Mr Joseph Curl KC KC > South Square > London, England > Barrister Profile
South Square Offices
3-4 SOUTH SQUARE, GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5HP
England
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Mr Joseph Curl KC KC
Position
Joseph Curl KC specialises in insolvency litigation. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2021.
He is currently ranked as a leading silk in both the major legal directories. Chambers and Partners 2024 describes him as follows:
“He has forensic attention to detail and extensive expertise, combined with a highly persuasive and compelling advocacy style.”
“He is extremely user-friendly, down to earth, practical and accessible.”
“His advice covers all legal bases but also takes into account commercial realities.”
“He is exceptionally bright and a clear and convincing advocate.”
Legal 500 2024 says:
“Tenacious and courteous advocacy style, really fights his clients’ corner, deep expertise and specialist knowledge of insolvency law.”
Immediately prior to taking silk, he was ranked Band 1 as a junior for Restructuring and Insolvency by Chambers and Partners 2021. He was Company/Insolvency Junior of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2019.
Joseph’s recent work includes successfully leading for the joint liquidators of the BHS Group in a five-week trial before Leech J in proceedings brought against a number of former directors: Re BHS Group Limited (in liquidation); Wright v Chappell [2024] EWHC 1417 (Ch). The award in this case is reputed to be the largest ever entered for wrongful trading under s.214 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Other recent highlights include two appeals on standing to challenge an office-holder’s conduct, which are now the leading authorities on this question in corporate and personal insolvency respectively: in the Court of Appeal in Re Edengate Homes (Butley Hall) Ltd; Lock v Stanley [2022] EWCA Civ 626, [2022] 2 BCLC 1; and in the Supreme Court in Brake v Chedington Court Estate Ltd [2023] UKSC 29, [2023] 1 WLR 3035, [2023] 4 All ER 1021.
Joseph is one of the General Editors (with Louis Doyle KC and Professor Andrew Keay) of Doyle, Keay and Curl: Annotated Insolvency Legislation 2024 (12th edition). He is also the co-author (with Professor Andrew Keay and Professor Peter Walton) of Corporate Governance and Insolvency: Accountability and Transparency, published in 2022.
He was appointed a Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge in 2020.
Between 2001 and 2007, Joseph worked in the restructuring department of DLA Piper UK LLP.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Joseph Curl KC – South Square ‘Joe is an outstanding chancery barrister, his expertise is second to none, his written work is of the highest quality and his advocacy skills are exceptional, both in cross-examination and when making legal submissions.’
Noted as being one of the ‘leading restructuring and insolvency sets,’ South Square barristers specialise in high-profile matters, with experience both in domestic and cross-border cases across a range of services including litigation, special administration and restructuring plans. Mark Phillips KC has appeared on numerous cross-border cases including Nuoxi Capital Lt v Peking University Founder Group, which saw him act for the liquidator of Nuoxi Capital and argued that the liabilities under the Keepwell deeds are contractual liabilities, giving rise to a right to prove in PUFG’s reorganisation. Felicity Toube KC appears regularly in restructuring and litigation cases in the Cayman Islands, BVI, Bermuda and ADGM, and Georgina Peters acts on high value schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans. Charlotte Cooke is noted for her cross-border practice, with expertise of financial services issues arising in insolvencies. Adam Al Attar KC was appointed silk earlier in 2024, while Joseph Curl KC and Rory Brown joined the set from 9 Stone Buildings, prior to that set’s collapse.