Erskine Chambers

Andrew Blake

Andrew specialises in company law, commercial litigation, restructuring and corporate insolvency. His time is divided between litigation and advisory work. Much of his work involves large and contentious corporate transactions, both domestically and overseas. Andrew is called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. He has been instructed in significant corporate and insolvency matters in most offshore financial centres. Recent and current instructions include: Re Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd (acting with  Jonathan Crow KC and Martin Moore KC in merger appraisal proceedings);  1Globe Capital LLC v Sinovac Biotech Ltd (acting with James Potts KC for the Chinese biopharmaceutical company in proceedings concerning an alleged AGM ambush); SOSBEIS v Adam and others (acting with James Potts KC in the largest and most complex disqualification proceedings ever brought, arising from the collapse of Carillion).

Andrew Thornton

Andrew is involved in most of the leading public company M&A transactions undertaken in the UK. In particular, Andrew advised on 40-50 listed company acquisitions per annum, as well as advising on other corporate transactions including mergers under the Companies (Cross-border Merger) Regulations 2007, insurance and banking transfers under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and reductions of capital under the Companies Act 2006. In addition, Andrew advises on numerous non-public transactions each year. M&A transactions on which Andrew was counsel in the last 12 months include: Flybe Group Plc, Inmarsat Plc, Merlin Entertainments Plc, Cobham Plc, Sirius Minerals Plc, Sanderson Group Plc, Greene King Plc, Sophos Group Plc, Moss Bros Group Plc, Carpetright Plc, Hastings Group Plc, Smith & Williamson, Rockrose Energy Plc, Share Plc, Catalis Plc, Miton Group Plc, Elegent Hotels Group Plc, Haynes Publishing Group Plc, Cello Health Plc, Be Heard Group Plc, Castleton Technologies Plc, Hansteen Holdings plc and Daejan Holdings plc. Andrew is also the Founder of FromCounsel.com, the leading corporate law knowledge publisher used by over 75% of the leading UK corporate law firms.

Andrew Thompson

Andrew is a sought-after, specialist commercial litigator, with particular expertise in: corporate litigation and arbitration (including shareholders’ disputes, joint venture disputes, claims against directors and constructive trust claims); LLP and partnership disputes; corporate insolvency; commercial litigation (including large-scale contractual disputes, fraud and breach of warranty claims); and professional negligence claims (including lawyers, accountants, valuers and management consultants). Andrew has been involved in a series of leading cases in these areas. He has specific expertise in litigation in the fund management industry. He has extensive trial experience in the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court and extensive experience in the Court of Appeal. Andrew also undertakes advisory work in the same fields. A list of reported and recent cases is available at www.erskinechambers.com.

Anna Scharnetzky

Anna specialises in company law, corporate insolvency and corporate finance, as well as related areas of commercial law. Her practice is divided approximately equally between advisory work and litigation. She has a particular interest in work with a cross-border element. Anna undertakes a mixture of high value, complex led work alongside unled work. She regularly appears in the High Court and before the ICC Judges (formerly Registrars) in the Companies Court. Her matters often involve applications for interim relief, including injunctions and freezing orders.

Ben Shaw KC

Ben has a busy practice which is divided equally between litigation and transactional work covering company law, corporate insolvency and restructuring and general commercial litigation and arbitration. Ben’s transactional work has included both creditor and member schemes of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006, numerous reductions of capital and other reserves for listed public companies and cross-border mergers under the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007. Ben also has experience of advising on a wide range of company and corporate governance issues. In recent years, Ben’s litigation practice has included instructions in some of the most significant large-scale insolvencies, including Lehman, MF Global and Kaupthing. In 2013, Ben acted for the respondent companies in Prest v Petrodel, the landmark decision on piercing the corporate veil.

Ben Griffiths

Ben is a corporate, insolvency and financial law specialist. His expertise spans both advisory work and litigation in the fields of company law, corporate restructuring and insolvency, banking, financial services, LLP law, professional negligence and civil fraud. He has wide-ranging experience of commercial and financial litigation and arbitration, including complex, multi-jurisdictional claims. Ben is regularly instructed to act both as sole counsel and with a leader. He has appeared in all courts from the High Court (Chancery Division, Commercial Court and Companies Court) through to the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. Recent significant cases include BAT Industries v Sequana, Carlyle Capital Corporation v Conway, Mezhprombank v Pugachev, MF Global and Kaupthing.

Carleen Sobczyk

Carleen is fast developing a commercial, company and insolvency law practice. Upon obtaining tenancy Carleen undertook a three-month secondment in the corporate/M&A department at Slaughter and May, where she was involved in a variety of significant corporate and private client transactions. She completed a further three-month secondment at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she worked on one of the highest value insurance claims ever brought in the English courts, gaining extensive experience in the global insurance and reinsurance industries. Carleen joins Chambers after a decade in investment banking and asset management, including as equities portfolio manager at Amundi in Paris.

Catherine Roberts

Specialist in Company Law and commercial litigation involving issues of Company Law, corporate governance, corporate insolvency, general meetings, shareholder disputes, professional negligence and partnership disputes; strong advisory practice in the same areas. Much in demand for both her forensic advocacy and cross-examination skills. Author of Financial Assistance for the Acquisition of Shares (OUP 2005) and co-author with Leslie Kosmin QC of Company Meetings and Resolutions - Law, Practice and Procedure (OUP 2020 (Third edition)).

Chantelle Staynings

Chantelle has appeared as sole advocate in the Companies Court, High Court and Court of Appeal. Her litigation experience includes a range of shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes, many of which have involved applications for interim remedies including freezing orders, injunctions and Norwich Pharmacal orders. Chantelle also has particular expertise in corporate insolvency.  She frequently represents insolvency practitioners, companies and creditors in matters including applications for administration orders, contentious winding up proceedings, and claims against office-holders. She has a strong corporate advisory practice, regularly advising on matters relating to the Companies Act and Insolvency Act.  She has also acted in a number of cross-border mergers and capital reductions.

Conor McLaughlin

Conor is developing a commercial, company and insolvency law practice. Following pupillage in Chambers, he undertook secondments in the Corporate/M&A department at Slaughter and May and in the Financial Institutions Disputes Group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, gaining experience in acquisitions, corporate finance, litigation and restructuring. Before coming to the Bar, Conor worked at the Law Commission and was a Visiting Lecturer at King's College London where he taught contract and tort law. He also spent six months at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg as a stagiaire in the chambers of Judge Vajda and Advocate General Sharpston. Conor teaches on the BCL/MJur International Commercial Arbitration course at the University of Oxford.

Dan Butler

Dan is developing a broad company and insolvency law practice and accepts instructions across all of Chambers’ core practice areas. Prior to being called to the bar, Dan trained as a solicitor with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, qualifying into the firm’s London disputes group and being seconded to the New York and Hong Kong offices (spending over two years in the latter). He also undertook a number of secondments to clients in the insurance sector. In his 10 years in private practice Dan developed substantial experience in restructuring and insolvency, advising on a wide variety of both contentious and non-contentious matters, often with a cross-border element. He has particular expertise in schemes of arrangement and Part VII transfers, having acted as a solicitor on some of the most high-profile deals in the market.

David Mabb

David Chivers

David is a highly experienced, sought-after silk who specialises in company law, corporate litigation and corporate restructuring/insolvency - onshore, offshore and internationally. He is known for the quality of both his advocacy and advisory skills. David has acted on many of the leading cases and transactions in these areas, including: Dee Valley Group Plc; Vodafone PLC/ Verizon; Shire PLC; BHP Billiton PLC, Validus Holdings v IPC (corporate advisory and schemes of arrangement); Jackson v Dear; Liverpool Football Club -  RBS v Hicks; Arbuthnott v Charterhouse; Ron Dennis v TAG and McLaren Technology (corporate litigation); Trustees of Olympic Airlines SA Pension Scheme v Olympic Airlines; Singularis v PwC; PwC v Saad; Weavering v SEB; DD Realisations (Supreme Court and Privy Council, insolvency); Halliwells LLP, Constellation Group (restructuring).  

Edward Davies

Edward Davies KC is an experienced commercial litigator, with a strong grounding in company law and corporate insolvency. He has acted in some of the most significant recent actions in these areas, including ClientEarth v Shell Plc (an application for permission to continue a derivative claim against the directors of Shell plc on grounds of failure to manage climate change risks); Autonomy Corporation Ltd v Lynch (claims concerning the US$11 billion takeover of Autonomy by Hewlett Packard); BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana, (the leading case on the duties of directors in the context of insolvent companies); and Re Coroin Ltd (unfair prejudice and conspiracy claims concerning the Barclay brothers and control of Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley). Edward has particular expertise in shareholder disputes, including unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims. Edward also regularly advises on non-contentious and transactional matters, including schemes of arrangement, reductions of capital, transfers under Part VII FSMA 2000 and company meetings. He appeared on the contested scheme in respect of Dee Valley plc. Edward frequently acts in overseas matters, including in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and Jersey; he is called to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Bar. In the case of IsZo v Nam Tai, Edward recently represented a US investor in successfully reversing a $170m placement in a BVI company and, in the insolvency context, he appeared in the leading case on the operation of the segregated accounts regime in Bermuda, Re Northstar Financial Services. A list of Edward’s reported cases is at www.erskinechambers.com.

Jack Rivett

Jack Rivett has a strong commercial chancery practice, with an emphasis on company and insolvency issues. He frequently appears (led and unled) in the High Court in lengthy trials and interim applications (including for freezing and committal orders), as well as in the Court of Appeal. In 2017-8, he acted for the Claimants in a five-month trial arising out of the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds (one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 Cases” of 2017). In his capacity as a Panel member, he has appeared on behalf of the Welsh Ministers in In re Pablo Star Ltd [2018] 1 WLR 738, CA and on behalf of HMRC in Chalcot Training Ltd v. Ralph [2020] EWHC 1054 (Ch.) in which he was commended by the Judge for having made his submissions “impressively”.

James Potts

Company law, corporate insolvency (cross border and domestic), financial services, LLP, partnership and related commercial litigation. Currently, about 75% of cases are contentious matters, with the remainder being non-contentious advisory work. Notable recent cases include: Burnden Holdings (UK) Ltd v Fielding [2019] (acting for successful Defendants resisting fraud claims by liquidator relating to distribution); Cool Seas (Seafoods) Ltd v Interfish Ltd [2018] (acting for successful Respondent in obtaining “sell out” order and substantial compensation for fraudulent breaches of duty in shareholder dispute); Re Dee Valley Group Plc [2017] (acting for members objecting to a takeover by scheme of arrangement); Brightside Group Ltd v RSM UK Audit LLP [2017](acting for claimants in auditor’s professional negligence claim – objection to service dismissed); PJSC Commercial Bank Privatbank v Kolomoisky (acted for Bank successfully resisting attempts to exclude disclosure obligations on WFO); JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank v Pugachev (successfully resisted application by trustees to discharge WFO); Autonomy Corporation Ltd v Lynch and Hussain (acting for HP entities in breach of fiduciary duty and deceit claim); Re Charterhouse Capital Ltd [2015] (private equity firm shareholder disputes); various large commercial arbitrations. Company advisory work includes many reductions of capital and members’ schemes of arrangement.

Lily Church

Lily accepts instructions in Chambers’ core areas of practice including company law, restructuring and insolvency, offshore litigation, commercial litigation and arbitration. Upon obtaining tenancy Lily undertook a three-month secondment in the Financial Institutions Disputes Group at Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer and a further three-month secondment in the corporate/M&A department at Slaughter and May. During pupillage Lily assisted with a variety of matters, including both corporate advisory work and litigation. Notable work included providing assistance with ClientEarth v Shell Plc [2023] EWHC 1897 (Ch), concerning an application for permission to continue a derivative claim. Lily also provided research support in the Carillion directors disqualification proceedings in advance of the pre-trial review hearing and in the case of ENRC v Dechert [2023] EWHC 3280 during the causation and loss phase of trial.

Martin Moore

Martin is a leading Silk for company law litigation and advice, corporate finance, financial services, and insolvency.  He is a go-to silk for large-scale, complex corporate transactions and reorganisations (including takeovers and mergers), schemes of arrangement, cross-border mergers, establishment of Societas Europaea and schemes for the transfer of insurance and banking business (Part VII transfers). His clients are predominantly UK Plc and large multi-national corporations and his instructing solicitors are Magic Circle and Silver Circle firms. He is often consulted on a complex issues involving group structures, liability management, contractual construction, regulatory issues, directors’ duties and conflicts. He has written two published opinions for the Financial Reporting Committee on the True and Fair requirement, has advised on Bermudan, Hong Kong and Channel Islands law and has given expert evidence in the United States and Australia. Significant cases include ; Jardine Strategic Holdings (Appraisal action in Bermuda acting for Jardine Matheson Group – market cap $38 billion Fortune 500 company) ; Nam Tai was an improper purpose and breach of fiduciary duty case in relation to a PRC business incorporated in the BVI which Martin Moore KC , Edward Davies KC and Ben Griffiths won both at first instance and on appeal to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal ; Myovant (appraisal action in Bermuda involving a bio-pharma company. It is at a relatively early stage)

Matthew Parfitt

Matthew is an advocate, litigator and adviser who specialises in company and insolvency law. He was appointed to the Attorney General’s panel to act in government litigation in 2010 (C Panel) and 2015 (B Panel), and has substantial unled advocacy experience. He is ranked in Chambers & Partners and in the Legal 500 as a leading junior for company law, and in the Legal 500 for insolvency. The directories say he is a “clever, accommodating and client-friendly junior counsel”; “he is quietly persuasive and his advocacy is faultless”; and he has “a cool head, a comprehensive knowledge of his field and an excellent responsiveness to pressurised demands”. His most notable recent court work includes: Burnden v Fielding [2019] EWHC 1566 (trial: unlawful dividends and transactions defrauding creditors); [2018] UKSC 14 (Supreme Court – limitation period for claims against directors); public interest winding up trials: Re Viceroy Jones New Tech Ltd [2018] EWHC 3404 Ch (truffle tree pension scheme); BHS Group v Retail Acquisitions [2017] 2 BCLC 472 (winding up; disputed debts; meaning of ‘insolvency’); Allers v Anno 11 [2016] EWHC 388 (first instance and Court of Appeal) – construction of compulsory purchase power in a company’s articles of association.

Michael Todd

Michael specialises in litigation and transactional advice on company law, corporate finance, capital markets and corporate insolvency, in the UK and internationally. Described as one of the first people to call for advice on complex restructurings, contested takeovers and schemes, his significant matters include: Virgin Money IPO; Essar Energy; Pfizer/AstraZeneca; Xstrata/Glencore; Coroin plc; Bumi plc; BAT v Winward (asset protection); Re PCCW Ltd (CA Hong Kong; scheme of arrangement), Validus v IPC (Bermuda; hostile scheme); Anglo Petroleum Ltd v TFB Mortgages (CA; financial assistance); Re Prudential Enterprise Ltd (CFA Hong Kong; shareholder dispute); American Patriot Agency (PC Bermuda; commercial fraud); Tenaga (Malaysia; piercing corporate veil); Waddington v Chan (Hong Kong/BVI; derivative actions). Michael has advised regulators including the FCA, Channel Islands Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

Nick Segal

Nick has extensive experience in a wide variety of work in commercial and banking law, restructuring, insolvency (including bank resolution) and litigation. Much of his work has an international dimension. He also sits as a judge in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (in the Financial Services Division). He has given judgments on a wide variety of commercial, financial, corporate and insolvency matters. He has written and lectured extensively in restructuring, insolvency, banking and restitution law. Before switching to practice as a barrister, Nick practised for over 35 years as a solicitor (dual qualified in England and New York), most recently as a partner in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s restructuring and insolvency team. Before then he was a partner in Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York (practising New York law) and Allen & Overy in London. He was educated at Oxford University where he obtained a first class degree in law in 1979.

Nigel Dougherty

Nigel is a highly regarded senior junior. He is particularly sought-after in complex corporate and commercial litigation, often involving an international element. His main areas of practice are Company and Corporate Insolvency advice and litigation - in particular, minority shareholder disputes, directors' duties, takeovers, directors' service contracts, shareholder agreements and business/share acquisition agreements and claims. He has extensive experience of general Commercial Law particularly Banking and Sale of Goods; and Professional Negligence - in particular, involving solicitors and accountants/auditors. Cases include: Ultraframe (UK) Ltd v Fielding [2005] EWHC 1638 (Ch), [2006] EWCA Civ 1133; Irvine v Irvine [2007] 1 BCLC 445; Kiani v Cooper [2010] BCC 463; Barclays Bank PLC v Nylon Capital LLP [2012] Bus LR 542; American Energy v Hycarbex Asia (in liquidation) [2014] EWHC 1091 (Ch); Eclairs Group Limited v JKX Oil & Gas Plc [2016] 1 BCLC 1 (Supreme Court); ITC v Ferster [2016] EWCA Civ 614; Re AMT Coffee Limited [2018] EWHC 1562 (Ch) and [2019] EWHC 46 (Ch).

Peter Arden

Peter is a highly regarded silk, with a focus on insolvency and restructuring, company and commercial chancery work. He has a particular expertise in large and complex insolvency cases, often with a cross-border element and, in many instances, concerning or involving businesses in the financial sector. Significant cases include: the Federal Mogul / T&N restructuring, Eurotunnel, the HIH litigation, the Baugur administration, Lehmans, the Landsbanki and Kaupthing insolvencies, Miss Sixty and other retail insolvencies, the TXU company voluntary arrangement, and the winding-up of Danka Business Systems and Travelodge.

Philip Morrison

Philip completed his pupillage in Chambers in October 2019, gaining broad experience across all of Chambers’ major practice areas. He then undertook secondments in the Corporate/M&A department at Slaughter and May, gaining experience in corporate transactional and restructuring work, and in the Financial Institutions Dispute Group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he primarily worked on contentious insolvency matters. Philip is building a practice focusing on company litigation and advisory work, corporate insolvency, and broader commercial disputes. He is happy to be instructed as sole counsel or as part of a team. Before commencing pupillage, Philip read law as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, graduating joint second overall in his year and winning several prizes. He then studied for a masters in law at the London School of Economics (with a focus on company and insolvency law), graduating with distinction and the highest overall performance across the Commercial Law subjects. He has published a number of academic articles in the fields of company and insolvency law, including on schemes of arrangement and the cross-border mergers regime.

Raquel Agnello

Raquel is a sought-after specialist in insolvency, company and commercial litigation. Additionally, she is a highly-regarded expert in the area of pensions and insolvency, in particular the ‘moral hazard’ provisions. She has led on many high profile cases on behalf of the Pensions Regulator, including on Nortel and Lehman in the Supreme Court. She was retained to advise the company and supervisors on the New Look company voluntary arrangement and for the supervisors in the Arcadia CVA challenge. She advises corporate groups in relation to proposed restructurings and pension issues, including risk assessment, including acting in Johnston Press and Cobham PLC. In 2015 she was named Legal 500’s Insolvency Silk of the Year. In October 2012 and October 2016, she was named ‘Barrister of the Year’ at the TRI Insolvency and Rescue Awards.

Samuel Parsons

Samuel specialises in insolvency and company law. His practice now sits on the intersection of company and insolvency law, although he continues to accept instructions that often explore the relationship between insolvency law and other areas, such as probate, criminal, cross-border, and commercial matters with an insolvency element. Samuel’s practice ranges from County Court claims to appeals in the Privy Council. Regardless of the value or complexity, he brings his innovative and careful approach to every case. He remains on the Attorney General’s Regional C Panel. He primarily acts for HMRC and the Secretary of State in director disqualification matters in that capacity. Alongside Samuel’s practice, he edits the chapters on director disqualification for Tolley’s Insolvency Law Services. He has also contributed to Corporate Rescue and Insolvency, and regularly provides LexisPSL case commentary on insolvency matters.

Seamus Woods

Seamus has a broad commercial chancery practice with a particular focus on chambers’ areas of expertise in company, insolvency and commercial law. He undertakes both litigation and advisory work and accepts instructions on a led and unled basis. He regularly appears in the High Court and County Courts and has recent, successful experience as junior counsel in a large High Court commercial trial. Prior to joining chambers, Seamus practised in New Zealand, where he was admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor in 2013. Seamus appeared frequently and mostly unled in numerous criminal, public/regulatory and civil law cases (including trials with and without a jury) in New Zealand’s District Court, High Court and Court of Appeal. He worked across a wide spectrum of legal areas, including for governmental and commercial clients. He was also a judicial assistant at the Court of Appeal. After joining chambers, Seamus also spent six months on secondment in the Financial Institutions Disputes Group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and in the Corporate/M&A team at Slaughter and May. Seamus graduated first in his year in law from the University of Canterbury and holds a first class Master of Law from the University of Cambridge. He was President of the Canterbury and New Zealand law students’ associations and served on the New Zealand Council of Legal Education for three years.

Stephen Horan

Stephen’s main area of practice is company law and related matters of corporate finance. His work involves a range of advisory matters, court-sanctioned Companies Act 2006 and FSMA 2000 applications and litigious work. He has a particular focus on takeovers and mergers (including cross-border mergers), schemes of arrangement, reductions of capital and reorganisations, and Part VII FSMA transfer schemes. Before becoming a barrister, Stephen had extensive experience as a solicitor at major City firms in public and private mergers and acquisitions (both domestic and cross-border), corporate law, acquisition financing and infrastructure.

Tom Hall

Tom is developing a busy commercial, company and insolvency law practice. He regularly appears unled in the Insolvency and Companies Court in a range of corporate matters. Tom’s recent led work has included: – Advising the joint provisional liquidators of a substantial Bermudian financial services group. – Advising on a challenge to a multi-billion pound overseas takeover scheme. – A successful application for service out of the jurisdiction of a substantial insolvency claim. – Drafting rule changes to reform the governance of a major cricket club. Following his pupillage, Tom undertook a four-month secondment at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was the lead associate on two successful applications: – Re West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited [2022] BCC 524, a novel members’ scheme of arrangement of a Bermudian company. – Re Caversham Finance Limited [2022] BCC 876, an application concerning procedural defects in the administration extensions of companies in the BrightHouse group.