The Legal 500

3-4 SOUTH SQUARE, GRAY'S INN, LONDON, WC1R 5HP, ENGLAND
Tel:
Work 020 7696 9900
Fax:
Fax 020 7696 9911
DX:
338 LONDON CHANCERY LANE WC2
Web:
www.southsquare.com
Email:

A commercial and business law set with a pre-eminent reputation in insolvency and reconstruction law and specialist expertise in banking, financial services, company law, trust law, professional negligence, insurance law, domestic and international arbitration, mediation, European Union law, and general commercial litigation.

The set: 3-4 South Square has 46 practising barristers, including 21 Queen’s Counsel. Chambers aims to provide the most effective professional services to clients and has developed a modern administration system which is supported by advanced information technology.

Members of chambers adopt a business-like and commercial approach to their practice and are capable of reacting swiftly (individually or as members of a team) to urgent problems as the need may arise. 3-4 South Square is accustomed to dealing with matters at all levels of complexity, often at very short notice. In the course of their work, members see similar problems from many different angles and keep abreast of recent developments in business, financial and commercial law.

Types of work undertaken: 3-4 South Square is well-known for its insolvency work. Work undertaken includes contentious and non-contentious problems arising out of domestic and international corporate and personal insolvencies. This work is not just limited to the technical issues that arise in receiverships, administrations, liquidations and personal bankruptcies. It also includes analysis and problem-solving in the diverse areas that arise in the rescue and reconstruction of failed and failing businesses.

Many important issues of banking and business law only ever arise for determination in the context of an insolvency. It follows that members of 3-4 South Square have considerable expertise in those issues. They arise in the many different types of litigation in which office holders are seeking to recover assets on behalf of an insolvent estate.

Since 2008 and the onset of the credit crunch, the members of 3-4 South Square have consolidated their involvement in the leading banking and finance cases. Members of chambers are frequently instructed in both domestic and international banking, insurance and other commercial disputes, dealing with every kind of contentious problem, such as the civil aspects of commercial fraud and the obtaining of evidence for foreign proceedings. These problems can arise in many different situations in which a good general understanding of commercial law is required. Members of chambers also have much experience of professional negligence proceedings (primarily in cases against accountants and solicitors) and in disciplinary proceedings, including those before sports tribunals.

The barristers at 3-4 South Square are regularly instructed to appear in courts and tribunals overseas. These jurisdictions include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. They are also retained as expert witnesses to appear before both arbitrators and courts in these and other overseas jurisdictions. Several members sit as both arbitrators and mediators in domestic and international disputes.

The members of 3-4 South Square have written, edited and contributed to numerous books and articles on corporate and personal insolvency, company law and banking. Several members of chambers are fluent in or have a good working knowledge of foreign languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish and Hungarian.

The practice managers are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to deal with all enquiries.

Above material supplied by South Square ().

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • HOUSING

    In Nzinga Maswaku v Westminster City Council [2012] EWCA Civ 669 the Court of Appeal clarified that in offering a homeless person with alternative temporary accommodation the local authority is obliged to point that if the offer is refused it has discharged its Part VII duties under the Housing Act 1996.
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  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
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  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
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  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
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  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW
  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
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  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
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  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue: