Ranking tables
UK Bar London (Bar) Restructuring/Insolvency
Rankings overview for Sets
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Star Individuals
- Tom Smith KC
Band 1
- David Chivers KC Erskine Chambers28 Years Ranked
- Jonathan Crow KC 4 Stone Buildings24 Years Ranked
- Daniel Bayfield KC
- David Allison KC
- Felicity Toube KC
- Mark Phillips KC
- Peter Arden KC
- Stephen Atherton KC
Band 2
- Catherine Addy KC Maitland Chambers17 Years Ranked
- Philip Jones KC Serle Court23 Years Ranked
- Raquel Agnello KC Erskine Chambers27 Years Ranked
- Lexa Hilliard KC
- Marcia Shekerdemian KC
- Mark Arnold KC
Band 3
- Andreas Gledhill KC Blackstone Chambers24 Years Ranked
- George Bompas KC 4 Stone Buildings28 Years Ranked
- John Brisby KC 4 Stone Buildings28 Years Ranked
- Richard Hill KC 4 Stone Buildings25 Years Ranked
- Adrian Beltrami KC
- David Alexander KC
- Ewan McQuater KC
- James Potts KC
- Jeremy Goldring KC
- Peter Shaw KC
- Philip Marshall KC
- Rebecca Stubbs KC
Band 4
- Andrew de Mestre KC 4 Stone Buildings19 Years Ranked
- Daniel Lightman KC Serle Court21 Years Ranked
- Matthew Collings KC Maitland Chambers28 Years Ranked
- Michael Gibbon KC Maitland Chambers17 Years Ranked
- Alan Steinfeld KC
- Barry Isaacs KC
- Blair Leahy KC
- Christopher R Parker KC
- Glen Davis KC
- Martin Pascoe KC
- Richard Fisher KC
- Stephen Davies KC
- Stephen Moverley Smith KC
Band 5
- Andrew Thompson KC Erskine Chambers28 Years Ranked
- David Wolfson KC One Essex Court26 Years Ranked
- Hugh Jory KC 4 New Square Chambers25 Years Ranked
- Sharif Shivji KC 4 Stone Buildings16 Years Ranked
- Christopher Boardman KC
- James Bailey KC
- James Morgan KC
- James Pickering KC
- Jamie Riley KC
- Joseph Curl KC
- Lance Ashworth KC
- Matthew Hardwick KC
- Simon Davenport KC
New Silks
- Anthony Beswetherick KC
- Matthew Weaver KC
- Stephen Robins KC
Star Individuals
- Adam Al-Attar
Band 1
- Hilary Stonefrost
- John Briggs
- Lloyd Tamlyn
Band 2
- Rebecca Page Maitland Chambers15 Years Ranked
- Kavan Gunaratna
- Marcus Haywood
- Niall McCulloch
- Thomas Robinson
- Tina Kyriakides
Band 3
- Ben Griffiths Erskine Chambers14 Years Ranked
- David Eaton Turner New Square Chambers17 Years Ranked
- Olivier Kalfon Maitland Chambers18 Years Ranked
- Tiran Nersessian 4 Stone Buildings13 Years Ranked
- Adam Goodison
- Charlotte Cooke
- Daniel Lewis
- Hugo Groves
- William Willson
Band 4
- Anna Markham 4 Stone Buildings13 Years Ranked
- Peter Head Blackstone Chambers10 Years Ranked
- Philip Hinks 3 Verulam Buildings10 Years Ranked
- Adam Deacock
- Benjamin Shaw
- Dawn McCambley
- Georgina Peters
- Hannah Thornley
- Henry Phillips
- Reuben Comiskey
- Rowena Page
- Ruth den Besten
- Stuart Adair
Band 5
- Christopher Harrison 4 Stone Buildings28 Years Ranked
- Donald Lilly 4 Stone Buildings4 Years Ranked
- Faith Julian 9 Stone Buildings3 Years Ranked
- Giselle McGowan 9 Stone Buildings1 Years Ranked
- Rory Brown 9 Stone Buildings6 Years Ranked
- Tom Shepherd 4 New Square Chambers10 Years Ranked
- Alexander Riddiford
- Amit Gupta
- Angharad Start
- Bobby Friedman
- Christopher Buckley
- Clara Johnson
- Geoffrey Zelin
- Hugh Miall
- James Couser
- Jennifer Meech
- Jonathan Titmuss
- Kate Rogers
- Katherine Hallett
- Katie Longstaff
- Matthew Abraham
- Raj Arumugam
- Robert Amey
- Ryan Perkins
- Sarah Clarke
- Simon Johnson
- Sri Carmichael
Up and Coming
- William Day 3 Verulam Buildings1 Years Ranked
- Edoardo Lupi
- Madeline Dixon
- Rachael Earle
All Sets profiles
Band 1
1 South SquareRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 1 | 14 Years RankedSouth Square is widely lauded as "the pre-eminent insolvency set." One interviewee notes: "Their ability to handle complex and sophisticated matters in this area is unparalleled." Chambers houses a deep bench of experienced barristers at both senior and junior levels, and remains the top choice for the most complex and high-profile cases arising in the UK and further afield. Members are instructed in the full gamut of cases, and offer significant expertise in complex restructurings, including those involving CVAs and schemes of arrangement, and sophisticated insolvency litigation. The team is also well regarded for its adroit handling of the administration and liquidation of major corporations, and several of the set's tenants have been involved in the most high-profile cases of recent years. Recently, South Square has led on the CVAs of well-known names including New Look, Debenhams and Caffè Nero.
Band 2
2 4 Stone BuildingsRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 2 | 14 Years Ranked4 Stone Buildings is highly regarded for its expertise spanning a wide range of insolvency and restructuring matters. The set houses a strong bench of experienced barristers who are regularly called upon to handle complex insolvency litigation, and its members have considerable experience appearing in high-profile disputes. The set's appearance in Marex Financial v Carlos Sevilleja Garcia, heard at the Supreme Court, is a standout example. Drawing on the set's established strength in company law, members are also well regarded for their adroit handling of non-contentious restructurings and complex directors' disqualification cases. The set is routinely instructed to act for and advise the government on an array of insolvency-related matters, and several of its junior members are on the Attorney General's A Panels.2 Erskine ChambersRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 2 | 14 Years RankedErskine Chambers is highly regarded for its broad expertise spanning the full range of insolvency and restructuring matters. Drawing on the set's recognised strengths in banking and finance, it is considered a top choice in the market for complex cases arising out of the collapse of financial institutions, and members are regularly instructed to act on behalf of bondholders and security holders in high-value disputes. Additional areas of expertise for the team include retail CVAs, international corporate restructurings and cross-border insolvencies, including those involving difficult jurisdictional issues. The set's tenants are frequently instructed in the most high-profile cases in the market, and have experience appearing before the Court of Appeal, the Privy Council and the Supreme Court. In the past year members have been engaged in high-profile CVAs including the challenge against the New Look CVA and the successful challenge of Re Regis UK. A team from Erskine also successfully opposed a restructuring plan proposed by Hurricane Energy. This was the first time that such a plan was rejected by the courts.2 Maitland ChambersRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 2 | 14 Years RankedMaitland Chambers houses a strong bench of barristers experienced in the handling of a wide range of restructuring and insolvency matters. Members are regularly instructed in major domestic and cross-border corporate insolvencies, liquidations and administrations, and act for a diverse client base including both secured and unsecured creditors, insolvency practitioners and corporations. The set also also offers considerable expertise in personal insolvency matters, and members are routinely instructed to represent insolvent individuals. One interviewee praises the set's depth of expertise as "excellent." Insolvencies involving complex issues concerning property are also a key area of strength for the set, and in recent years its members have been instrumental in developing the law surrounding the role of landlords in relation to CVAs. The past year has seen members act on a series of high-profile restructuring and insolvency proceedings, including those regarding Carillion.
Band 3
3 3 Verulam BuildingsRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 3 | 8 Years Ranked3 Verulam Buildings has a growing expertise in restructuring and insolvency matters, drawing on the set's established strengths in banking and finance, civil fraud and general commercial litigation. The set is well regarded for its handling of contentious commercial insolvencies, and its tenants are regularly called upon to act for insolvency practitioners in high-value, cross-border recovery actions. 3VB's representation of Lehman Brothers Holdings in ongoing disputes about the distribution of surpluses within the Lehman estate is one such example. Members were also instructed by the Vodafone Group in defence of a claim that they caused the collapse and subsequent insolvency of Phones 4u.3 Enterprise ChambersRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 3 | 14 Years RankedEnterprise Chambers is a highly regarded set for restructuring and insolvency matters, and is regularly instructed to appear in complex cross-border disputes. The set houses a strong bench of barristers at both senior and junior levels who are noted for their expert handling of all manner of claims arising from corporate insolvencies, from HMRC winding-up proceedings to high-value insolvency litigation. Additional areas of expertise for the team include directors' misfeasance and disqualification claims, and challenges to office holders' remuneration. Members act for a wide range of clients including administrators, liquidators, financial institutions and insolvency practitioners. Recent case highlights include acting for Sports Direct International and Frasers Group in Re Debenhams. Members also advised the landlord creditor in connection with the widely reported use of a restructuring plan procedure by the Virgin Active Healthclub group.3 Radcliffe ChambersRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 3 | 6 Years RankedRadcliffe Chambers offers expertise spanning a wide range of restructuring and insolvency matters, including both corporate and personal insolvencies. The set houses a strong bench of barristers experienced in the handling of liquidations and administrations, as well as CVAs and directors' disqualification matters. The team is regularly instructed in both domestic and multi-jurisdictional disputes, and its broad client base includes government bodies, financial institutions, major corporations and private individuals. Recently, the set was instructed to act for two directors of companies within the International Metal Industries group in respect of directors’ disqualification proceedings brought by the Competition and Markets Authority.3 Serle CourtRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 3 | 14 Years RankedSerle Court is a highly regarded set for insolvency and restructuring matters, and is well positioned to handle cases arising in offshore jurisdictions such as the Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean. Members are regularly instructed in both contentious and non-contentious matters, and are well versed in corporate and personal insolvencies. Insolvency litigation involving allegations of fraud is also a key area of strength for the set, drawing on the set's enviable reputation in civil fraud matters, and its barristers have experience appearing before both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Recently, members acted for Dr Vinjay Mallya in defending bankruptcy proceedings brought by State Bank of India arising out of banking litigation in India. Members also represent one of the former directors of BHS against claims brought by the liquidators of four of the BHS group of companies.3 Wilberforce ChambersRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 3 | 6 Years RankedWilberforce Chambers is noted for its impressive work tackling both corporate and personal insolvency matters. Members are frequently called upon to undertake cases arising both in the UK and further afield, and offer significant expertise in the handling of complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. Areas of particular strength for the set include administrations, CVAs, restructurings and schemes of arrangement. The team is also regularly instructed in cases involving complex pensions and property elements, owing to the set's established strengths in these areas. An enviable client list includes creditors, debtors and insolvency office holders. Recent cases of note include Re Vireol, in which members acted for three directors of the company in a claim brought by liquidators for breaches of fiduciary duty. Wilberforce were also instructed on Marylebone Warwick Balfour Management v Richard Balfour Lynn and others, a claim against seven former directors for breach of fiduciary duty.
Band 4
4 9 Stone BuildingsRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 4 | 2 Years Ranked9 Stone Buildings offers expertise in both corporate and personal insolvency matters, and its barristers are highly regarded for their handling of insolvency litigation involving allegations of fraud or professional negligence. The set's barristers also have experience handling directors' misfeasance claims, while cases stemming from trusts or probate matters are also a key area of strength for the team. The set is regularly instructed in both domestic and cross-border claims, and its impressive client roster includes liquidators, creditors and government bodies such as HMRC. Members have recently been instructed on litigation arising from the sale of BHS to Dominic Chappell.4 Twenty EssexRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 4 | 2 Years RankedThe barristers at Twenty Essex are noted for their expert handling of both complex restructuring schemes and contentious insolvencies, and are regularly instructed to act for a diverse client base which includes administrators, liquidators, trustees and lenders. Cross-border insolvencies are a key area of strength for the team, and its members have experience appearing before the courts in several offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands. Recent matters of note include acting for State Bank of India in a bankruptcy case against Vijay Mallya, the man behind Kingfisher and Force India. Twenty Essex also acted for the joint trustees in the bankruptcy of Richard Yeowart and Robert Hopkinson, the directors of three companies which entered into administration in November 2021.4 XXIV Old BuildingsRestructuring/InsolvencyUK Bar 2023 | Band 4 | 14 Years RankedXXIV Old Buildings offers expertise in both domestic and international insolvency matters, and its members are highly regarded for their handling of cases arising in offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man. Areas of expertise for the team include complex administrations, liquidations and both company and individual voluntary arrangements. The set's barristers are also well versed in directors' disqualification proceedings and asset tracing and recovery matters.