for members of arbitral tribunals including drafting interim orders on behalf of the Tribunal president in a PCA and an ICSID arbitration and drafting parts of arbitral awards with the Tribunal Secretary, for example summarising the position of the parties and outlining the Tribunal’s reasoning on the application of the law on State responsibility.

Carla has been a coach for the Willem C Vis international arbitration mooting competition with Edinburgh University and Gray’s Inn, helping her teams win several prizes during pre-moots and the final competition in Vienna, including the award for best oralist at the 30^th Vis Moot competition. She has also served as an arbitrator at pre-moots in London and Paris as well as the Vis moot in Vienna for the past three years.

During pupillage, Carla worked on several LLP and traditional partnership cases. Examples include:

• Drafting a note on the employee status of LLP members, the elements of a detriment claim by a worker contrary to s47B ERA 1996, reasonable expectation of privacy pursuant to Art. 8 ECHR, the causation of an LLP partner resigning (Roberts (respondent) v Wilsons Solicitors LLP and others (appellants) [2018] EWCA Civ 52, [2018] IRLR 1042), injury to feelings and psychiatric injury;
• Drafting a note on the liability of the LLP compared to individual members under LLP agreements;
• Drafting several emails to instructing solicitors outlining advice on removing an LLP member from the LLP and amending the LLP agreement;
• Conducting research on whether an LLP member could have dual status if s4(4) LLPA 2000 did not exist;
• Drafting an advice on partnership law and estoppel by convention, specifically about the potential liability of a company after transfer of the business from a dissolved partnership.