Advocate Saoirse Caldwell KC

Banking | Financial Services | Insolvency Member of the Johannesburg Bar | Took silk 2018

Professional Profile

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Saoirse Caldwell is a senior commercial advocate practising at the Johannesburg Bar with twenty-five years of experience in banking, financial services and insolvency law.

Her practice is focused on disputes involving banks and other regulated entities, prudential and conduct regulation, securities litigation and complex corporate restructuring. She is regularly briefed in matters concerning the interpretation of facility agreements, security arrangements and derivatives, and in proceedings arising from financial distress.

Saoirse took silk in 2018. She has appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court on questions of statutory interpretation in the financial sector, and is a frequent contributor to professional discourse on banking regulation.

Before joining the Bar she served as a candidate attorney in the banking and finance department of a leading Johannesburg firm, where she worked on syndicated lending and securitisation transactions.

KEY STRENGTHS

  • Banking and financial services disputes

  • Prudential and conduct regulation

  • Securities litigation and market conduct

  • Insolvency, business rescue and restructuring

  • Complex commercial trials and arbitration

  • Statutory interpretation in financial sector legislation

Selected Matters

  • Enforcement of cross-border security package

    Led for a syndicate of lenders in proceedings to enforce a security package governed by South African and English law, raising questions of conflicts of laws and the scope of foreign-law security.

  • Business rescue plan opposition

    Acted for a secured creditor opposing the adoption of a business rescue plan, on grounds of inadequate disclosure and unrealistic projections.

  • Market abuse — directors' dealings investigation

    Defended a senior executive in an investigation by the financial sector regulator concerning the timing of dealings in listed securities.

  • Prudential regulator decision review

    Reviewed a decision by the prudential regulator concerning the calibration of capital requirements, focusing on rationality and procedural fairness.

  • Derivatives close-out — ISDA termination

    Advised a counterparty on the application of close-out provisions under an ISDA Master Agreement following a credit event.

  • Securitisation true-sale opinion dispute

    Led in arbitration arising from a dispute over the characterisation of a securitisation as a true sale rather than a secured loan.

Work Experience

  1. Thulus Chambers Senior Counsel

    2018 — Present

    - Took silk in 2018 - Led counsel in landmark financial services matters in the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court - Acted for South Africa's major banks in disputes concerning lending, security and prudential matters - Appointed to panels of preferred counsel by several regulated entities

  2. Thulus Chambers Member of the Johannesburg Bar

    2002 — 2018

    - Developed a junior commercial practice with emphasis on banking and finance - Acted as junior counsel in landmark business rescue and insolvency proceedings - Lectured part-time in Banking Law at the University of the Witwatersrand

  3. Johannesburg Bar Pupillage Programme Pupil Advocate

    2001 — 2002

    - Completed pupillage with a senior commercial advocate - Passed the National Bar Examination

  4. Bramley & Holst Inc. Candidate Attorney

    1998 — 1999

    - Articled in the banking and finance department - Worked on syndicated lending and securitisation transactions

Court Admissions

  • High Court of South Africa

Professional Memberships

  • General Council of the Bar of South Africa
  • South African Institute of Insolvency Practitioners
  • International Bar Association