Tom Smith KC
South SquareBarristers at South Square are often instructed by magic circle law firms in high-stakes banking and financial litigation, as well as advisory work and disputes involving mis-selling, derivatives and structured finance. Tom Smith KC has appeared on a number of High Court and Court of Appeal decisions, and represented Avanti Communications/FTI in Avanti Communications where Smith acted on an application for directions relating to security given for bank lending to a satellite communications company. Barry Isaacs KC has appeared on high-profile banking and finance cases both domestically and in offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, while Felicity Toube KC regularly appears in cases within the Cayman Islands, BVI, Bermuda and the ADGM. Georgina Peters is well regarded and considered the ‘complete package and a go-to for a wide variety of finance related situations.’ Adam Al-Attar KC was made a silk earlier this year.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Excellent clerking team eg. Dylan Playfoot.'
- 'The clerks are excellent and they are highly responsive and professional. I thought Lewis Madle was particularly outstanding.'
- 'The clerks at South Square provide an excellent service.'
- 'South Square is unquestionably the top chambers for restructuring and insolvency, with a strong banking and finance practice, including incredible strength in depth.'
- 'I've always felt well looked after by the set, who care not only about their barristers but about their instructing solicitors, harnessing and deepening relationships.'
Silks
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
David Allison KC
South Square ‘David always provides absolutely top notch, clear and detailed advice, always well considered, thorough and commercial. He is the top barrister in his areas.’
Richard Fisher KC
South Square ‘Very intelligent and strong grasp of the key issues and evidential points. Excellent client care and communication skills. Confident on his feet making submissions to appeal judges.'
Jeremy Goldring KC
South Square ‘Jeremy is hugely experienced in banking and finance cases. His legal analysis, written advocacy and strategy are excellent and his measured presentation is persuasive.’
Daniel Bayfield KC
South Square ‘Daniel is excellent and is the obvious go-to KC for investment bank insolvencies and schemes of arrangement with anything unusual or difficult about them. He is an excellent advocate and can deal with whatever is thrown at him.’
Felicity Toube KC
South Square
Stephen Robins KC
South Square ‘Stephen is a fantastic lawyer – he is extremely knowledgeable, user-friendly, and also creative. He can think across different areas in order to arrive at solutions for clients.’
Mark Phillips KC
South Square
David Alexander KC
South Square2024 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Adam Al Attar KC
South Square ‘Adam is the the most intelligent barrister and a number 1 point of call for any financial services insolvencies. Adam is always well respected by the courts and is masterful in his ability to guide judges through very complex areas of law.’
Juniors
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Georgina Peters
South Square ‘Georgina is the complete package and a go-to for a wide variety of finance related situations. She is a confident and persuasive advocate and her advice is always well-considered. She is a delight to work with.’
William Willson
South Square ‘William has all the qualities of a junior silk, and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a KC. His advocacy is persuasive and he makes a real connection with judges. He is thorough and clever on technical issues, but also has a real ability to distil that and to be commercial and filter his advice through that lens, which clients find invaluable.’