Tina Ranales-Cotos

Profile

Tina practices in all aspects of commercial and chancery dispute resolution, including the more commercial aspects of employment law. Tina specialises in post-termination/business restraint work including confidential information, data protection, intellectual property (trademark infringement), passing off and UK and EU competition law matters.

Her practice is predominantly contentious, including a significant element of urgent interim relief work, mainly in the High Court. Tina also appears in the employment tribunals and the EAT and her experience includes acting for clients in mediations, as well as undertaking advisory work and speaking at legal seminars.

Tina’s client base includes banks, multinationals, limited companies, partnerships, professional firms, LLPs, private equity clients, local and county councils, executive agencies, public bodies, as well as individuals and spans the UK, Isle of Man, Europe and the USA.

She was a member of the Attorney General’s Provincial Panel of Counsel between 2009 and 2014 and acted regularly for the government, mainly in the context of directors’ disqualification proceedings, public interest winding up and employment-related
matters. She continues to act for HMRC in high value civil fraud cases (MTIC fraud).

Tina also regularly speaks at seminars, including for the Manchester and Liverpool Law Societies and contributes to the reader dilemma section of the Financial Times in relation to employment-related issues.

Year of Call: 1999

Areas of Expertise

Arbitration

Tina specializes in all aspects of commercial litigation including sale and supply of goods and services including bailment, retention of title (including application of UK Warehousing Association and RHA conditions), domestic and international carriage of goods by road (CMR, BIFA and common law) agency including commercial agency and distribution agreements, franchise agreements, business restraint, economic torts and insurance work. She also has experience (both advisory and contentious) of construction disputes.

Tina regularly undertakes advisory and advocacy work both in respect of individual and corporate insolvency (including administration and voluntary arrangements) and insolvency-related work. Her clients regularly include trustees and liquidators as well as HMRC.

Tina also undertakes work for and against banks on all aspects of secured and unsecured lending, including mortgages, guarantees and indemnities.

Tina’s practice includes experience of both advisory and advocacy related professional negligence matters, especially solicitors’ negligence.

Tina has experience of acting for clients in mediations, particularly in the context of business restraint work and employment law matters.

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Banking & Finance

Tina specialises in business restraint work, including restrictive covenants, passing off, confidential information, database and trade mark infringement. She acts for both business owners and ex-employees/directors. She is particularly recognised for her skills in interim injunctive relief work, including freezing, search and seizure, delivery up and pre-action disclosure/ancillary orders and regularly appears in the High Court both opposing and seeking such relief both on and without notice.

Tina’s chancery practice also includes company law and company related disputes including shareholder disputes, share, business and asset sale and purchase agreements, including warranty claims, directors’ duties and disqualification proceedings. Her experience includes acting as a junior in a high value shareholder dispute for a private equity firm involving a well-known high street brand.

Tina also has experience of partnership disputes, both advisory and contentious.

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Commercial Litigation

Tina has particular experience in high value civil fraud VAT work (MTIC fraud), including carousel and contra-trading fraud. Helen Malcolm QC is currently leading Tina in a £13 million MTIC carousel fraud case in the VAT tribunal and High Court.

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Company

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Employment

Tina’s commercial litigation practice has a particular emphasis on employment related litigation. She specialises in shareholder/director/employee disputes, both in the employment tribunal and the High Court.

She practices predominantly in the more commercial aspects of employment law, including wrongful and unfair dismissal involving high value claims involving directors, fiduciary-employees and breaches of confidentiality/post-termination restraints.

Tina has experience of discrimination litigation in the provision of services and employment context, including education, both in the employment tribunal and the county court (the designated court for discrimination cases in the context of provision of services). Her clients include local councils and trade unions and much of her experience in this area involves multi-day and lengthy tribunal hearings.

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EU & Competition Law

Before joining Kings Tina worked in the European Commission and was a pupil at Monckton Chambers, a leading EU and UK Competition law set based in Gray’s Inn, London.

Tina’s experience of competition law matters includes advisory and contentious. She has represented building and construction clients in the OFTs (as it then was) investigation into bid-rigging and price-fixing in the building and construction industry.

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Memberships

Northern and North Eastern Circuits

Chancery Bar Association

Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association

Employment Law Association
Publications

Financial Times – regular contributor to reader dilemma section on employment-related matters

Appointments

Attorney General’s Provincial Panel of Counsel 2009-2014

Qualifications

Leicester (LLB European) 1993-1997

Modena, Italy 1995-1996

Brasenose College, University of Oxford (Bachelor of Civil Law, BCL) 1997-1998

City University, London Diploma in Law 1998-1999

Recommendations

Chambers UK 2023

"Tina is very thorough and really gets into the detail of the matter."

Legal 500 2023

"Tina is extremely hard working and can be relied upon to produce excellent quality written submissions in tight timescales. She is well-liked by clients and where Tina has undertaken advocacy, this has been executed clearly, concisely and effectively."

Chambers UK 2022

"She is very sharp and proactive and a really good, solid barrister to work with. Her client relations are very good and she's a great client-facing lawyer. People trust her and develop good chemistry with her straight away." "She has a wide range of expertise, is tenacious, doesn't take any nonsense and has a very 'straight down the line' approach and a very good reputation."

Legal 500, 2022

"Provides detailed, timely and knowledgeable advice on the legal issues in question and also understands the need to give consideration to wider commercial realities that might be relevant for the client."

Chambers UK 2021

"She is very thorough and gives clear, unambiguous advice. She is also very effective on her feet."

Legal 500, 2020

"Extremely thorough and a fierce advocate."

"She is, I am convinced, solar powered - she keeps going and going on drilling down on issues tirelessly and prepares relentlessly. She is thorough in her delivery before the Court and fierce in her approach to her opposite numbers."

"A sharp intellect with ferocious cross-examination skills."

"Extremely thorough and a fierce advocate"

Chambers UK 2020

"She works tirelessly and is a compelling advocate. She is always efficient and commercial in her advice." "She is always reliable and is excellent with clients."

Chambers UK 2019

"She is very good, turns work around very quickly and solicitors like working with her."

Legal 500 2019

"Responsive, intelligent, supportive and pragmatic."

Chambers UK 2018

"She is extremely diligent, incredibly hard-working and very attentive to detail." "She just gets to the point and gives good practical advice."

Legal 500 2018

"She has a fantastic memory and an eye for detail."

Chambers UK 2017

"Her cross-examination is brilliant, plus she's incredibly bright and approachable." "She can be ferocious and scare the other side, but is very good at presenting in a measured way."

Legal 500 2017

"A pugnacious advocate with an excellent reputation for complex High Court injunction matters."