South Square
‘David is extremely clear-minded in his advice, and a masterful advocate for his clients.’
South Square is perhaps best known for insolvency and restructuring work in the corporate field, but members are frequently involved in high-value directors duties cases and other matters concerning the intricacies of company law, including having status of ‘the go-to set for offshore insolvency work’ with ’a strong company practice, including incredible strength in depth’. David Alexander KC is currently acting for Incredible Power in a high-value shareholder litigation concerning claims of unfair prejudice, just and equitable winding-up, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. David Allison KC’s strong company law practice saw him lead the counsel team for Nostrum Oil and Gas plc in a matter that raises novel issues concerning the impact of sanctions arising from the war in Ukraine. William Willson is a highly regarded senior-junior commercial Chancery practitioner.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks at South Square provide an excellent service.'
- 'Good sensible clerking with reasonable fees. Chris Filby is very helpful and responsive and no nonsense or exaggerated brief fees that need to be heavily negotiated.'
- 'The clerks at South Square are excellent. They are highly professional, yet accommodating to commercial needs and practicalities. They are a pleasure to work with. Of particular note are Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta.'
- 'Without a doubt my favourite clerks room. Pragmatic, commercial, reasonable, friendly, responsive, flexible. Everything that you could wish for. Dylan Playfoot and Marco Malatesta stand out but all are excellent.'
- 'Clerks are fast and helpfully reactive. One can be open with them about the client's needs and will be dealt with effectively and professionally.'
‘It is the go-to set for offshore insolvency work.'
- 'South Square is unquestionably the top chambers for restructuring and insolvency, with a strong company practice, including incredible strength in depth.'
- 'There are some truly excellent juniors coming up through the ranks and still several Silks at the top of their game.'
- 'They would always be my first choice on any matter touching on insolvency and increasingly my go-to set for commercial or finance litigation too.'
'I haven't come across a barrister from there who wasn't at the top of their game.'
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.
South Square
‘Barry is exceptionally thorough in his preparation, his written advocacy is clear, direct and appropriately concise, and his oral advocacy is always perfectly measured.’
South Square
‘Excellent responsiveness and technically amazing, he has a brilliant advocacy style, reads the court well and is highly persuasive.’
South Square
‘David is just excellent, very responsive, positive, clever and calm, the judges love him and he is a client favourite.’
South Square
‘Felicity is an absolutely fantastic advocate who brings a cool head and a laser-sharp focus to her practice, and is able to distil complex issues and really get to their core.’
South Square
‘Mark is thoughtful, considered and always able to back up with advice with authority, and he holds the court's attention well.’
South Square
‘Daniel is one of the stars of the insolvency Bar, excellent on his feet and able to deal with difficult points when they arise.’
2022 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.
South Square
‘Intellectually at top of the game, he is a pleasure to watch on his feet, delivering legal arguments in his quietly unassuming but assured and persuasive manner.’
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.
South Square
‘William is a great operator – he has the confidence and skills of a KC, and a great commercial sense without compromising his pure legal knowledge.’