Insolvency
Members of Wilberforce Chambers’ Insolvency Group specialise in all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency litigation and advice. We do so in the UK and offshore. Our Group includes winners and nominees for Insolvency and Restructuring industry awards and authors of leading textbooks in the area.
Members have been involved in high-profile insolvency matters in many jurisdictions over the years. Examples include Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd v Halabi [2022] (a pivotal Privy Council decision on the interplay between insolvency and trusts law), Leeds v Lemos [2017] (the leading case on the right to assert privilege in insolvency), Akers v Samba [2017] (the Supreme Court’s decision on void transactions under s.127 of the Insolvency Act 1986), Re Stanford International Bank [2016-2017] (acting for former liquidators in jurisdiction battles in London and professional negligence claims in London and Antigua), and Re Nortel / Lehman [2013] (the Supreme Court’s decision restating the law on provable debts).
We also work in connection with restructurings, in particular where issues cross-over with our other practice areas such as property and pensions. Recent examples include the New Look CVA, the Travelodge CVA, the pensions restructuring case of Halcrow, the HMV CVA and the Baha Mar receivership and provisional liquidation in the Bahamas.
We act on office holder claims, directors’ disqualifications as well as dealing with international and multi-jurisdictional disputes under both the EU Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings and the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations.
Chambers offers strength in depth, from senior KCs to recently qualified juniors. Members are experienced in acting for creditors (secured and unsecured), debtors, officeholders and others in insolvency related matters. Chambers is also able to draw on Members’ expertise in other specialised areas of law, including pensions, civil fraud, trusts, asset recovery and property law.
Marcia Shekerdemian KC sits as a Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge.
Publications
James Ayliffe KC is co-author of Transaction Avoidance in Insolvencies, OUP, 3rd ed (2018), and the specialist editor of the insolvency chapter in one of the principal practitioner texts on landlord and tenant law, Hill & Redman’s Law of Landlord & Tenant.
Thomas Robinson co-edits and he, Marcia Shekerdemian KC, Anna Littler and Bobby Friedman are contributors to Sweet & Maxwell’s Kerr & Hunter on Receivers and Administrators, 21st ed, 2020
Lexa Hilliard KC and Thomas Robinson are contributors to OUP’s Company Directors – Duties, Liabilities and Remedies 4th Edn 2024 (edited by Mark Arnold KC and Consultant Editor Simon Mortimore KC)
David Pollard has written “Corporate Insolvency: Employment and Pension Rights” (2022), “Corporate Insolvency: Employment Rights” (2016) and “Corporate Insolvency: Pension Rights” (2016).
Rankings and recognition
Chambers & Partners 2025: Wilberforce Chambers is noted for its impressive work tackling both corporate and personal insolvency matters. Members are frequently called upon to undertake cases arising both in the UK and further afield, and offer significant expertise in the handling of complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. Market commentators note that “it is a leading set with some very bright minds who are very capable of taking on the most complicated and sophisticated cases”, with particular areas of strength for the set spanning administrations, CVAs, restructurings and schemes of arrangement. The team is also regularly instructed in cases involving complex pensions and property elements, owing to the set’s established strengths in these areas. An enviable client list includes creditors, debtors and insolvency office holders. Recent cases of note include the Lehman Brothers litigation, and Halabi v Equity Trust (Jersey).
Legal 500 2025: The insolvency group at Wilberforce Chambers specialises in a wide range of corporate and personal insolvency litigation cases, both domestically and internationally. Barristers at the set are often involved in high-profile insolvency matters, as well as work connected to restructurings, in particular where issues cross-over with other practice areas including property and pensions. Lexa Hilliard KC, alongside Tom Roscoe, were involved In the matter of Lehman Brothers Holdings PLC where they successfully advised the client, LBGP No 1, on a second issue concerning interest in the wake of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse. Marcia Shekerdemian KC specialises in personal and corporate insolvency, including restructuring, while Daniel Petrides is a name to watch.
Chambers Bar Awards 2023: Wilberforce wins Set of the Year and Chancery Set of the Year
The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2022: Wilberforce wins Chancery Set of the Year
TRI Awards: Winner of Insolvency & Restructuring Chambers of the Year 2021, 2020 and 2019
Wilberforce Chambers ranks at the top of the Premier League when it comes to insolvency.
