4 Stone Buildings

Barrister specialising in commercial litigation; company law; insolvency; civil fraud; commercial chancery disputes and banking and finance.

Daniel Kessler is a commercial chancery barrister at 4 Stone Buildings with a broad practice spanning company law, restructuring and insolvency, civil fraud, commercial litigation, enforcement and asset recovery. Called in 2018, he has developed a practice notable both for substantial led work and for appearing independently in difficult appellate and High Court matters. He is currently ranked by Chambers & Partners as “Up and Coming” in both Company and Restructuring/Insolvency.

Daniel has particular experience in disputes concerning distressed companies, creditor remedies, shareholder disputes, directors’ duties and transactions defrauding creditors. His insolvency practice encompasses winding-up and bankruptcy proceedings, statutory demands, antecedent transactions, office-holder claims and director disqualification. In Savva v Cuckoo Hill Ltd [2025] EWHC 286 (Ch), acting as sole counsel for the claimant, he successfully pursued relief under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in proceedings in which the court made findings of dishonesty and fabrication of evidence. He has acted for office-holders, creditors, debtors and government departments, including HMRC and the Secretary of State.

A significant feature of Daniel’s practice is his appellate experience. He has appeared three times as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, for the appellants in Bone v Williamson [2024] 1 WLR 3235, Burton v Ministry of Justice [2025] KB 66 and 56 Fellows Road Ltd v ABC Block Management Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 401. This experience is unusual for a junior of his call and reflects a practice in which he is regularly trusted to deal independently with difficult questions of law and procedure.

His wider commercial practice includes high-value fraud and conspiracy claims, fiduciary duty disputes, banking and financial services matters, and cases raising economic or regulatory questions. He has acted in litigation arising from substantial investments, sanctions issues and international commercial transactions, and has experience of urgent interim and proprietary relief involving novel assets, including cryptocurrency. His asset-recovery practice also extends to proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Following a secondment to the National Crime Agency, he acts in account freezing, civil recovery and related proceedings, for both the Crown and respondents.

Daniel also has substantial offshore experience. He was called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands in 2021 and has acted in BVI company and insolvency disputes, including unfair prejudice proceedings, cross-border insolvency matters and appellate litigation. His recent work includes DOZ v VFN, concerning an injunction in support of foreign insolvency proceedings, and MBS Software Solutions v Paget, an appeal concerning non-party costs orders under the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules. He also acted in connection with the BVI liquidation of Three Arrows Capital.

Before coming to the Bar, Daniel spent five years as an economist, including as an Economic Adviser at the Competition and Markets Authority and as a Senior Associate at the Financial Conduct Authority. That background gives him particular familiarity with financial, regulatory and economic evidence and makes him well suited to disputes involving valuation, markets or complex financial material.

Daniel was appointed to the Attorney General’s B Panel of Counsel in 2025, having previously served on the C Panel. He is also the author of Insolvency Law Made Clear: A Guide for Debtors. Feedback from instructing solicitors consistently identifies his technical ability, responsiveness, attention to detail and practical approach. He is particularly valued for identifying solutions which may not immediately be apparent, explaining difficult issues clearly, and combining rigorous analysis with an understanding of the commercial objective behind the litigation. He is equally comfortable acting as part of a larger counsel team or as sole advocate in substantial and strategically important disputes.

Balliol College, Oxford (BA Hons, PPE)

University College London (MSc, Economics)

Called to the Bar, 2018; Middle Temple Queen Mother Scholarship

Called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands, 2021

Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel, 2022

Attorney General’s B Panel of Counsel, 2025

Chancery Bar Association, Commercial Bar Association

Insolvency Law Made Clear: A Guide for Debtors (Bath Publishing, 2021)