Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Dispute Resolution: Commercial - UK
What the Team is Known For
South Square operates a thriving commercial dispute practice, and houses a strong bench of leading silks and juniors. Its practitioners are active in sophisticated litigation, with recent cases handled by the team including high-profile disputes relating to the collapse of Greensill Capital; the Port Fund litigation, a USD100 million private equity dispute involving Kuwaiti authorities; and the Adler case, the first restructuring plan to reach the Court of Appeal. The set is the clear market leader for commercial cases arising out of insolvency, and is noted for being "quickly able to get to grips with any degree of complexity. In fact, the barristers add more value the more complex the matter is."
Dylan Playfoot is the senior clerk.
Strengths
The clerks are excellent and are always available and willing to help. They are flexible with fees and work to accommodate client expectations.
The clerks always respond in a helpful and timely manner.
Practice manager Lewis Madle is a great guy and has a touch of class about him. He really helped me out and brought a delicate touch to proceedings.
Notable practitioners
She is great fun and really smart.
Felicity's client management is impressive. She is incredibly decisive in client meetings.
David Allison is an exceptional advocate.
David is thorough, precise and rigorous in his thinking. He did a great job at cross-examining an expert in our case.
He is phenomenal at tackling complex issues.
David is an excellent advocate, litigator and academic. He is also a good tactician.
Tom Smith is a very good advocate and one of the best at presenting a compelling case. He is also super hard-working and responsive.
Tom is the more modern breed of silk in that he is readily accessible, he's responsive and he's easy to deal with. He is also very pragmatic and commercial in the way he approaches cases.
Tom always presents complicated arguments in a succinct yet forceful way. He is also very approachable.
He is probably the leading insolvency silk at the Bar. He is the master of that area of law.
Adam is a great team player. He also drafts incredibly well; his writing is very crisp and precise.
Adam Al-Attar is a genius. As technical lawyers go, there is no one better. He is also a very persuasive advocate.
Adam Al Attar is a brain on legs and there is nothing he doesn't know about insolvency.
His strength is his ability to present submissions which are well grounded and translate into practical, commercial reality.
Adam is a machine. He works 24/7 and is good on the law.
He is an outstanding advocate, and an incredibly smart and commercial individual. He has as much experience as anyone for big-ticket work. His judgement is very good.
Daniel will always tell you honestly what the vulnerabilities are in your plan, and is very clear about how to navigate them. He thinks tactically and strategically.
Richard is very user-friendly, really hard-working and someone who reads everything.
Richard is very responsive and very good at involving the solicitors. He always asks for different views and opinions.
Richard has deep knowledge of insolvency and restructuring law, and has an incredible commercial feel. As an advocate, he is careful, thoughtful and someone who persuades the judge from fundamentals.
Richard is a leading expert on insolvency matters. He has an incredibly calm and reassuring advocacy style.
He has a first-class brain, is easy to work with and is someone who turns work around quickly. He is just incredibly able.
Tony Beswetherick is soft spoken and comes up with incredibly clever points.
Tony is a real master of his craft. He is superb at advocacy and very user-friendly.
Tony is analytical and his advocacy is second to none. He is one of the leading silks in insolvency and treats everyone in the team with respect.
Tony's written work and advocacy are excellent and he is very commercial in his approach. Clients like and trust him.