Commercial Disputes
Colleen has a broad commercial practice and has also gained experience of substantial international commercial disputes through her Pegasus Scholarship in the UAE, during which she spent time at the DIFC Courts and a leading commercial law firm.
Colleen’s current and recent work in this area includes:
Asset Recovery, Interim Applications, and Enforcement
- Acting for an applicant seeking discharge of domestic and worldwide freezing orders and the return of her passports, relying on newly obtained Companies House and Land Registry evidence said to undermine the basis upon which the orders were obtained.
- On secondment, assisting on Techteryx Ltd v Aria Commodities DMCC & Ors, which resulted in the first Worldwide Freezing Order made by the DIFC Courts’ Digital Economy Court, for up to $456 million.
- On secondment, assisting on DIFC proceedings concerning the continuation of a freezing injunction granted in support of foreign proceedings involving allegations of fraud, extortion, and unjust enrichment, including a challenge to the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction and issues concerning dissipation of assets.
Civil Fraud and Unjust Enrichment
- Assisting a team of counsel acting for the claimant in a £15 million insurance claim arising from the fraudulent placement of a non-existent reinsurance policy, including in relation to disclosure. Colleen also worked on the matter during pupillage.
- On secondment, assisting on a claim against corporate guarantors arising from the failure to repay a loan of almost US$9 million advanced by an Indian bank, where the guarantors alleged that the underlying loan documentation, including the guarantees, was the product of internal fraud.
- Acting (during pupillage) for the promoter of a tax mitigation scheme in a claim alleging receipt of secret commissions valued at over £1.5 million.
- Acting for an employer in a restitutionary claim for recovery of sick pay allegedly received by an employee without entitlement.
Directors’ Duties and Fiduciary Duties
- Acting for a company director in a six-figure claim against a fellow director arising from alleged misappropriation of company funds, involving issues of fiduciary duty, asset tracing, service out of the jurisdiction, and enforcement.
Financial Services and Investment Disputes
- On secondment, assisting on a dispute arising from facilities totalling US$166 million advanced to finance a supply contract with the US Defense Logistics Agency, involving alleged defaults by the borrower and claims against corporate guarantors.
- On secondment, assisting on a dispute concerning an investment portfolio with a principal value of approximately AED 18.78 million, involving alleged defaults and acceleration of the portfolio for recovery of approximately US$6 million.
General Contractual Disputes
- Acting (led by Elizabeth Boon) for a leading UK university defending a claim valued at approximately £5 million arising from disciplinary proceedings leading to a former student’s expulsion, involving alleged breaches of the university’s undergraduate terms and conditions and issues of abuse of process and res judicata.
- Acting for the claimants in a multi-track trial against a construction company, securing findings that the claimants had been induced to contract by fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation or, alternatively, that the defendant had repudiated the contract.
- On secondment, assisting on a cross-border investment dispute concerning the proposed creation of an SPV for ventures across the Middle East and Africa, with issues as to the legal effect and enforceability of obligations arising under a Memorandum of Understanding.
- On secondment, assisting on a dispute arising from a senior rates salesperson’s withdrawal from an agreed employment contract with a global financial brokerage business, concerning the enforceability of liquidated damages and substantial claims for lost profits and loss of chance.
- Acting for an international private members’ club in a claim arising from the promotion and abandonment of a proposed retail collaboration, involving allegations of breach of contract, misrepresentation, and negligent misstatement.
- Acting for a claimant in a dispute arising from the hire-purchase of a commercial vehicle which was subsequently destroyed by fire, involving the implied term as to satisfactory quality and the incorporation and reasonableness of exclusion clauses under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
- Acting for a firm of solicitors in a dispute over unpaid fees, turning on the scope of the parties’ retainer and whether additional work attracted separate remuneration.
- Acting for claimants in a dispute with an estate agency concerning whether commission was contractually payable and the proper construction of the parties’ agreement.
Further examples of Colleen’s contractual work, particularly claims concerning defective goods or services and resulting losses, can be found in the Professional Negligence, Product Liability, and Property Damage sections of her profile.
Selected Cases
View full profile »Awards
- Inns of Court Pegasus Scholarship
- Inner Temple Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award
- Inner Temple Major Scholarship
- Inner Temple Exhibition Scholarship
- Dean’s Award for Best Academic Performance in MA Law (Conversion)
- Various Finals Collections Prizes from Oriel College, University of Oxford
- Winner of Multiple Moots / Mock Trials incl. the Aqeel H. Noorali Moot Cup
News
- Crown Office Chambers to attend the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair, 17 October 2026
- Hamish Fraser and Colleen Cumbers recognised in the Pro Bono Recognition List 2026
Articles
Blogs
Events
- Crown Office Chambers to attend the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair, 17 October 2026
- Crown Office Chambers at The National Pupillage Fair 2024
Qualifications
- BA French and German (First Class), University of Oxford
- MA Law (Conversion) (Distinction), University of Law
- LLM Master of Laws (Distinction), University of Law
Memberships
- Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)
- Technology and Construction Bar Association (TECBAR)
- The Society of Construction Law (SCL)
- Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA)
- London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association (LCLCBA)
- Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)
- Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA)
