South Square

The set: South Square is the pre-eminent chambers for restructuring and insolvency law in jurisdictions around the globe. Our world-leading reputation in this area is the bedrock upon which our wider commercial practice is built.

In addition to the recognised expertise of our members, our clients appreciate our modern, agile and user-friendly practice and the excellent support from our clerking team. Our Silks and juniors are approachable and empathetic, offering the right approach and expertise for each client and every matter.

What separates South Square from other commercial sets?

From advisory to litigation, from London and the rest of England and Wales, to Hong Kong, the BVI, and the Cayman Islands, you will find us acting on the largest and most complex restructuring and insolvency matters.

Our barristers are globally renowned experts, regularly instructed by the broadest range of law firms, from the Magic Circle to leading offshore and renowned regional law firms. We regularly act in many of the most important and high-profile disputes before the courts and tribunals domestically and internationally.

We have unparalleled breadth and depth in our insolvency and restructuring practice and we also have real strength in the associated areas of banking and finance litigation, civil fraud, commercial litigation, arbitration and company law.

Our insolvency and restructuring expertise hones the core skills we deploy for finance law in all its facets.

We are a diverse, supportive team that cares deeply about securing the best possible outcomes for our clients, with whom we develop enduring and close working relationships. They appreciate our barristers’ technical brilliance, our ability to provide them with practical and commercial solutions, and our accessible, can-do clerking service.

Types of work undertaken
Restructuring and insolvency:

In the world of restructuring and insolvency, South Square stands unsurpassed, in a league of its own. It is widely acknowledged that no other set can compete in terms of expertise and experience.

Domestic and International Insolvency and Restructuring

Our barristers have been the key advisors and advocates in all the major insolvency and restructuring matters of recent years, both domestically and internationally.

That is because they are the experts for insolvency litigation and non-contentious restructuring, with the expertise and ability to deal with all insolvency related legal issues arising out of the financial difficulties of companies, banks, public bodies, partnerships, associations and individuals.

The matters we act on range from the most high-profile cases that make the headlines of the financial news and move the dial of entire sectors and markets, to the mid-market restructuring and insolvency cases that require the expert guiding hands of our barristers.

Personal Bankruptcy
And our work is not limited to corporate insolvency. Many members are involved in high profile and complex personal insolvency cases.

Cross Border Insolvency and Restructuring
Our members act and advise on international and cross border cases in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Dubai, and Hong Kong as well as appearing before the domestic courts of London and the English and Welsh regions.

Regardless of the size of the matter, jurisdiction or the budget, there is always a highly experienced South Square silk or junior ready to deploy their expertise, rigour and tenacity.

Banking and finance:

Who do the biggest names in the world of banking and finance turn to for advice?
None other than our silks and junior barristers, who are some of the country’s (and indeed the world’s) leading experts in banking and financial litigation – especially when matters cross over with our set’s pre-eminence in the restructuring and insolvency space.

South Square’s reputation in this core practice area is formidable, as reflected in our august client list of national public bodies including the Bank of England and the FCA, major banks and financial institutions, and top-tier law firms.

International and cross border banking and finance litigation
Whether representing South Square’s clients in the Commercial Court, Chancery Division or in overseas courts, our members bring their extensive experience of banking and financial litigation to bear on the sorts of high-profile and high-value disputes that have the power to move the market and shape the future of the sector for years and decades to come.

Leading cases in banking and finance
The first major test case for alleged LIBOR manipulation (Graiseley), the high-value offshore litigation arising from the fallout of the Madoff fraud (Primeo), the landmark bank charges test case (OFT v Abbey National) – you will find our silks and juniors on the front line when it comes to making legal history and setting new precedents in the banking and finance sector, both in the UK and abroad.

Mid Market Banking and Finance
That’s not to say that every case we act on has the potential to be featured on Bloomberg or the front page of the Financial Times: our members are also involved in many mid-market banking and finance litigation cases in London and the English and Welsh regions. This gives us real strength and depth in this market, and means we have an expert barrister to suit different requirements and budgets.

Advisory and non-contentious work
And, in addition to being world-class litigators in the sphere of banking and finance, we also excel as advisors to our clients in this sector. Our members are routinely sought out for their non-contentious and pre-action advice by some of the biggest and most familiar names in the sector, who base their commercial decision on our barristers’ expert opinion.

Commercial litigation:

Market leading legal expertise for your peace of mind
When embarking on complex, high-stakes commercial litigation, you need to know that you are working with the very brightest and best legal minds. The South Square brand gives you that reassurance in abundance.

Our intellectually rigorous, commercially astute, and highly experienced barristers lead the market in all the key areas of commercial litigation. These include banking and finance disputes, fraud and asset recovery, security enforcement disputes, shareholder disputes and commercial arbitrations.

From leading roles in litigating some of the most high-profile international cases in recent years – including that of the “largest Ponzi scheme the world has ever seen”, which also involved the biggest trial in the history of the Cayman Islands – to acting in cases of mid-market commercial litigation before the UK courts: our team of silks and juniors has the breadth and depth of experience to handle any matter with the consummate professionalism, subject-matter expertise and assurance that you would expect from a world-class set.

Company:

“A leading set for company law” – Chambers and Partners

South Square has won ‘Company and Insolvency Set of the Year’ at the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards more times than any other set.

Our barristers are among the leading experts in company law and are experienced in litigation arising out of shareholders’ disputes, derivative proceedings and claims relating to directors’ duties.

Domestic Company Law Disputes
Members of the South Square team have played a major role in many high-profile cases in recent years, including Smithton v Naggar (directors’ duties), McKillen v Barclays (unfair prejudice) and Jackson v Dear (derivative proceedings).

Offshore Company Disputes
In the offshore area, South Square barristers have been involved in many of the leading company law cases including China Shanshui (derivative actions), Primeo/Herald (redemption claims and rectification), and HQP/Direct Lending (shareholder misrepresentation claims).

Schemes of Arrangement
The expertise of our silks and juniors also encompasses schemes of arrangement – as reflected by their involvement in nearly all the recent noteworthy cases of creditor schemes, including Apcoa, Magyar Telecom, Vietnam Shipbuilding, ColourOz, Noble Group, DTEK, Rodenstock, and PrimaCom.

We handle all other aspects of company law . This includes reductions of capital, shareholders’ agreements, joint venture agreements and technical issues of statutory interpretation arising under the Companies Act 2006 and other statutes.

South Square – Company Law Expertise
Members of South Square have authored the leading textbook on directors’ duties, Company Directors: Duties, Liabilities and Remedies, and are key contributors to the definitive guide to this practice area, Gore Browne on Companies.

Civil fraud:

High-profile fraud litigation often follows any major corporate incident or collapse. And, thanks to our world-class reputation in the insolvency industry, we are the set that clients turn to in such cases.

Our highly experienced barristers are frequently instructed when it comes to fraud litigation, including the obtaining of freezing orders, proprietary injunctions, search orders, Norwich Pharmacal relief and other information-gathering and asset recovery relief.

International and Offshore Fraud
Much of this work has an international dimension, and South Square’s barristers regularly act in major fraud cases before the courts in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar.

Domestic Fraud
We are also instructed on many domestic cases of civil fraud. Our silks and juniors routinely bring their expertise to bear in mid-market fraud litigation before the London and regional courts.

International and offshore:

The set and our members are consistently ranked in the legal directories for this specialism: “A ‘go-to set for anything complex’, South Square excels in offshore insolvency cases, including some of the biggest matters involving heavyweight allegations of fraud” (Legal 500); “South Square offers great capability across a range of areas, with particular strength in offshore insolvency matters …Members are frequently instructed across the range of both traditional and emerging offshore jurisdictions” (Chambers and Partners).

These recommendations reflect South Square’s extensive experience and presence in the Caribbean and other offshore jurisdictions. During 2019, prior to the pandemic, members spent 198 days working in Cayman alone, and since then have continued to appear in offshore courts remotely.

South Square’s barristers are involved in the most complex claims brought in the common law world. These include Primeo v HSBC, the leading case on the duties of administrators and custodians of offshore funds, in respect to which the Privy Council heard two appeals in 2021, and AHAB v Saad which involved the longest appeal heard in the Cayman Islands, which was dismissed by the Cayman Court of Appeal in December 2021. Members are also involved in the litigation relating to the Port Fund.

Members regularly advise and act in the restructuring and liquidations of offshore companies, such as the fall out of the Abraaj Group (the world’s largest private equity investment firm in emerging markets); the recent just and equitable petition against MedImpact Arabia Limited; and the scheme of arrangement of Luckin Coffee (the largest coffee chain in China). Our barristers also continue to be involved in appraisal actions in Cayman, recent examples include Ehi Car Services Limited and 58.com.

Financial services: South Square undertakes a broad range financial services work, including conduct of business rules, client money, payment services, insurance regulation, derivatives, security issues and financial collateral arrangements. Prominent examples of financial services insolvencies have included SVS, Beaufort, Lehman Brothers and MF Global.

Sport: South Square barristers have a long track-record of appearing in high-profile sports law cases. These cases involve acting for numerous sporting bodies (including UEFA,  the FA, the Premier League, the English Football League and the England and Wales Cricket Board) and teams (including the McLaren motor racing team and Arsenal FC). In recent years South Square barristers have acted in a number of case concerning the application of financial fair play rules to football clubs, including UEFA v MCFC, EFL v Sheffield Wednesday FC and EFL v Derby County FC.