Daniel Lightman KC KC > Serle Court > London, England > Barrister Profile
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Daniel Lightman KC KC
Position
As part of a broad Chancery-Commercial practice, Daniel Lightman KC often engages with challenging and novel issues of law and civil procedure, in particular concerning shareholder disputes (he has appeared in a number of landmark unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims), company law (including in matrimonial proceedings), insolvency, civil fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and professional negligence.
Shortlisted for Company/Insolvency Silk of the year for the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards 2024, and previously recognised as one of The Lawyer magazine’s “Hot 100 Lawyers”, he is described by Chambers & Partners as “always [seeking] to find solutions to issues. He does creative and clever work… A man with a brilliant mind, who is really knowledgeable in his field”. Recent significant cases include Re Contingent and Future Technologies Ltd [2024] BCC 223; In re BHS Group Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] 1 BCLC 71; Re Klimvest plc [2023] 1 BCLC 388; Taylor Goodchild Ltd v Taylor [2022] 2 BCLC 27; Re Prospect Place (Wimbledon) Management Co Ltd [2022] BCC 1176; and King v Stiefel [2022] 1 All ER (Comm) 990.
He is a co-author of two leading practitioner textbooks, contributing two chapters (on derivative claims and unfair prejudice petitions) to Joffe et al., Minority Shareholders: Law, Practice & Procedure (OUP, 7th Ed, 2024) and three chapters to Lightman & Moss, The Law of Receivers and Administrators of Companies (6th Ed, 2017). Other recent publications include: ‘Non-members and s 994 petitions: a novel approach’ (NLJ, 31 May 2024), ‘The rule in Clayton’s Case: its application in non-banking relationships’ (BJIBFL, May 2024), ‘The light at the end of the tunnel and the last throw of the die: liquidators’ claims against former directors following Sequana’ (IIRR 2023-24) and ‘Pleading Issues: Pick Your Battles’ (NLJ, 27 January 2023).
Career
Called to the Bar 1995. King’s Counsel 2016.
Memberships
ACTAPS; Chancery Bar Association; COMBAR; Family Law Bar Association; Insolvency Lawyers’ Association; PNBA.
Education
BA Lit. Hum. (First Class), Magdalen College, Oxford; Dip. Law (Distinction), City University, London. Hardwicke, Mansfield and Denning Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn.
Leisure
Cricket – co-author of Cricket Grounds from the Air (2nd Ed. 2010) and has written articles on cricket for (amongst other publications) Wisden, the Cricketer, Nightwatchman, the Spectator and Majesty Magazine, as well as curating the current (and first ever) exhibition at the MCC Museum, Lord’s, on Jews and Cricket.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Family: divorce and financial remedy
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 4Daniel Lightman KC –Serle Court ‘Daniel is highly perspicacious and can explain issues in a very straightforward and accessible manner.’
London Bar > Professional negligence
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Daniel Lightman KC –Serle Court ‘He is an extremely tenacious and compelling advocate. He is passionate about the law and passionate about his cases.’
Serle Court has in-depth experience acting in claims against an array of professionals such as auditors, tax advisors, accountants, and lawyers. Daniel Lightman KC is acting for the claimant against his conveyancing solicitors in the case of Mahdavi and UKRD (Pelham Place) Ltd v Sterling Avram LLP and Healys Solicitors, in which the claimant alleged that his solicitors, after being transferred £7m to purchase a house in South Kensington, transferred the funds to another firm of solicitors which, instead of acting for the seller, was infiltrated by fraudsters. Michael Walsh is skilled in navigating professional negligence allegations connected to the real estate sector, while Jennifer Meech has expertise in handling claims arising out of failed investment schemes.
London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Daniel Lightman KC – Serle Court ‘Daniel is a major player in the insolvency sphere. He knows his stuff inside out. Clients love him because he is able to come up with solutions that no one else can think of. Judges trust his submissions because they are sound and learned. Daniel is excellent at thinking of points that no one else does.’
Serle Court‘s members handle a broad range of cross-border and domestic insolvency cases, having been involved in bringing innovation to the practice area, with cases ranging from dealing with the first ever winding up of a listed PLC on the just and equitable ground, to challenging excessive administrator remuneration in an energy insolvency. Daniel Lightman KC, alongside Tim Benham-Mirando, has been involved in Re BHS Group Limited, defending a claim for wrongful trading and misfeasance. Philip Marshall KC is active in insolvencies in offshore jurisdictions, particularly those involving asset tracing and fraud, while Jennifer Meech has appeared as sole counsel in a number of insolvency cases.
London Bar > Company
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Daniel Lightman KC – Serle Court ‘Daniel is extremely bright, incisive and original in his thinking.’
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Daniel Lightman KC –Serle Court ‘Daniel is a highly effective advocate. Judges respect him and value his legal dexterity.’
London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3With ‘many fantastic barristers’, Serle Court represents both claimants and defendants in high-profile civil fraud cases in English courts and abroad, drawing on its expertise in banking and finance, insolvency, and trusts. In Magdeev v Tsvetkov and others, Jonathan Adkin KC, leading Adil Mohamedbhai, represented the second defendant in a multi-million-pound Commercial Court dispute between Russian businessmen, where each party claimed to have been defrauded by the other concerning the operation of a jewellery business. Hugh Norbury KC and Tim Benham-Mirando represent the fifth and seventh defendants in Jinxin v Aser Media and others, a $661m claim for deceit and unlawful means conspiracy, involving alleged fraud and misrepresentations related to the acquisition of media rights for Italian Serie A and FIFA World Cup matches. Wright, Rowley, BHS and others v Chappell and others sees Daniel Lightman KC and Charlotte Beynon representing a former BHS director in High Court claims by the BHS Group liquidators for alleged wrongful trading, misfeasance, breach of duties, and misapplication of funds before the companies went into administration.