QC Surgery: Insolvency

Hanh is a dual-qualified lawyer (Australia/England & Wales) and advises on both contentious and non-contentious insolvency matters. She advises insolvency practitioners and other corporate and individual clients in all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency law providing advisory, transactional and contentious advice.

On the non-contentious side, Hanh regularly advises office holders on the sale of the insolvent company’s business and assets as well as also advising buyers of distressed businesses. On the contentious side, she has significant experience dealing with contentious matters including antecedent recovery actions in both personal and corporate insolvencies.

Hanh is admitted to practise in England and Wales and in New South Wales (Australia).

I am an insolvency practitioner with 12 years’ experience of dealing with complex, contentious assignments; with an emphasis on fraud investigation, identification of assets, tracing exercises, enforcement of judgments and recovery of assets for those who have suffered financial loss or have a claim against another party.

I focus on assisting beneficiaries, trustees and representatives in matrimonial, family, trust and probate disputes. I work to find strategies that ensure the most appropriate action is taken in order to achieve maximum recovery. I use the Insolvency Act, along with other civil legislation, such as the use of liquidations, bankruptcies and court appointed receiverships, as a tool to assist with investigation, asset tracing and recovery processes.

Tal’s practice is principally focussed on contentious insolvency and asset recovery work, often involving fraud, but it also includes a number of significant board advisory and directors' duties engagements.

Early in her career she spent time working in industry for a market leading asset recovery team which gives her an unique understanding of how such practices operate and enables her to better meet clients’ requirements.

Rachael is Global Senior Partner at Ogier, based in the Cayman Islands Dispute Resolution team. She has particular expertise in contentious trust matters, fund disputes and restructuring and insolvency and is a part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Restructuring and Corporate Recovery team. Her practice regularly involves fraud and international asset tracing claims. Rachael was named Offshore Litigator of the Year at the Citywealth IFC Awards 2020. Rachael is also part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Private Equity team. She specialises in PE fund disputes, and has acted as an expert in international arbitration proceedings concerning Cayman PE structures.

I have a broad client practice, comprising restructuring, insolvency and related expert witness matters. These are usually complex, cross-border and high value in nature. I have worked on some of the highest profile assignments in the market over recent years and have particular experience of the financial services and shipping sectors.

Geoff Carton-Kelly is a partner and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner at FRP  in London. He has more than 35 years’ experience, and has been taking appointments since 1998. More recently his primary focus has been on contentious insolvency, international recovery projects, real estate, and charities. He advises boards and stakeholders, claimants, and government agencies on a range of asset tracing and recovery solutions including issuing proceedings against third parties in multiple jurisdictions.

Ranked as a Next Generation Partner in Civil Fraud and Commercial Litigation by The Legal 500, Natalie is a partner specialising in complex multi-jurisdictional commercial litigation including banking and financial services litigation, insolvency, fraud and asset recovery.  She is a “partner who is one to watch”, “personable, professional and user friendly, great to work with, always on top of the detail”. Natalie has expertise in litigation and arbitration involving banking and financial services, insolvency, trust, contractual, partnership, shareholder and commercial disputes.  She has a particular specialism in fraud and asset recovery and has acted on some high profile Russian and CIS cases.  She has worked on multi-jurisdictional asset tracing cases, including obtaining extensive Worldwide Freezing, Search, Disclosure and Passport Surrender Orders in one of Russia’s biggest ever alleged bank frauds.

Simon is a Jersey advocate and specialises in high-value commercial and trust litigation, enforcement and asset tracing, and cross-border insolvency matters. He has been praised for his strong technical skills, attention to detail and for having a 'real world' approach to the law, and is regularly instructed by large onshore firms in complex cross-jurisdictional matters with a Jersey element. Simon has been involved in some of the Island's largest and most complex cases, most recently in the Privy Council in the Z Trusts saga.

David Jones is an advocate and head of the restructuring and insolvency team at Carey Olsen in Guernsey. He advises on complex restructurings and formal insolvencies in contentious, non-contentious and multi-jurisdictional matters.  He has been involved in many of the largest insolvencies involving Guernsey entities and global retailers. He is able to assist lenders in respect of the taking and enforcement of all forms of security. David regularly advises the boards of distressed entities and has extensive experience acting for office holders on all aspects of their appointments including the tracing and recovery of assets.

David is a member of the Insolvency Lawyers Association and R3 and sits on the young members Committee of INSOL International. David lectures on INSOL's Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency and is part of the working group tasked with updating and revising Guernsey's insolvency laws. He has also been appointed as a member of Guernsey's first ever Insolvency Rules Committee (IRC).

Lesley Anderson QC is a senior silk who practises in all aspects of chancery and commercial disputes especially those involving companies, corporate and personal insolvency, professional negligence and commercial property.

Lesley has been consistently ranked in Chambers & Partners as a Bank 1 silk (Northern) in six areas: chancery, commercial dispute resolution; restructuring/insolvency; professional negligence; partnership and real estate litigation and as a leading silk by the Legal 500 in the areas of chancery, probate and tax; commercial litigation; company and insolvency; professional negligence and property and construction.

For 2020, 2021 and 2022 she has been named by Chambers & Partners as one of only a handful “Stars at the Bar”.

Andrew has an established commercial disputes practice, with a core of trial advocacy before courts and tribunals across the globe.

He has strong multi-jurisdictional connections, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, the Caribbean and within the wider offshore community.

He has been recommended in the legal directories in the following areas: commercial litigation, banking & finance, civil fraud, company & partnership and commercial chancery. Andrew also specialises in urgent injunctive relief, including freezing, search orders and the appointment of provisional liquidators.

Andrew appears before all courts and tribunals in England and Wales, including the courts and lists of the Business and Property Courts, including the Commercial and Admiralty Courts, Circuit Commercial Courts, the Technology and Construction Court, the Financial List, and the Company and Insolvency List, together with the balance of the Queen’s Bench Division, the Administrative Court and the higher Appellate Courts.

Andrew also appears as Counsel at international and domestic arbitrations (including LCIA, ICC, SIAC, DIAC, ICSID, under UNCITRAL rules and ad hoc).

Andrew takes appointments as arbitrator.

Andrew has a breadth of expertise across a range of sectors and services, including aviation, banking and finance, construction and engineering, energy and natural resources, fraud and asset tracing, international trade, joint ventures, professional liability and risk, structured products and derivatives and TMT.

Richard was called to the Bar in 2000 and has a commercial dispute focused practice with a particular specialism in restructuring and insolvency, banking, fraud and financial products litigation. He regularly acts in relation to multi-jurisdictional and complex commercial disputes, and is a member of the BVI bar.

In recent years Richard has appeared in various substantial and high-profile cases in England at all levels of tribunal up to the Supreme Court, including almost all of the disputes arising out of the Lehman Brothers insolvency (including the Waterfall I, II and LBHI2 proceedings). He has acted in relation to many of the major UK and international insolvencies and restructurings (including Arcadia, House of Fraser, Debenhams, International Bank of Azerbaijan, Noble Group, Codere SA), and has been involved in several long commercial trials in the UK and Cayman Islands.

Richard was regularly recommended by the legal directories as one of the leading juniors in the city in numerous practice areas, and is now recommended as leading counsel in the following areas: commercial/chancery litigation; banking and finance; fraud (civil); offshore; insolvency and restructuring.

Recent directory comments have included: “Always very, very sound in his judgement, he is bright, quick on his feet, and someone who has the ability to deal with judges’ questions in a very assured manner”, “He has outstanding knowledge and provides concise advice”, “His quick grasp of complex factual and legal issues and provision of clear advice has been nothing short of exceptional. His appointment as Queen’s Counsel is testament to his outstanding knowledge and abilities”, “On our top list when it comes to complex multi-jurisdictional insolvency matters”, and “he is not just smart, he is also really proactive and can anticipate his clients’ needs in a really commercial way.”

Joseph Curl specialises in insolvency litigation. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2021.

Immediately prior to taking silk, he was ranked Band 1 as a junior for Restructuring and Insolvency by Chambers and Partners 2021. He is described in Chambers and Partners 2022 as:

“The go-to guy for heavyweight litigation – he’s very down to earth, pragmatic and very bright, but he’s also commercially astute.” “He is friendly, easy to deal with, robust and really understands the client’s wants and concerns.”

Legal 500 2022 says: “He’s a phenomenon – and bound for high judicial office if he wants it.”

Joseph is one of the General Editors (with Louis Doyle QC and Professor Andrew Keay) of Doyle, Keay and Curl: Annotated Insolvency Legislation 2022, now in its 10th edition published in October 2021.

He was Company / Insolvency Junior of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2019.

James Bailey has developed a successful practice focused on commercial chancery, civil fraud, international arbitration, insolvency and company matters.

Regarded as “approachable, very thorough and conscientious”, James is said to have “an exceptional eye for detail” (The Legal 500). He is also noted for his advocacy: “Strategically strong and pragmatic”, “the impressive James Bailey” (The Legal 500) is praised for his “really attractive style in court” (Chambers UK Bar).

Matthew has an impressive commercial practice with a particular specialism in insolvency and company law. He is also experienced in commercial fraud and asset tracing, and partnership and professional liability, allowing him to provide his clients with a wide commercial law service covering a range of commercial issues and disputes.

He is well respected by his peers, instructing solicitors, lay clients and judges, for his abilities on paper and in court, and his common sense, commercial approach to disputes. Matthew has been recommended consistently over a number of years by both Chambers UK Bar and The Legal 500 UK Bar. He is a regular contributor to Corporate Rescue and Insolvency as well as being a speaker at many seminars. In 2019, he was appointed as a Recorder of the County Court.

Gregory has a broad litigation and advisory practice encompassing company, insolvency, commercial Chancery and commercial work. He has appeared in a number of reported cases, covering a broad range of topics within these areas. He has extensive trial and appellate experience.

He both leads large counsel teams and acts as part of such teams. He has particular experience of international contractual and corporate disputes with either or both of a Russian and natural resources flavour. He has experience of gold mining, refining and trading disputes, oil drilling and trading disputes, and gas exploration matters. He has dealt with such matters in Court in England and in ICC, LCIA and ad hoc arbitrations. His cases have seen him involved in disputes over property in Moscow, Sochi and Siberia. He has been called ad hoc to the Bar of Bermuda.

Tony specialises in the fields of insolvency and restructuring, civil fraud, commercial litigation and company law. His work has a strong international element, and he has substantial experience of cross-border issues arising in connection with foreign insolvencies, pre-emptive relief, receiverships and other asset recovery tools.

Tony is ranked in the leading directories for civil fraud, company law, restructuring/insolvency, chancery commercial and offshore work, and was shortlisted for Insolvency/Company Junior Barrister of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2017. He is identified as (one of two) “most highly regarded” junior barristers for Restructuring and Insolvency in both the 2019 and 2020 editions of Who’s Who Legal.

Recent directories describe him as “A brilliant advocate who can find a pathway through very complex cases and can steer the judge to his way of thinking” (Chambers UK Bar 2020) and have said “Nothing gets past him: insofar as advocacy is concerned, he anticipates every possible argument and leaves nothing to chance” (The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020).

Tony is admitted to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, British Virgin Islands, and has been admitted to the bar (pro hac vice) in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Sarah is a commercially astute advocate with extensive experience of commercial chancery litigation in all courts.

She is praised for her technical knowledge, her attention to detail and her ingenuity in identifying practical, solutions for those who seek her advice. Her clients particularly value her responsiveness and her ability to work in a team under intense pressure.

Her particular specialisms are insolvency, commercial law, company law and shareholder disputes.

Paul joined 9 Stone Buildings in October 2018 on successful completion of his pupillage in chambers. He has a broad commercial and chancery practice and accepts instructions in all core areas of chambers’ practice.

Prior to pupillage, Paul worked in the restructuring and insolvency department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. During his first year of practice, Paul was seconded to the restructuring and insolvency Team at Fieldfisher LLP in London.

Faith has a commercial chancery practice, with particular emphasis on insolvency, property, and contentious probate. She acts almost exclusively as sole counsel and as such her advocacy experience is well beyond her level of call.

She is ranked as an ‘Up and Coming Junior‘ for Restructuring and Insolvency by Chambers and Partners 2022, who comments: “Faith has fantastic attention to detail, and is extremely user-friendly and a very clever advocate.” “She has incredibly sharp technical knowledge.” “Excellent – she keeps her cool on her feet and shows maturity beyond her years in difficult circumstances. She’s absolutely great.”

She is described in Legal 500 2022 as “an incredibly astute and confident barrister, able to quickly assimilate the detail of very complex issues and provide cogent and often innovative advice.”

Georgina’s practice focuses on banking and finance litigation, insolvency/restructuring and company law.  She is ranked in the legal directories (Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal) for Banking & Finance and Restructuring/Insolvency.

Georgina is recommended in the directories as: “exceptionally clever”; “incredibly quick and intelligent”; “excellent”; “supremely intelligent”; “highly focused and responsive”; “did an extraordinary job”; “accomplished”; “excellent technically”; “very confident”; “crisp in her thinking”; “a brilliant advocate”; “can persuade the most difficult of Judges”; “very commercial”; “very proactive”; “in big cases that are very paper-heavy and technical, she’ll get on top of the detail very quickly”; “produces very fine documents”; “very good at turning things around very quickly”; “prepared to roll her sleeves up”; “provides very commercial, useful advice”; “you can always be confident she is giving the client and the case everything she has”; “very thorough”;  “very eager”; “hard-working”; “always well prepared”; “very good with the clients”; “go-to senior junior”; “spots issues coming down the track”; “has a glowing future ahead of her”.

In the banking context, she is experienced in complex and high-value disputes concerning, in particular, ISDA-governed derivatives, as well as CMBS securitisation transactions and corporate bond issuances.  Her current or recent clients include: UBS, Deutsche Bank, Citibank, LBI hf, Goldman Sachs and an Arena Investors LP affiliate.

Georgina has also appeared in significant litigation arising out of a number of major bank and financial services company collapses, giving rise to previously untested conflict of laws issues.  These include the Supreme Court proceedings in Heritable Bank v Landsbanki and the Commercial Court dispute in LBI v Rabobank International, in relation to a debt of some €70m.

In the restructuring context, Georgina frequently acts for the company or advises on high-value schemes of arrangement (which include: Deutsche Annington, a rescheduling of some €4bn of debt; EnQuest plc, a rescheduling of over $700m of debt; Nyrstar, a restructuring of over €900m of debt; Hertz, a restructuring of over €730m of debt; PGS, a restructuring of over $1bn of debt).  She is noted in the legal directories for “impressing sources with her expert handling of schemes of arrangement”.

Her recent restructuring cases have tended to concern global companies operating in the oil and gas sector, including the Valaris group (US Chapter 11), Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc (US Chapter 11) and the PGS group (UK scheme).

In 2011, Georgina was seconded to the Financial Institutions Disputes Group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP for six months.

Georgina is a fluent French speaker, capable of functioning in a legal environment.  She has been instructed in several cases requiring legal French comprehension.  From 2004 to 2006, Georgina worked at the European Court of Justice, drafting complex legal documents in French, and at the leading French law firm JeantetAssociés.

Daniel practices in the fields of restructuring and insolvency, company law and commercial dispute resolution, including arbitration.

In both the insolvency and company law fields he is highly experienced in bringing and defending claims against directors, including claims for misfeasance / breach of duty, asset recovery cases and disqualification proceedings.  He regularly acts on claims against directors arising from participation in tax schemes and tax evasion.

His insolvency practice has a particular emphasis on cases with an international element, particularly offshore asset recovery cases.

In the company law field, he is frequently instructed on cases concerning minority shareholders’ rights and disputes over the control of companies (including petitions under section 994, just and equitable winding up and derivative actions).

He undertakes a broad range of commercial litigation, with experience of arbitrations under the LCIA, HKIAC and SCC Arbitration Rules.

He has particular experience advising and acting in cases engaging issues of compliance with FCA (and equivalent offshore regulators) requirements, including advising upon on collective investment schemes, claims management companies, debt management companies and the regulation of investor funds.

He is a member of the R3 Fraud Group Committee which makes recommendations for reform and helps R3 respond to government consultations on fraud issues.

Jessica specialises in commercial chancery litigation, with a particular focus on insolvency, property and commercial disputes. She is an experienced advocate who appears regularly in the High Court, and is frequently instructed in matters which are of a complex or urgent nature. Before coming to the Bar Jessica read Jurisprudence at Brasenose College, Oxford, and obtained an LLM in Corporate Law from University College London.

Maxim practises in all areas of modern chancery litigation, with a particular emphasis on the law of charities.  He is ranked as one of the leading juniors for charities by both Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500, and is described as having a “formidable” knowledge of charity law matters while also being “keen to understand the bigger picture”.  He acts for charities, individual trustees and beneficiaries, and has acted both for and against the Charity Commission and other regulators. 

In addition to his specialist charities practice, he has related expertise in insolvency and property litigation, in both of which he is again ranked as a leading junior by the Legal 500.  He is a member of the Charity Law Association and the Contentious Trusts Association (ConTrA). 

Henry is described in the directories as “extremely bright”, “easy to work with”, “highly responsive” and his “instincts for what a judge and court think about are very strong”. His practice focuses on commercial and banking litigation and insolvency / restructuring.

Henry has substantial experience in commercial and banking litigation and is used to working with large counsel and solicitor teams on multi-week trials and international arbitrations. In recent years, he has been instructed in numerous high-value (i.e. between £500m and £2bn) and high-profile disputes including the long-running conspiracy claim brought by Robert Tchenguiz against Grant Thornton, concerning the SFO’s investigation into the collapse of Kaputhing Bank. Henry’s current arbitration work includes acting in a circ. US$1.5bn ICC-administered arbitration seated in Hong Kong concerning the formation and operation of a Cayman Island private equity fund.

Henry is regularly instructed on securitisation transactions and has a particular interest and expertise in in the ISDA Master Agreement, which he advises on frequently having been instructed in three of the most significant recent cases (namely, LBF v Klaus Tschira Stiftung [2019] EWHC 278; Re Lehman Brothers International Europe [2016] EWHC 2417; Fondazione Enasarco v LBF [2015] EWHC 1307).

In the insolvency context, Henry has acted in many of the most complex insolvencies in recent years including Carillion and Lehman Brothers International Europe and in 2020 was instructed by the Bank of England in connection with a potential application under Part 2 of the Banking Act 2009. Henry’s insolvency work often has an international and cross-border dimension, and he used to receiving instructions from officeholders of companies in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

Katie Longstaff specialises in commercial chancery and general commercial litigation, with a particular focus on insolvency work.

She regularly appears as sole counsel in the High Court and appeared in the Supreme Court as second junior for the respondents in Regency Villas Title Ltd and others v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd and others [2018] UKSC 57. She acts for international and domestic clients across a broad range of sectors (including financial services and real estate) and is a contributing author to the Personal Insolvency volumes of Atkins.

Laurence Emmett QC is currently acting for Tradition Financial Services Ltd in relation to the claim by the liquidators of Bilta UK Ltd. He previously has extensive experience in civil fraud litigation, including in FM Capital Partners v Marino – in which, among other matters, Cockerill J provided a list of the elements of a claim in dishonest assistance which has been treated as definitive. More generally, his work has focused on the energy, pharmaceuticals and financial services industries.