South Square > London, England > Set Profile
South Square Offices
3-4 SOUTH SQUARE, GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5HP
England
South Square > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Insolvency Tier 1
‘The number one set for restructuring and insolvency matters,‘ South Square has all of its members specialising within insolvency and restructuring law. Members, such as Mark Phillips KC have appeared in significant and high-profile insolvency cases in the UK, such as Sova Capital Ltd in which Phillips KC, alongside William Willson, put an investment broker focussing on the Russian markets into administration, which raised numerous complex issues from valuing claims to dealing with client claims, as well as how Moscow-listed assets would be handled by a UK company. ‘Extremely knowledgeable and unflappable‘ junior Charlotte Cooke has appeared in a number of high-profile insolvency and restructuring cases, including three times in the Supreme Court, while Felicity Toube KC has depth in experience includes acting in major insolvency cases such as Greensill and Liberty Steel. David Allison KC has developed a strong cross-border practice, handling insolvency cases in the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Hong Kong, whereas Clara Johnson is noted for her experience in bringing and defending claims brought by officer holders involving fraud and where urgent injunctive relief is required.Leading Silks
2022 Silks
2024 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The clerks (Dylan Playfoot, Marco Malatesta and others) are highly skilled, understand the issues and direct us always to the best barrister available and are known for their understanding of urgency of a situation and quick response times- they are also and personable and always available and extremely helpful.’
‘Without a doubt my favourite clerks room. Pragmatic, commercial, reasonable, friendly, responsive, flexible. Everything that you could wish for. Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta stand out but all are excellent.’
‘Clerks are fast and helpfully reactive. One can be open with them about the client’s needs and will be dealt with effectively and professionally.’
‘The clerks team is excellent. Very responsive, user-friendly and helpful. They will do everything they can to be helpful in terms of engaging counsel but also helping litigation run smoothly.
‘The clerks are fantastic. They are always on hand to help, with nothing you ask of them too much trouble. They are polite and responsive.’
‘South Square is clearly the number one set for restructuring and insolvency matters and they have some excellent barristers at all levels.”
‘By far the best set for insolvency – and very strong for general commercial skills.’
‘South Square are the go to set if you need any insolvency advice. They have such an impressive roster of people that no matter the issue they are likely to have experience.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit) Tier 2
The ‘go-to set for all restructuring and insolvency mandates,‘ South Square has established an international presence in banking and financial litigation, having appeared in high-profile disputes including cases which give rise to issues of significant market importance, generally crossing over with the set's pre-eminence in the insolvency space. One such example is the case of Galapagos Bidco SARL v Kebekus; Barings (UK) Ltd v Galapagos which saw Tom Smith KC, Daniel Bayfield KC, David Alexander KC, Henry Phillips and Ryan Perkins appear in a dispute arising out of a €1bn multi-jurisdictional finance restructuring, raising novel issues in relation to enforcement powers under intercreditor agreements, after a German court had wound up the company which was subject to an English administration petition. Richard Fisher KC has a good practice advising banks, hedge funds and trade parties in relation to structured finance issues and derivatives contacts, while Georgina Peters is noted for her work in high-profile banking disputes involving securisations, capital markets issuances and derivatives using ISDA contracts.Leading Silks
2022 Silks
2024 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Excellent – Marco Malatesta in particular.’
‘All of the clerks have been amazing. Particular shout out to Dylan Playfoot and Luke Clark.’
‘The go-to set, still, for all restructuring and insolvency mandates.’
‘South Square is unquestionably the top Chambers for restructuring and insolvency, with a strong banking and finance practice, including incredible strength in depth.’
‘Remains by far the pre-eminent set for corporate insolvency work.’
‘Very strong set.’
‘South Square are an excellent set of Chambers. They have lost one or two of their most prominent leaders to the bench, but there are some truly excellent juniors coming up through the ranks and still several Silks at the top of their game. They would always be my first choice on any matter touching on Insolvency and increasingly my go to set for commercial or finance litigation too.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Company Tier 2
South Square is perhaps best known for insolvency and restructuring work in the corporate field, but members are frequently involved in high-value directors duties cases and other matters concerning the intricacies of company law, including having status of ‘the go-to set for offshore insolvency work’ with ‘a strong company practice, including incredible strength in depth’. David Alexander KC is currently acting for Incredible Power in a high-value shareholder litigation concerning claims of unfair prejudice, just and equitable winding-up, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. David Allison KC’s strong company law practice saw him lead the counsel team for Nostrum Oil and Gas plc in a matter that raises novel issues concerning the impact of sanctions arising from the war in Ukraine. William Willson is a highly regarded senior-junior commercial Chancery practitioner.
Leading Silks
2022 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The clerks at South Square provide an excellent service.’
‘Good sensible clerking with reasonable fees. Chris Filby is very helpful and responsive and no nonsense or exaggerated brief fees that need to be heavily negotiated.’
‘The clerks at South Square are excellent. They are highly professional, yet accommodating to commercial needs and practicalities. They are a pleasure to work with. Of particular note are Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta.’
‘Without a doubt my favourite clerks room. Pragmatic, commercial, reasonable, friendly, responsive, flexible. Everything that you could wish for. Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta stand out but all are excellent.’
‘Clerks are fast and helpfully reactive. One can be open with them about the client’s needs and will be dealt with effectively and professionally.’
‘It is the go-to set for offshore insolvency work.’
‘South Square is unquestionably the top chambers for restructuring and insolvency, with a strong company practice, including incredible strength in depth.’
‘There are some truly excellent juniors coming up through the ranks and still several Silks at the top of their game.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Commercial litigation Tier 3
‘An excellent set of chambers‘, South Square‘s members are routinely involved in heavyweight commercial litigation, particularly cases with banking and financial law aspects. In Emtel Ltd v Cellplus Mobile Telecommunciations Ltd, a Privy Council appeal relating to alleged unlawful cross-subsidies paid under Mauritian law, Aidan Casey KC, who joined the set in June 2022 from 3 Hare Court, is instructed by Cellplus. In BNP Paribas v Uro Property, David Allison KC, led the counsel team representing BNP Paribas (BNP), which refused to release the security on a loan until a make-whole premium of approximately €250m was paid. Another leading silk, Felicity Toube KC is currently acting for the claimants in three sets of heavy litigation concerning the NMC Health scandal.Leading Silks
2022 Silks
2024 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Dylan Playfoot is very reliable, and always gives excellent intelligence on likely lead times on hearings and the navigation of tricky practical challenges in the courts.’
‘Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta stand out, but they are all excellent.’
‘William Mackinlay, Dylan Playfoot and Lewis Madle are all very personable and responsive.’
‘All of the clerks are amazing. Particular shout-out to Dylan Playfoot and Luke Clark.’
‘An unmatched depth of talent and they are all superb.‘
‘South Square is an excellent set of chambers.‘
‘Without a doubt the best clerking room.‘
‘Pragmatic, commercial, reasonable, friendly, responsive, and flexible clerks. Everything that you could wish for.‘
London Bar > Fraud: civil Tier 3
Comprising ‘great barristers‘ and providing ‘great service‘, South Square‘s recent track record includes large fraud claims commenced both in London and several offshore jurisdictions. Felicity Toube KC‘s broad practice covers civil fraud work, and she regularly appears in the Cayman Islands and BVI, as well as Bermuda, in high-stakes matters. In recent highlights, Tom Smith KC represented technology investment firm Softbank, in relation to claims made by Credit Suisse further to the collapse of supply chain finance business, Greensill; and at junior level, Robert Amey acted as sole counsel in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, defending an alleged $50m fraudulent transaction.Leading Silks
2022 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘South Square is one of my favourite sets all round.‘
‘Dylan Playfoot is very good.‘
‘Great barristers and great service.‘
‘Very business minded and commercial.‘
‘Bright and dedicated across the board.‘
‘Wide skill sets, including civil fraud.‘
Work highlights
London Bar > Sport
London Bar > International arbitration: counsel
London Bar > Private client: trusts and probate
Leading Juniors
The English Bar Offshore > The English Bar Offshore Tier 1
South Square is well-known within the offshore marketplace as a leading set for financial services, insolvency, company and fraud-related work, with members receiving instructions across a vast range of jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, BVI, Bermuda and the Channel Islands. Multiple members are involved in ongoing litigation in the Cayman Islands in Port Fund (Cayman Islands) regarding a $100m claim arising from the management of a fund, raising complex questions regarding the duty of the general partner in Cayman Islands limited partner investment vehicles and the circumstances in which limited partners may bring derivative claims. Tom Smith KC and David Allison KC are representing the Kuwait Port Authority, across the table from Felicity Toube KC and Robert Amey who are acting for the Gulf Investment Corporation. In the BVI, David Alexander KC acted in an appeal to the Privy Council in respect of an unfair prejudice and just and equitable winding up application in Ma v Wong. Meanwhile, David Allison KC and Richard Fisher KC were involved in the application for the appointment of a conflict liquidator to pursue litigation in Sian Participation Corporation (In Liquidation) v Halimeda International Limited, a dispute estimated to be worth several billion US dollars arising from the seizure from a port in Russia.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘South Square are the go-to set for insolvency matters. They have incredible depth in both silk and juniors.’
‘South Square has an array of sparkling KCs and juniors who are real experts in the fields of Insolvency and Company Law. The clerks are usually able to provide suitable alternatives when my first choice of counsel is not available.’
‘Always very responsive and commercial.’
‘Leading insolvency set.’
‘Great set with depth in the junior ranks as well as the array of KCs.’
‘The entire South Square team is second to none. They have great depth which means that we have no hesitation in instructing any of their team on even the most complex of matters. Their silks are industry leading and their juniors often seem far more senior than they are.’
‘The set is excellent with very few weak points. They are the ‘go to’ for contentious insolvency.’
Work highlights
South Square > Set Profile
The set: South Square is a leading set of commercial law barristers who have acted in many of the most important restructuring, insolvency, banking, commercial, company and fraud-related disputes of recent times. The set is highly regarded internationally, with barristers regularly appearing in courts around the world, including in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Types of work undertaken
Restructuring and insolvency: South Square is consistently recognised as the top set for restructuring and insolvency work – both domestic and cross-border. The credit crunch and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic have generated a substantial amount of restructuring and insolvency litigation. South Square barristers have been involved in all of the major cases including Virgin Atlantic, Swissport, Debenhams, Lehman Brothers, Saad, Singularis, and Nortel.
Banking and finance: South Square has a strong banking and finance practice, with a particular specialisation in large-scale financial disputes, derivatives, securitisations and structured finance products. Due to its insolvency and restructuring expertise, the set is uniquely positioned to deal with credit crunch litigation and advisory work. Examples of cases include Graiseley v Barclays Bank, BNY Corporate Trustee Services v Eurosail, Landsbanki v Heritable, Landsbanki v Rabobank and GSO Capital Partners v Barclays Bank.
Commercial litigation and dispute resolution: South Square barristers are involved in significant pieces of high-profile commercial litigation in the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division. The set is instructed by a wide range of firms, predominantly leading City firms, in commercial matters with a business dimension. Recent cases include Constantin Medien AG v Bernard Ecclestone, BNY Mellon Corporate Services v LGB Capital and Edgeworth Capital (Luxembourg), S.A.R.L. v Ramblas.
Company: South Square plays a major role in company law cases, regularly appearing in litigation arising out of shareholders’ disputes, derivative proceedings and claims relating to directors’ duties. High-profile cases include Smithton v Naggar, McKillen v Barclay and Jackson v Dear. In addition, barristers have acted in virtually all of the recent high-profile creditor schemes of arrangement under the Companies Act, including Hema, Flint Group, Swissport, NN2 Newco and Lecta. South Square barristers also appeared on the first “restructuring plan” promoted (by Virgin Atlantic) under Part 26A of the Companies Act.
Civil fraud: South Square handles some of the most complex commercial fraud and asset tracing litigation. Recent work in England and offshore includes acting in litigation arising from the Saad, Madoff and Stanford frauds as well as litigation involving the Tchenguiz brothers and Bernie Ecclestone/Formula One.
International and offshore: South Square barristers are at the forefront of insolvency, banking, company and fraud cases before the courts of all the major offshore jurisdictions. Examples of work include Abraaj, Ocean Rig, Saad, Singularis, Oscatello, Picard v Primeo, Primeo v HSBC, Dubai World, Thyssen, Marrache and Nolan v Minerva.
Financial services: South Square undertakes a broad range financial services work, including conduct of business rules, client money, payment services, insurance regulation, derivatives, security issues and financial collateral arrangements. Prominent examples of financial services insolvencies have included SVS, Beaufort, Lehman Brothers and MF Global.
Sport: South Square barristers have a long track-record of appearing in high-profile sports law cases. These cases involve acting for numerous sporting bodies (including UEFA, the FA, the Premier League, the English Football League and the England and Wales Cricket Board) and teams (including the McLaren motor racing team and Arsenal FC). In recent years South Square barristers have acted in a number of case concerning the application of financial fair play rules to football clubs, including UEFA v MCFC, EFL v Sheffield Wednesday FC and EFL v Derby County FC.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Chambers director | William Mackinlay M.V.O | ||
Senior Clerk | Dylan Playfoot | ||
Team Leader | Tom Gibbons | ||
Team Leader | Luke Clark | ||
Team Leader | Marco Malatesta | ||
Members of Chambers | HACKER KC, Richard (1977) | ||
Members of Chambers | PHILLIPS KC, Mark (1984) | ||
Members of Chambers | PASCOE KC, Martin (1977) | ||
Members of Chambers | ODITAH KC, Fidelis (1992) | ||
Members of Chambers | ALEXANDER KC, David (1987) | ||
Members of Chambers | DAVIS KC, Glen (1992) | ||
Members of Chambers | ISAACS KC, Barry (1994) | ||
Members of Chambers | TOUBE KC, Felicity (1995) | ||
Members of Chambers | ARNOLD KC, Mark (1988) | ||
Members of Chambers | GOLDRING KC, Jeremy (1996) | ||
Members of Chambers | ALLISON KC, David (1998) | ||
Members of Chambers | SMITH KC, Thomas (1999) | ||
Members of Chambers | CASEY KC, AIDAN (1992) | ||
Members of Chambers | BAYFIELD KC, Daniel (1998) | ||
Members of Chambers | FISHER KC, Richard (2000) | ||
Members of Chambers | ROBINS KC, Stephen (2001) | ||
Members of Chambers | GOODISON, Adam (1990) | ||
Members of Chambers | STONEFROST, Hilary (1991) | ||
Members of Chambers | TAMLYN, Lloyd (1991) | ||
Members of Chambers | HAYWOOD, Marcus (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | THORNLEY, Hannah (2003) | ||
Members of Chambers | JOHNSON, Clara (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | WILLSON, William (2006) | ||
Members of Chambers | PETERS, Georgina (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | AL-ATTAR, Adam (2007) | ||
Members of Chambers | PHILLIPS, Henry (2008) | ||
Members of Chambers | COOKE, Charlotte (2008) | ||
Members of Chambers | ABRAHAM, Matthew (2012) | ||
Members of Chambers | BROWN, Toby (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | AMEY, Robert (2012) | ||
Members of Chambers | HYAMS, Oliver (2012) | ||
Members of Chambers | SHAW, Andrew (2013) | ||
Members of Chambers | PERKINS, Ryan (2014) | ||
Members of Chambers | MOKAL, Riz (1997) | ||
Members of Chambers | JONES, Madeleine (2015) | ||
Members of Chambers | LUPI, Edoardo (2015) | ||
Members of Chambers | COLCLOUGH, Jon (2015) | ||
Members of Chambers | DARCY, Roseanna (2016) | ||
Members of Chambers | WILKINS, Stefanie (2017) | ||
Members of Chambers | PYPER, Lottie (2017) | ||
Members of Chambers | JUDD, Daniel (2018) | ||
Members of Chambers | MUSTAFA, Jamil (2018) | ||
Members of Chambers | FRADLEY, Paul (2019) | ||
Members of Chambers | BURGESS, Peter (2019) | ||
Members of Chambers | WANG, Annabelle (2021) | ||
Members of Chambers | KOK, Rabin (2021) | ||
Academic Member | PROFESSOR WORTHINGTON KC (Hon), Sarah | ||
Associate Member | CRYSTAL KC, Michael | ||
Associate Member | DeKOVEN, Ronald | ||
Associate Member | JAIRAM SC, Seenath | ||
Associate Member | SHEAHAN KC, John | ||
Associate Member | PROFFESOR Paulus, Christoph G. | ||
Associate Member | NEWBOULD KC, Frank J.C | ||
Associate Member | PROFESSOR ELLINGER, Peter | ||
Associate Member | MORTIMER GBS KC, Barry | ||
Associate Member | SHELDON KC, Richard | ||
Associate Member | BAMFORD, Colin | ||
Associate Member | HEATH KC, Paul | ||
Associate Member | MORTIMORE KC, Simon | ||
Associate Member | PERKINS, Joanna | ||
Associate Member | BRISTOLL, Sandra | ||
Associate Member | ISMAIL SC, Roxanne | ||
Associate Member | SHANDRO, Sandy | ||
Associate Member | BRIGGS, John |
Barrister Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
Matthew Abraham | Matthew’s practice includes insolvency and restructuring, commercial litigation/arbitration, banking and financial services… | View Profile | |
Adam Al-Attar KC | Adam specialises in insolvency and restructuring. He has had substantial experience of… | View Profile | |
David Alexander | He has a predominantly litigation-based practice with a particular emphasis on company,… | View Profile | |
David Allison | David specialises in business, commercial and financial law, with a particular emphasis… | View Profile | |
Robert Amey | Robert specialises in business and finance law, with a particular emphasis on… | View Profile | |
Mark Arnold | Mark specialises in domestic and cross-border restructuring and insolvency, banking and finance,… | View Profile | |
Daniel Bayfield | Daniel specialises in business and finance law, with a strong emphasis on… | View Profile | |
Toby Brown | Toby practices in commercial litigation and arbitration, insolvency and restructuring, banking and… | View Profile | |
Mr Aidan Casey | View Profile | ||
Jon Colclough | Jon is a commercial chancery practitioner, who specialises in insolvency and company… | View Profile | |
Charlotte Cooke | Charlotte specialises in domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring, banking and financial… | View Profile | |
Mr Glen Davis | Glen is a senior silk with nearly thirty years’ experience of specialising in… | View Profile | |
Mr Glen Davis | Glen is a senior silk with nearly thirty years’ experience of specialising in… | View Profile | |
Richard Fisher | Richard has a commercial dispute focused practice with a particular specialism in… | View Profile | |
Jeremy Goldring | Jeremy undertakes a wide range of commercial litigation and advisory work. He… | View Profile | |
Adam Goodison | Adam Goodison’s specialisations include restructuring, insolvency, finance/business litigation, company law and trusts… | View Profile | |
Richard Hacker | Richard has a mixed litigation/advisory business law practice, with a specialisation in… | View Profile | |
Marcus Haywood | Marcus specialises in domestic and cross-border insolvency/restructuring, banking and financial services, commercial… | View Profile | |
Oliver Hyams | Oliver is an experienced commercial barrister who specialises in insolvency, civil fraud… | View Profile | |
Barry Isaacs | Barry specialises in insolvency and restructuring, banking and finance, commercial litigation and… | View Profile | |
Clara Johnson | Clara is frequently instructed to act for office holders, directors, creditors and… | View Profile | |
Madeleine Jones | Madeleine’s practice includes all forms of domestic and cross-border insolvency, commercial litigation,… | View Profile | |
Edoardo Lupi | Edoardo joined South Square as a tenant in 2016. He specialises in… | View Profile | |
Riz Mokal | Riz specialises in all aspects of domestic and cross-border insolvency, restructuring, bank… | View Profile | |
Fidelis Oditah | Fidelis practices at the English and Nigerian Bars in a broad range… | View Profile | |
Martin Pascoe | Martin’s recent practice includes acting as lead counsel for the administrators of MF… | View Profile | |
Ryan Perkins | Ryan has experience in all of South Square’s core practice areas, including… | View Profile | |
Georgina Peters | Georgina’s practice focuses on commercial litigation (with a strong emphasis on banking… | View Profile | |
Mark Phillips | Mark Phillips QC is Company and Insolvency Silk of the year at… | View Profile | |
Henry Phillips | Henry specialises in domestic and cross-border insolvency/restructuring, banking and financial services, commercial… | View Profile | |
Stephen Robins KC | Stephen specialises in the fields of insolvency and restructuring, banking and finance,… | View Profile | |
Andrew Shaw | Andrew’s main areas of practice are insolvency/restructuring, commercial litigation, banking disputes, company… | View Profile | |
Tom Smith | Tom specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, banking and finance, corporate insolvency… | View Profile | |
Hilary Stonefrost | Hilary Stonefrost is a barrister at South Square. She spent a decade… | View Profile | |
Lloyd Tamlyn | Lloyd specialises in all aspects of domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring,… | View Profile | |
Hannah Thornley | Hannah is an experienced advocate and litigator. She appears regularly in the… | View Profile | |
Felicity Toube | Felicity Toube QC specialises in domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring,… | View Profile | |
William Willson | William specialises in insolvency and restructuring, banking and finance and commercial litigation.… | View Profile |
- Insolvency
Top Tier Set Rankings
- Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
- Company
Set Rankings
- The English Bar Offshore > The English Bar Offshore