Insolvency & Restructuring
We are the acknowledged leaders in these two areas. Our barristers have been key figures in all the major insolvency and restructuring matters of recent years, whether in litigation or non-contentious restructuring, and deal with all insolvency related legal issues whether arising out of the financial difficulties of companies, banks, public bodies, partnerships, associations, or individuals (living or deceased).
Among the most recent and significant cases our Members have acted in are all the leading Restructuring Plan and Scheme cases (including Virgin Active, Gate Gourmet, Amigo Loans, Deep Ocean, Codere, Matalan, Swissport, Pizza Express, DTEK Energy, Caffé Nero, NCP; Abraaj) all the leading CVA cases (including New Look and Regis), cases relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (including Carluccios, Intu, and Debenhams), the recent Special Manager applications (including British Steel and Carillion), proceedings arising out of multiple corporate collapses (including BHS, on which members of Chambers also advised the UK Government), cases relating to the severely impacted airline industry (including Virgin Atlantic, Flybe and Malaysian Airlines), NMC (involving the first set of administrations in the ADGM), PwC v Saad (assistance of foreign liquidators), Irving Picard v Primeo (assistance of foreign liquidators), Re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (the “Waterfall Applications”), Bloom v Pensions Regulator (provable debts, administration expenses), Landsbanki v Heritable (Icelandic credit institutions, set-off), Belmont Park Investments v BNY Corporate Trustee Services (anti-deprivation principle), HMRC v Football League Ltd (challenge to the “football creditors rule”) , Re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (client money).
High-value restructurings include APCOA Parking, Stemcor and The Co-operative Bank.
Members of Chambers continue to be involved in large ongoing corporate insolvencies and restructurings, such as Greensill, NMC, Luckin Coffee, Evergrande and Lehman Brothers, as well as high profile bankruptcies and personal insolvency cases, such as Re Boris Becker, Gertner and Hood.
Our reputation in insolvency and restructuring is reflected in the prominent role that members play in these fields in other jurisdictions, particularly the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Dubai and Hong Kong. Our Members regularly appear in and advise on cases in these jurisdictions, and also act as legal experts when required.
Our barristers also write and edit many of the leading books on insolvency and restructuring, including our longest running textbook Muir Hunter on Personal Insolvency (Briggs and Tribe, Sweet & Maxwell), Butterworths Insolvency Law Handbook (23rd ed 2021, Davis and Haywood, Butterworths LexisNexis), Cross-Border Insolvency (Sheldon, Bloomsbury); The European Insolvency Regulation (Moss, Isaacs and Fletcher, OUP); The Law of Administrators and Receivers of Companies (Lightman & Moss, Sweet & Maxwell) and Corporate Administrations and Rescue Procedures (Trower, Goodison, Abraham and Shaw, Bloomsbury). Members also contribute to Halsbury’s Laws and Totty & Moss on Insolvency.
South Square was voted Company/Insolvency set of the year 2020 by Chambers UK Bar Awards.
'In a league of its own for insolvency law'Legal 500

Our barristers
The following members of South Square specialise in Insolvency & Restructuring:- Christopher Brougham QC
- Richard Hacker QC
- Mark Phillips QC
- Martin Pascoe QC
- Fidelis Oditah QC
- David Alexander QC
- Glen Davis QC
- Barry Isaacs QC
- Felicity Toube QC
- Mark Arnold QC
- Jeremy Goldring QC
- David Allison QC
- Tom Smith QC
- Aidan Casey QC
- Daniel Bayfield QC
- Richard Fisher QC
- Stephen Robins QC
- John Briggs
- Adam Goodison
- Hilary Stonefrost
- Lloyd Tamlyn
- Marcus Haywood
- Hannah Thornley
- Clara Johnson
- William Willson
- Georgina Peters
- Adam Al-Attar
- Henry Phillips
- Charlotte Cooke
- Matthew Abraham
- Toby Brown
- Robert Amey
- Andrew Shaw
- Ryan Perkins
- Dr Riz Mokal
- Madeleine Jones
- Edoardo Lupi
- Roseanna Darcy
- Stefanie Wilkins
- Lottie Pyper
- Daniel Judd
- Jamil Mustafa
- Paul Fradley
- Peter Burgess
- Annabelle Wang