Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Dispute Resolution: Commercial Chancery - UK
What the Team is Known For
In addition to offering significant strength in insolvency law, South Square is also highly regarded for its expertise in a wide range of commercial chancery disputes. The barristers here are noted for their "supreme ability to handle complex, sophisticated matters" and are well versed in the handling of both contentious and non-contentious cases. Members are regularly called upon to act in claims brought against accountants and professional service firms, and in complex cases involving derivatives and securitisation transactions, among other commercial matters. The team is known for its expert handling of both domestic and international disputes. Recent examples include Credit Suisse v SoftBank Vision II Fund, a high-profile claim by a Credit Suisse sub-fund. Members also appeared in Mitchell v Al Jaber, a Supreme Court case deciding whether a company's director continues to owe fiduciary duties after its liquidation, and Public Institution for Social Security v Al-Rajaan, a USD1 billion fraud case arising from alleged bribery of the claimant's former director general.
Dylan Playfoot is the senior clerk.
Strengths
Senior Clerk Dylan Playfoot and his team are outstanding in terms of responsiveness.
The clerks at South Square are excellent.
The clerks pushed getting our cases through at short notice. They are on the ball.
Notable practitioners
Felicity is great fun and really smart.
Felicity is the go-to KC. She is clever, practical, commercial and accessible. She is very good on her feet; not a shrinking violent in front of the judge.
Felicity is very learned in her approach; she really knows the law. You always get a quick but well supported answer.
Tom is very impressive in court.
Tom is one of the leading silks in the City, especially for insolvency and restructuring work. He is a first rate advocate, who gives robust, commercial and succinct advice.
Tom is brilliant at distilling complex issues into digestible advice.
David gives excellent, clear and commercial advice and is excellent with clients. He is a fantastic advocate, who invariably has the trust of the court.
David is an excellent advocate, litigator, academic and tactician. He is the best combination of all of those factors.
David is incredibly calm and reassuring. He manages clients very effectively.
Rory Brown's advocacy is very good and he gets his points across well.
A calm and humble man, Rory is erudite, very articulate and very discerning. His drafting skills are excellent.
Rory produces excellent written work, all presented in tip-top order. His advocacy is amongst the best I've seen. He really enjoys the art of advocacy and legal persuasion.
A really powerful advocate, who understands that sometimes less is more. He's great at understanding what will work in court. In times of high stress, he's reassuring and confident.
Rory Brown offers an excellent service and is a joy to work with. He's always prepared to go the extra mile.
I find Tony to be meticulous in his preparation and someone who adopts a calm, measured approach to his advocacy. He's an impressive all rounder.
Tony is analytical and his advocacy is second to none. He also treats everyone in the team with respect.
Tony is extremely bright and is able to knit together complex multi-stranded cases into a cohesive strategy. He has an eye to the commercial reality of a case that few barristers have.
Tony is a very clever guy, who is very commercial as well. He will push the points which he justifiably can and avoid the bad points.
Adam is very user friendly and good at talking through the issues.
Adam is super smart. His strength is his ability to present submissions which are well grounded and concerned with practical commercial reality.
Adam is a great team player. He's very bright and he drafts incredibly well in a very crisp and precise manner.
Adam is a brain on legs. He is exceptionally bright.
Daniel is an incredibly smart and commercial individual. He has very good judgement.
Daniel doesn't mind getting his hands dirty despite being one of the top operators in the insolvency space. He's very easy to work alongside.
Daniel is an excellent advocate, who handles judges' questions with great skill.
Daniel will always tell you honestly what the vulnerabilities are in your plan, and is very clear about how to navigate round them. He thinks tactically and strategically.
Mark thinks fast on his feet, and is very assured when dealing with judges. Both well liked and well connected, he produces really impressive arguments.
Mark is very hands on. He's always available if I need him at short notice, which is rare for someone of his seniority.
Mark reads the court well and I love working with him as he's very proactive.
Richard is technically very proficient and very experienced in insolvency matters.
Richard is a great team player, who is very thoughtful in his approach. He identifies angles that others don't pick up on and proves very successful.
Richard has incredible commercial feel. As an advocate, he is careful and thoughtful, and he persuades the judge from fundamentals.
Richard has great instincts and is really liked by clients. He is very nimble and flexible in his thinking.
When it comes to instructing an insolvency silk, he's top of my list. Richard is a really polished advocate, who's easy to work with. He is all over the detail.