William Trower QC

 

Contact details:

3-4 South Square, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5HP. 

Telephone +44 (0)20 7696 9900.  Fax +44 (0)20 7696 9911.  LDE 338 (Chancery Lane).
Email williamtrower@southsquare.com.  Web www.southsquare.com

Education:

MA (Oxon)

Dip Law (City)

 

Professional career:

Called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 1983

QC 2001

Called to the bars of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong for specific cases

Member of Insolvency Rules Committee (since 2000)

Member of ILA Council (since 2005)

Deputy High Court Judge: Chancery Division (since 2007)

 

Area of practice:

Corporate insolvency, with a particular specialism in insurance-related work.

Corporate administrations.

Auditor’s negligence in an insolvency context.

Banking.

Acted in many high profile insolvencies and reconstructions, such as BCCI (for the Government of Abu Dhabi), Polly Peck International plc (for the administrators), Maxwell (for Credit Suisse), Bermuda Fire & Marine (for the Bermudian liquidators), Barings (for some of the directors), Independent Insurance (for the provisional liquidators), TXU (for the administrators), HIH (for the English liquidators), T&N (for the EL Insurers) and EMLICO (for GE).

Advised and represented many London market insurers on the formulation and sanction of schemes of arrangement.

Acted in relation to the restructuring of several SIVs.

 

Reported cases include:

Dolphin Quays Developments Ltd v Mills [2008] All ER (D) 257 (Apr)  (Third party costs and receivers)

 

McGrath v. Riddell:  Re HIH Casualty & General Insurance Limited [2008] 1 WLR 852  (Cross border insolvency and remission of assets to foreign liquidator)

 

Re Metronet Rail BCV Ltd [2008] 2 All ER 75  (PPP administration and transfer scheme under Schedule 15 of the Greater London Authority Act)

 

Re Cheyne Finance plc [2008] 2 All ER 987  (meaning of unable to pay debts as they fall due)

 

Fairbriar plc v van Reyk  [2007] All ER (D) 468 (Oct)  (Ambit of compromise clause)

 

Re Leeds United Association Football Club; Fleming and others v Healy and others [2007] ICR 1688  (Employee claims and administration expenses)

 

Burmarsh v Walters [2007] All ER (D) 378 (Feb)  (Construction of Deed of Assignment – tax avoidance)

 

Re Cheyne Finance PLC [2007] All ER (D) 25 (Dec)  (Enforcement events under SIV security agreement)

 

Re T&N Limited and Others (No 3) [2007] 1 All ER 851 (Contingent claims and schemes of arrangement)

 

Re Trident Fashions plc (No 4) Exeter City Council v Bairstow and others (No 2) [2007] 4 All ER 437  (Rates and administration expenses)

 

Re T&N Limited [2006] 1 WLR 1728  (Contingent claims, schemes of arrangement and provability in a winding up)

 

Re DAP Holdings NV [2006] BCC 48  (Jurisdiction to sanction scheme of arrangement in respect of Dutch insurer)

 

Re Huddersfield Fine Worsteds Limited, Re Globe Worsted Limited [2006] 2BLCL 160 (Administration expenses)

 

In re Allders Department Stores Ltd [2005] ICR 867  (Administrators’ expenses)

 

In re British American Racing (Holdings) Ltd [2005] 2 BCLC 235  (Abuse of process and administration applications)

 

AES Barry v. TXU Europe Energy Trading Limited [2005] 2 BCLC 22  (Leave to commence proceedings against company in administration)

 

OT Computers v. First National Tricity Finance Ltd [2003] All ER (D) 118 (May)  (Purpose trusts)

 

Latreefers v. Hobson [2002] All ER (D) 375 (Jul)  (Service out of jurisdiction and wrongful trading)

 

New Cap Reinsurance Corp. v. HIH Casualty and General Insurance Ltd [2002] 2 BCLC 228 (Leave to proceed against insurer in liquidation)

 

Damon v. Widney PLC [2002] BPIR 465  (Voidable preferences)

 

Humberclyde Finance Group Ltd v. Hicks [2001] All ER (D) 202 (Nov) (Shareholder’s claim for reflective loss and estoppel)

 

In Re Banco Nacional de Cuba [2001] 1 WLR 2039  (State immunity and service of process)

 

PD Packaging v. Demaglass Holdings Ltd [2001] 2 BCLC 633  (Receivers and winding up petitions)

 

Balfron Trustees Ltd v. Peterson [2001] IRLR 758  (Partnership’s vicarious liability for the knowing assistance of an employee)

 

Optimum Solutions Ltd [2001] All ER (D) 333 (Feb)  (Provisional Liquidators and use of without prejudice material)

 

Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Cosmos Trading Corpn [2000] 1 BCLC 813  (Winding up of foreign company)

 

In re Galileo Group Limited [1999] Ch 100  (Private examinations and banking confidentiality)

 

Polly Peck International plc v. Henry [1999] 1 BCLC 407  (Administration and pensions)

 

BCCI (Overseas) Limited v. Price Waterhouse [1998] Ch 84  (Duties of confidentiality and the Banking Act)

 

Re Polly Peck International plc (No 2) [1998] 3 All ER 812  (Remedial constructive trusts and proceedings relating to title to foreign land)

 

Mitchell v. Carter, Re Buckingham International plc (No 2) [1998] 2 BCLC 369  (Cross border insolvency: attachment of foreign debts)

 

BCCI (Overseas) Limited v. Price Waterhouse [1997] 4 All ER 108  (Sovereign immunity)

 

Mitchell v. Carter, Re Buckingham International plc [1997] 1 BCLC 673  (Cross border insolvency: attachment of foreign debts)

 

Macmillan Inc v. Bishopsgate Investment Trust plc (No 3) [1996] 1 WLR 387  (Conflict of laws. Proper law of priority dispute in respect of foreign shares)

 

Macmillan Inc v. Bishopsgate Investment Trust plc [1995] 1 WLR 978  (Priority of title to foreign shares)

 

 

Publications:

Fletcher, Higham & Trower: The Law & Practice of Corporate Administrations (Butterworths 1994) and Corporate Administrations and Rescue Procedures (2nd edn Lexis Nexis 2004).

 

Member of Editorial Board of International Corporate Rescue (Kluwer Law)

 

Contributor to Montgomery and Ormerod on Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure (OUP: 2008)