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).
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Profile
Position
Felicity Toube QC specialises in domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring, banking and financial services, commercial litigation, civil fraud, and company law. Felicity is regularly instructed in cases in the Cayman Islands and the BVI. She acts as an expert (in the laws of England and other common law jurisdictions) in international proceedings (including in the USA).
Felicity has acted on all the recent major corporate insolvencies, including: Gategroup, Jain Group, NMC, Pizza Express, Smile Telecoms, Codere, Swissport, Carluccios, Debenhams, Matalan, Saad, Madoff, Peak Hotels, Lehman, Stanford, Nortel, and MF Global. She also acted for the successful supporting creditor in the Gertner appeal.
She is a mediator (ADR Group), an arbitrator (CiArb), and Co-Chair of the INSOL Mediation Colloquium.
Felicity’s publications include: Moss, Fletcher & Isaacs on the EU Regulation, Toube on "International Asset Tracing in Insolvency" (OUP), Halsbury’s Laws on Corporate Insolvency. Felicity is Chair of the Editorial Board of Insolvency Intelligence, a Board member of III, and Chair of the Appeal Panel for ICAS.
She also teaches on the BCL course at Oxford University and is currently undertaking a part-time DPhil in Law at Oxford University, focussing on issues of cross-border insolvency.
Career
Called 1995 (Inner Temple); QC 2011; Called to the Bar of the Cayman Islands 2012; ADR Group Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator 2015; appointed to INSOL International Mediation Panel 2015.
Memberships
COMBAR; Chancery Bar Association; International Association for Asset Recovery; Insolvency Service/ILA committees on the EU regulation and UNCITRAL.
Education
Magdalen College, Oxford University (1994 BCL, First Class).
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Dylan Playfoot is probably the best clerk in the business.'
- 'South Square's clerks are always easy to deal with and highly commercial; particular shout out to Tom Gibbons.'
- 'I have worked with Luke Barefoot for a number of years. He is very responsive and pleasant.'
- 'South Square's clerks are always easy to deal with and highly commercial; particular shout out to Luke Clark.'
- 'Excellent service. Luke Clark and Lewis Madle are very efficient and quick to respond.'
- 'Since I started to work with South Square, the set has grown considerably, but the level of service that you receive from the clerks, Dylan Playfoot in particular, has never faltered.'
- 'The South Square clerk team, lead by Dylan Playfoot, is very knowledgeable, professional and easy to deal with.'