Smith on the Law of Assignment, 4th Edition by Marcus Smith | 2026*

Smith on the Law of Assignment, 4th Edition by Marcus Smith | 2026*

Smith on the Law of Assignment is a leading authority on the law governing intangible property, or choses in action. It adopts a clear and accessible structure, covering a wide range of intangibles such as debts, contractual rights, securities, intellectual property, leases, rights of action, and equitable interests. The book explores the nature of intangible property, its creation, methods of transfer or assignment, the effects of such transfers, and the remedies available to dispossessed owners.

Combining both analytical depth and practical insight, the first part sets out the general principles relating to intangible property and its transfer. It then moves on to address practical issues associated with specific categories of intangibles, including securities, insurance contracts, leases, and intellectual property.

The fourth edition introduces new chapters on dealing in litigation rights, particularly in the context of collective proceedings, and examines the various legal frameworks governing them. It also features expanded discussion on securities and their transfer mechanisms, which facilitate the functioning of markets. In addition, the book offers updated analysis on the distinction between tangible and intangible property, clarifying the boundary between property law and the law of obligations, and includes new material on the legal nature of cryptocurrencies.

Key Features of Smith on the Law of Assignment, 4th Edition by Marcus Smith:

• Offers in-depth analysis of the full range of intangible property
• Explores practical issues relating to specific categories of intangibles, including securities, insurance contracts, leases, and intellectual property
• Authored by an experienced team of practitioners, forming the latest edition of a leading text on the law of assignment

New to this edition:

• Introduces new chapters on litigation rights
• Provides updated analysis on the distinction between tangible and intangible property
• Includes additional discussion on the nature and treatment of cryptocurrencies

Table of Contents of Smith on the Law of Assignment, 4th Edition by Marcus Smith:

I: Foundations
1:Introduction
2:Nature and Characteristics of Intangibles
3:Territoriality and Intangible Property

II: General
4:Causes of Action and Judgement Debts
5:Rights Under a Contract
6:Debts
7:Transfer of Choses in Action: Historical Overview
8:Conceptual Underpinnings
9:Money, Cryptocurrencies and Negotiable Instruments
10:Equitable Assignment of Choses in Action
11:Transfer of Choses in Action on Trust
12:Promises to Assign or Create a Trust
13:Assignments under Section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925
14:Dealing in Rights to Litigate
15:The Group Litigation Order Regime
16:The Multiple Claimants Regime
17:The Representative Rule Regime
18:Collective Proceedings in Competition Cases
19:Assignment of Burdens
20:Intangibles Not Transferable by Reason of Public Policy
21:Personal Obligations
22:Prohibitions on Assignment
23:Assertion and Loss of Ownership
24:Consequences and Effects of an Assignment
25:Extinction of Intangible Property
26:Priorities and the Loss of Title
27:Vindication of an Owner's Rights

III: Shares, Securities, and Markets
28:The Nature of Securities
29:Holding and Transfer of Paper Securities
30:Holding anf Transfer of Dematerialised Securities
31:Holding and Transfer of Immobilised Securities
32:Macro-Property and Markets
33:Fungible Contracts and Class Actions

IV: Multilateral Intangible Property
34:Multilateral Choses
35:Creation and Transfer of Intellectual Property Rights

V: Security Over Intangible Property
36:Security

About the Authors:

Sir Marcus Smith was called to the Bar in 1991 and appointed King’s Counsel in 2010. During his time in practice at Fountain Court Chambers, he developed a broad commercial and Chancery practice. He was appointed as a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in 2009 and later served as chair of the Appeals Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority from 2015 to 2017. In January 2017, he became a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division. He is authorised to sit in the Financial List and the Patents Court, and also sits in the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) and the Administrative Court. Between 2019 and 2021, he served as Supervising Judge of the Business and Property Courts for the Midland, Western, and Wales Circuits, before being appointed President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in November 2021, a role he held until November 2024.

Rachael Mulheron KC (Hon) is Professor of Tort Law and Civil Justice at Queen Mary University of London. She has published extensively on class actions, litigation costs and funding, civil procedure, and tort law. From 2009 to 2018, she was an academic member of the Civil Justice Council. At the request of government and the judiciary, she has chaired working groups, contributed to rule-drafting committees, conducted empirical research, overseen pilot court projects, and authored key reports on contentious issues in civil procedure.

Nico Leslie is a leading commercial junior barrister, frequently instructed in major commercial litigation cases in England and internationally. He is recognised in legal directories as a Leading Junior across areas such as banking and finance, civil fraud, commercial litigation, insolvency, offshore work, professional negligence, art and cultural property, and international arbitration. He was named “Banking & Finance Junior of the Year” by Chambers & Partners in 2022 (after being nominated in 2020), and was shortlisted for “Professional Negligence Junior of the Year” by The Legal 500 in 2023. He co-authored the second and third editions of The Law of Assignment with Sir Marcus Smith and has appeared, both led and unled, in several of the most significant recent cases involving assignment.

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