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October 2008
We are delighted to announce that Sandy Shandro has joined 3-4 South Square. Sandy was for many years a partner in the very well-regarded Restructuring and Insolvency Group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and was global head of that group from 2005-2007 before spending one year as Dean of the Faculty of Laws at UCL. Sandy has been a prominent player in the UK and international restructuring and insolvency arena for many years, and has had important roles in a large number of recent cases, including the Eurotunnel restructuring, the administrations of the MG Rover group and the bankruptcies of Swissair and Air Canada. He is a member of the City of London Law Society Insolvency Law Committee, Co-Chair of the International Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute and a member of the editorial board of several leading specialist journals. Sandy has requalified as a barrister, and looks forward to developing his practice from a base at the UK’s leading set of restructuring and insolvency chambers.
September 2008
We are pleased to announce that at the Chambers and Partners Bar Awards on 25 September 2008, 3-4 South Square was awarded Insolvency/Corporate Restructuring Set of the Year and William Trower QC, Insolvency/Corporate Restructuring Silk of the Year.
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2 May 2008
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Marion Simmons QC. Over the 18 years for which Marion was at 3-4 South Square, she was a much loved and highly valued member of chambers. Her enthusiasm and dedication to her practice and her professional colleagues will be missed by us all.
May 2008
After 24 years as head of chambers Michael Crystal QC wishes to step down, and has done so with effect from 1 May 2008. However, as the senior QC in chambers, he will continue in practice full time, both in the UK and overseas, as a member of chambers.
January 2008
We are very pleased to welcome Georgina Peters as a full Member of Chambers following her successful completion of Pupillage.
October 2007
We are very pleased to welcome William Willson as a full Member of Chambers following his successful completion of Pupillage.
August 2007
Sweet & Maxwell´sFor full programme and booking, click here
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July 2007
Glen Davis has been elected one of the first Fellows of the Society for Computers and Law.
March 2007
The Insolvency Lawyers’ Association Annual Conference took place in Oxford on 2 March to 4 March 2007.
January 2007
In January 2007, the first case came before the Courts of The Dubai International Financial Centre ("DIFC"). The case concerned the capacity of a company incorporated in the DIFC; the powers of the directors of such a company; the conduct of company meetings under the DIFC laws; and the locus standi of minority shareholders to bring proceedings under the DIFC laws. David Allison appeared as Counsel to the company.
November 2006
16th November - Corporate Restructurings and Insolvencies:For full programme and booking, click here
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October 2006
We congratulate David Alexander, Antony Zacaroli and Stephen Atherton on their appointments as Queen’s Counsel. The swearing in ceremony takes place on Monday 16th October 2006.
We are delighted to announce that Richard Keen QC of the Scottish Bar has joined 3-4 South Square as an Associate Member.
5 October - "Current Issues in Insolvency 2006"
A one-day update on changes to legislation and their implications for practice.
3-4 South Square in association with Hawksmere.
Venue : Harrington Hall, 5-25 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JW.
Booking : www.hawksmere.co.uk or telephone : 0845 120 9602
June 2006
In June, the House of Lords decided that the prohibition on torture in international law did not justify an exception to state immunity so as to allow the national courts of the United Kingdom to assume civil jurisdiction over other States or the officials of other States for alleged acts of torture. The torture of Mr Jones and three other men by Saudi Arabian officials was alleged to have taken place whilst they were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in 2001. The House unanimously dismissed the appeal of Mr Jones in respect of the immunity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and allowed the appeal of the Kingdom by reversing the Court of Appeal on the immunity of the officials. Michael Crystal QC and Hannah Thornley acted for Mr Jones.
April 2006
Chambers is pleased to announce that a new book entitled EU Banking and Insurance Insolvency edited by Gabriel Moss QC and Professor Bob Wessels was published by Oxford University Press in March 2006. The work provides detailed analysis of the EU Directives of the Reorganisation and Winding-Up of Insurance Undertakings and Credit Institutions and the implementation of these Directives in the UE’s Member States. Contributors include Gabriel Moss QC, Professor Ian Fletcher, Tom Smith, Marcus Haywood and Cècile Dupoux.
March 2006
On 17 March 2006 at an induction ceremony at the National Building Museum, in Washington DC, Michael Crystal QC was made an International Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. The College includes US judges, academics and bankruptcy professionals in the public and private sectors and a number of International Fellows. Michael is the first practising English Barrister to be elected to the Fellowship. It is hoped this will be the beginning of a long and constructive relationship with the College.
February 2006
We are delighted to congratulate Robin Knowles QC on his appointment as CBE for services to the pro bono legal services.
December 2005
3-4 South Square is pleased to announce that Daniel Bayfield will be speaking at "Mealey’s Solvent Schemes of Arrangement Conference" on 2-3 February 2006 at The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, New York. Please visit http://www.mealeys.com/con_agendas/Solvent0206.html for full details including a link to the complete conference brochure.
November 2005
3-4 South Square is pleased to attend the annual dinner of the Insolvency Lawyers’ Association on Tuesday 15 November. Chambers shall be represented by Gabriel Moss QC, Richard Adkins QC, Mark Phillips QC, William Trower QC, Professor Ian Fletcher, David Marks, Hilary Stonefrost, Felicity Toube, Jeremy Goldring, Lucy Frazer, Daniel Bayfield, Richard Fisher, Stephen Robins and Paul Cooklin.
September 2005
The INSOL Europe Annual Congress takes place in Amsterdam this year from 29 September to 2 October. 3-4 South Square is pleased to be represented by Gabriel Moss QC (speaker), David Marks, Marcus Haywood, Paul Cooklin and Michael Killick.
June 2005
Important changes to the Insolvent Partnerships Regime
With effect from 1 July 2005, administrations of insolvent partnerships will follow a modified version of the regime under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Part III and Schedule 2 of the Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994 are amended by The Insolvent Partnerships (Amendment) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1516).
The members of an insolvent partnership will be able to appoint an administrator out of court, as will a holder of a qualifying agricultural floating charge.
For a partnership to enter administration, it will still be necessary that it actually is, rather than is likely to be, unable to pay its debts.
There are consequential amendments to other parts of the Insolvent Partnerships Order.
The old regime will continue to apply where a petition for administration was presented before 1 July 2005.
Further changes under the same SI bring the treatment of the matrimonial home in partnership insolvency in line with the changes to the bankruptcy regime (ss 283A and 313A)
Provided by Glen Davis
20 June 2005
May 2005
We are very pleased to welcome John Sheahan SC, and William Swadling as Associate Members to Chambers.
March 2005
Michael Crystal QC, Martin Pascoe QC, David Marks and David Alexander attended the 7th INSOL World Congress in Sydney, Australia.
February 2005
3-4 South Square is pleased to be hosting a seminar on “Current Issues on Insolvency 2005” with Hawksmere on 4 March 2005 at Kingsway Hall in Covent Garden. Please visit www.hawksmere.co.uk for booking details.
Our speakers are: Christopher Brougham QC, Gabriel Moss QC, Simon Mortimore QC, Professor Ian Fletcher, John Briggs, Hilary Stonefrost, Felicity Toube and David Allison.
January 2005
The Insolvency Lawyers' Association Conference takes place in Dublin on 4 and 5 February 2005. 3-4 South Square will be represented by Richard Adkins QC, Mark Phillips QC, Robin Dicker QC (who is speaking at the conference), David Marks, Lexa Hilliard and Glen Davis.
November 2004
We congratulate Stuart Isaacs QC who has been appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge assigned to the Queen’s Bench and Chancery Divisions.
Marion Simmons QC at the invitation of the European Commission and the China Law Society delivered a paper on “judicial independence and the rule of law” at the “Independence of Judgment and Judicial Justice Colloquium” held by the China Law Society in Beijing China on 31st October 2004. Marion Simmons QC was the only non-Chinese delegate at this colloquium. During her stay in Beijing she also delivered a lecture at the University of International Business and Economics.
October 2004
Gabriel Moss QC, David Marks, Glen Davis, and Marcus Haywood, are representing Chambers at the INSOL International and INSOL Europe joint regional and annual conference in Prague this month.
We are delighted to welcome Hannah Thornley and Simon Fuller as full Members of Chambers following their successful completion of Pupillage.
September 2004
We congratulate Fidelis Oditah QC who was made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria at a swearing in ceremony on 13 September 2004.
During his summer vacation, Richard Sheldon QC successfully completed the GR20 path in Corsica which extends from the north west to the south east and along the spine of the island. Richard was sponsored for the trek to raise money for the Centre for Young Musicians of which the funding arm is the Foundation for Young Musicians. He was joined by his friend and colleague, Keith Gaines of Lovells. The Observer newspaper recently reported the long distance GR20 walk as "punishing".
July 2004
On 23 July 2004, in re AA Mutual International Insurance Company Limited, Mr Justice Lewison appointed Dan Schwarzmann and Nigel Rackham of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP as administrators under the Insolvency Act 1986 of a UK insurance company which has been in run-off since 1987.
This is believed to have been the first appointment of UK administrators of an insurer since EC Council Directive 2001/17/EC on the reorganisation and winding-up of insurance undertakings was brought into force on 20 April 2003, and the first to which the statutory instrument implementing that Directive in the UK, the Insurers (Reorganisation and Winding Up) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/353), will apply; as a result it is thought to have been the first time an English Court has been required to consider its jurisdiction under the 2001 Directive and the 2004 Regulations. The Administrators will also be the first UK insolvency practitioners appointed as “administrators” as defined in the 2001 Directive.
In addition, this is believed to be the first appointment of administrators of an insurance company under the new procedure in Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (and only the second appointment of administrators of a UK insurer since that became permitted in 2002).
Glen Davis of 3-4 South Square, instructed by Stephen Carter and Tobey Butcher of Charles Russell, acted for the Company on the application.
"Spectrum Plus"
On 12 July 2004, the Court of Appeal granted the Crown leave to appeal to
the House of Lords.
May 2004
On 26 May 2004, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by National Westminster Bank plc in Re Spectrum Plus Limited. The Master of the Rolls (Lord Phillips) held that the Vice-Chancellor (Sir Andrew Morritt), who decided the case at first instance, had been wrong to conclude that a standard form debenture purporting to create a fixed charge over the company's book debts, modelled on that in Siebe Gorman v. Barclays Bank [1979] 2 Lloyds Reps 142, created only a floating charge over those debts. Instead, the debenture created a fixed charge, while Siebe Gorman (contrary to the Vice-Chancellor's conclusion) was correctly decided. Gabriel Moss QC and Jeremy Goldring appeared for National Westminster Bank plc.
Glen Davis and Richard Gordon QC have been commissioned by LexisNexisUK to produce the first book on the practice and procedure of the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Gabriel Moss QC and Mark Phillips QC will be speaking at the 14th R3 Annual Conference in Monte Carlo taking place between 3-6 June 2004. Gabriel will be covering Domestic and Foreign Recovery issues and Mark will present a Corporate Insolvency Law Update.
February 2004
The Insolvency Lawyers Association Conference is taking place in Paris on 5 and 6 March 2004. Attending from 3-4 South Square will be Gabriel Moss QC, who will speak on EC Regulation cases, Richard Adkins QC, John Briggs, David Marks, David Alexander, Sandra Bristoll, Glen Davis, Felicity Toube, Lucy Frazer and Paul Cooklin.