Adam Al-Attar KC > South Square > London, England > Barrister Profile

With a ‘large number of excellent lawyers’, South Square offers particular strength in insolvency, banking, and finance litigation. Felicity Toube KC acted for the claimants in NMC Healthcare v Dubai Islamic Bank, a significant litigation in Abu Dhabi arising out of the administration of the UAE-based private healthcare group following the discovery of a multi-billion-pound fraud within the business. Adam Al-Attar KC, newly appointed to silk in March 2024, is instructed by SoftBank Vision II Fund to defend a claim by a Credit Suisse sub-fund alleging SoftBank engineered a financial restructuring of construction company Katerra that favoured the Japanese conglomerate over the Swiss bank’s clients. Meanwhile, Tom Smith KC acted for PwC as liquidators of the Abraaj Group, which collapsed in July 2018 following allegations of misuse of funds, leading to the liquidators bringing claims in the Cayman Islands to recover assets transferred from the Abraaj Group prior to its liquidation.

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.

Barristers at South Square are often instructed by magic circle law firms in high-stakes banking and financial litigation, as well as advisory work and disputes involving mis-selling, derivatives and structured finance. Tom Smith KC has appeared on a number of High Court and Court of Appeal decisions, and represented Avanti Communications/FTI in Avanti Communications where Smith acted on an application for directions relating to security given for bank lending to a satellite communications company. Barry Isaacs KC has appeared on high-profile banking and finance cases both domestically and in offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, while Felicity Toube KC regularly appears in cases within the Cayman Islands, BVI, Bermuda and the ADGM. Georgina Peters is well regarded and considered the ‘complete package and a go-to for a wide variety of finance related situations.’ Adam Al-Attar KC was made a silk earlier this year.

For the members of South Square, offshore mandates surrounding the financial services, insolvency and company law, and fraud-related disputes are key pillars of practice. The set boasts a strong bench of reputable silks, including David Allison KC, who is representing Aston Martin in a case surrounding a just and equitable winding up petition in the Jersey courts. Barry Isaacs KC has substantial knowledge of insolvency and banking and finance work, while Tom Smith KC is a specialist in offshore and funds work in the Cayman Islands; he acted for the claimants in Primeo Fund v HSBC, a $2bn claim regarding allegations of fraud and negligence against a former administrator and custodian. Felicity Toube KC has expertise in international proceedings and is especially experienced in major corporate restructurings. David Alexander KC is skilled in civil fraud cases, Glen Davis KC has notable expertise in litigation proceedings arising out of Gibraltar, and Richard Fisher KC frequently handles insolvency and commercial matters in the BVI, Cayman Islands, and Channel Islands. Jeremy Goldring KC is another key silk at the set handling banking and finance and company law matters. Making silk in the 2024 round, Adam Al-Attar KC is a key name to note in the insolvency and restructuring space. Amongst the set’s juniors, Clara Johnson has a particular strength in disputes with cross-border elements, especially those involving injunctive relief. She represented the joint liquidators in a case surrounding the collapse of a global construction company that had debts of $2bn (Joannou and Paraskevaides (Overseas) Limited (In Liquidation) v Dakis Joannou and others).