South Square grows its insolvency practice with two new joiners

Oliver joins from Gatehouse Chambers, where he has been since 2018; Jon joins from New Square Chambers, where he has spent the last eight years. 

Oliver is a commercial barrister specialising in insolvency, civil fraud and asset recovery, and cases relating to companies, joint ventures and trusts. He is recommended for insolvency in The Legal 500.

He has particular expertise in cases involving allegations of wrongdoing and dishonesty by directors, trustees and other fiduciaries, as well as high-value, international shareholder disputes. He regularly acts for office-holders, companies and individuals.

An experienced advocate, Oliver appears regularly in the High Court and the Court of Appeal on his own account and as part of large legal teams. He recently appeared as a junior in two complex commercial appeals in the Court of Appeal: LA Micro Group (UK) Ltd v LA Micro Group, Inc [2023] EWCA Civ 214 and Floreat Investment Management Ltd v Churchill [2023] EWCA Civ 440.

Last year, he was appointed as a member of the Insolvency Rules Committee and has recently been involved in reviewing new special administration rules for the nuclear sector.

Jon is a commercial chancery practitioner who specialises in insolvency and company matters. He regularly acts in both corporate and personal insolvency matters and has particular expertise in breach of duty/misfeasance claims, wrongful and fraudulent trading, ultra vires distributions and antecedent transaction claims.

His recent reported insolvency decisions include Lloyds British Testing Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] EWHC 567 (Ch), Mitchell v Al Jaber [2023] EWHC 1239 (Ch) and Re Fastfit Station Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] EWHC 496 (Ch).

In addition to his work on insolvency matters, Jon regularly acts in and advises on commercial disputes. He also has a company law practice and has particular expertise in relation to petitions brought pursuant to section 994 of the Companies Act 2006.

Our Head of Chambers, Tom Smith KC, said: “It’s great news that Oliver and Jon are joining Chambers. They both have fantastic insolvency practices and strong relationships with well-established and highly respected solicitors’ firms – both will strengthen our insolvency offering and broaden our client base.”

Oliver commented: “I’m really excited to be joining South Square. It has a track record of being involved in complex insolvency cases, and I’m looking forward to applying my expertise to those cases and much more.”

Jon said: “South Square is the leading insolvency set in the UK, and I am very excited about moving there. It’s a natural next step for me, and I’m looking forward to being involved in the various complex cases that South Square leads on.”