David was Joint Head of Chambers at South Square between 2017 and 2022.
He has a predominantly litigation-based practice with a particular emphasis on company, commercial, banking, insolvency and restructuring, civil fraud and contentious trust work. He has appeared regularly in courts in England, including the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. David has also acted extensively in relation to international cases including in the Bahamas, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Jersey and Gibraltar.
Over the course of the near 35 years that David has been at the Bar (16 of which have been in silk) he has been instructed in relation to many of the major insolvencies that have taken place since the late 1980s, including BCCI, Maxwell, Parmalat, TXU, Madoff, Enron, Lehman, MF Global and Landsbanki.
A specialist and highly recommended trial lawyer David has appeared in many major, lengthy trials including in relation to the Maxwell saga, the KWELM litigation, New Gadget Shop and the Thyssen litigation in Bermuda. More recent significant trials include Smithson v Naggar (breach of duty/misrepresentation claim), LBI hf v Stanford (claim by bank for repayment), International Consolidated Minerals Limited, Moses v Fry (breach of duty claim against former administrators), Marrache & Co v Jyske Bank (dishonest assistance/knowing receipt claim in Gibraltar), Ma v Wong (unfair prejudice claim in BVI) and Ma v Incredible Power Ltd & Ors (breach of director’s duty, dishonest assistance and conspiracy claim in BVI).
The Leading Guides to the UK Bar have variously described David as “an astute and brilliant trial lawyer”, “a brilliant litigation strategist”, “a hard-hitting trial lawyer”, “the best cross-examiner in the business and “a formidable cross-examiner who prepares meticulously; he knows how to handle trials”. He is “widely acclaimed for his persuasive advocacy and strategic nous”. He “brings great experience, knowledge and judgment to every matter”. He is “a deep and experienced barrister with a robust and no-nonsense approach”.
The most recent Legal 500 for the Bar listed David as a Leading Silk for Offshore Work (“Very client friendly, very responsive, accessible and a team player. Well prepared for court advocacy and generally popular with judges”). He is also listed as a Leading Silk in Company (“responsive, down to earth, works well in a team, clients like him and easy to work with”), Commercial Litigation (“a wonderful barrister and what you want in a senior silk at the top of his game. He leads the team with authority and ease. He is a pleasure to deal with at all times”), Fraud; Civil (“Oral advocacy great – straight talking and clear. Gets on top of all the facts. Very effective cross-examiner”), Banking and Finance (“happy to roll his sleeves up and get stuck into the detail. He has a good sense of what arguments will play well with the judge”) and Insolvency (“Gets on top of all the facts. Very effective cross-examiner”).
Insolvency and Restructuring +
Banking and Finance +
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration +
Company +
Trusts and Property +
Contact
+44 (0)20 7696 9900 Email David Personal Assistant
“He is an astute and brilliant trial lawyer.”
Ranked in
Offshore, Restructuring/Insolvency
Offshore, Commercial Litigation, Company and Partnership and Insolvency.
![Brake & Anor v The Chedington Court Estate Ltd [2023] UKSC 29](https://southsquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Brake-Anor-scaled-e1728649908896.jpeg)
