Phillip Gale

Phillip specialises in commercial, insolvency and property litigation. Called in 2008, he has a busy court and advisory practice with an established track record in reported cases. He is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, Property Bar Association, Insolvency Lawyers’ Association and INSOL International.

Insolvency & Restructuring

Insolvency litigation forms a major part of Phillip’s practice.

On the corporate side, his experience includes transactional avoidance and misfeasance claims, wrongful trading claims, injunctive relief and all aspects of winding up and administration. He co-wrote the chapter on disclaimer in Butterworths Property Insolvency. Recent reported cases include Re a Co; J Carney Construction Ltd v Manchett Cleaning Ltd [2018] EWHC 1101 (Ch) (injunction to restrain presentation), Endersby v Astrosoccer 4 U Ltd [2017] 12 WLUK 168 (contested administration application) and Hussein v Haus of Vanity Ltd [2017] EWHC 2615 (Ch) (just and equitable winding up). Phillip has recently advised on the treatment of an expense claim in one of the retail administrations and on the correct place to bring proceedings in an intra-UK insolvency.

On the bankruptcy side, Phillip acted for the successful trustee in setting aside a matrimonial consent order as a transaction at an undervalue (Green v Austin [2014] BPIR 1176) and has particular experience of mental capacity issues arising in the context of bankruptcy proceedings (for example, De Toucy [2011] EWHC 3809 (Ch); [2012] BPIR 793. He also acted for the successful trustee in an application for possession and sale where permission was given for a second appeal to the Court of Appeal on the proper test to be applied when a party failed to attend trial (for the first appeal, see Roberts [2016] EWHC 187 (Ch); [2016] BPIR 996; for the Court of Appeal (on a procedural point only) see [2018] EWCA Civ 569). Phillip recently acted in connection with a proposed IVA with creditor claims of over £150 million.

Property

Phillip has wide experience of property and landlord and tenant disputes. He recently acted for the developer in an opposed business tenancy renewal relying on redevelopment grounds and has written on the same subject in the Estates Gazette. Other recent work includes an injunction to prevent interference with a right of way, where a quarry owner sought to rely on Coventry v Lawrence to force a homeowner to accept an alternative access route.

Phillip deals with all aspects of possession claims, forfeiture, tenancy renewals, dilapidations, mortgages and fixed charge receivers. Phillip also advises on property damage and nuisance claims, boundary and easement issues, party walls, restrictive covenants, beneficial interest disputes, the Church of England’s faculty jurisdiction and professional negligence claims arising out of conveyancing.

Phillip’s insolvency experience often crosses over into his property practice and he co-wrote the chapter on disclaimer in Butterworths Property Insolvency.

Commercial

Phillip deals with a broad variety of commercial disputes, including banking, guarantees, civil fraud, interim relief, and general contractual disputes. Recent instructions include a dispute over the profit share arising under a joint venture agreement and a breach of warranty claim arising out of a share sale agreement.

Company

Phillip regularly advises on director’s duties, dividends/distributions, unfair prejudice petitions, derivative actions and various shareholder disputes. In a recent case, what ought to have been an unfair prejudice petition was brought under the guise of a creditor’s winding up petition and the court had to consider the extent of its just and equitable jurisdiction: Hussein v Haus of Vanity Ltd [2017] EWHC 2615 (Ch).

MA Jurisprudence, Worcester College, University of Oxford

Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), Worcester College, University of Oxford

Bar Vocational Course, City Law School

Lord Denning and Levitt Scholarships