The offshore transactional market continues to go from strength to strength. Our annual focus on the ten largest offshore firms again reveals impressive activity levels during the last year. According to Appleby’s recent private equity report, during the third quarter of 2015 deal activity was even more robust than usual: there were 660 offshore deals during the quarter, worth a total of $60.7bn. Of those, 26 involved private equity firms either acquiring or disposing of their investments. With a combined worth of $16.1bn, private equity deals therefore represented over a quarter of total offshore activity by value in Q3 2015.
Material growth in private equity-backed M&A is a trend that looks set to continue, according to Ogier global managing partner Nick Kershaw. ‘The asset classes are diverse, from real estate to trust companies, but there is consistent acquisitive appetite,’ he says. Ogier acted on several high-profile deals in 2015, such as providing Jersey law advice to Palamon Capital Partners on the £200m joint acquisition with Corsair Capital of Currencies Direct.
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The Channel Islands’ trust, fund and corporate administration sector also witnessed high-level private equity deals. Notable recent work includes Carey Olsen advising JTC Group on its September 2015 acquisition of Kleinwort Benson’s fund administration business.
2015 was also positive for private funds. ‘Continued low interest rates are leading institutional investors to increase their allocations to the alternative asset class in the hunt for returns and a number of significant sponsors looking to raise funds in 2016 have already committed to maintaining their offshore structures in Guernsey and Jersey,’ says Carey Olsen’s Jersey managing partner Alex Ohlsson.
While the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) remains a source of uncertainty and frustration for some fund sponsors, Ohlsson tells Legal Business that managers marketing their funds into Europe from the Channel Islands report satisfaction and even surprise at the speed and efficacy of the private placement regime, which has become a well-trodden path. In July 2015, Jersey and Guernsey were recommended for priority assessment by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) with a view to granting them full AIFMD passports for the region.
Elsewhere, the Cayman Islands remains the most popular offshore jurisdiction for hedge funds and private equity funds and is an increasingly sought-after jurisdiction for collateralised loan obligations (CLOs). British Virgin Islands’ business companies remain widely used because of their administrative simplicity and flexibility, while Bermuda retains its leading reputation for insurance and reinsurance.
Many Bermudian corporate practices experienced a marked increase in transactional work, particularly merger activity involving locally-headquartered reinsurance companies. Appleby was involved in several key matters, including advising PartnerRe on its planned $6.9bn merger with Exor. The deal is reportedly only the second contested M&A transaction in Bermuda and expected to close early this year.
‘This acquisition helped avoid further consolidation of the Bermuda insurance space, which is a favourable outcome to ensure a continuation of our competitive marketplace and sustained levels of employment on the island,’ says the firm’s group managing partner, Michael O’Connell.
The offshore markets are not immune to the uncertainty that plagues the global economic landscape following discord between the West and Russia over Ukraine; the future of the European single currency; and the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan. But with increased confidence in the US and UK markets, the world’s top offshore legal players are braced for a further uptick in mandates.
Below are snapshots of the ten largest firms from 2015, focusing on recent performance and practice growth.
APPLEBY
Lawyers: 180, including 60 partners
Offices: Ten (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, Seychelles, Shanghai)
Group managing partner: Michael O’Connell (Jersey)
Focus: Corporate, dispute resolution, private client/trusts, property and regulatory
Recent standout deal: Tim Faries and Alan Bossin were Bermuda counsel to PartnerRe on its August 2015 $6.9bn merger with Exor.
Recent standout disputes work: Cayman dispute resolution head Jeremy Walton acted for a Cayman Islands bank’s liquidation committee in a high-profile $550m liquidation, where the US Securities and Exchange Commission was heavily criticised for regulatory overreach.
2015 marked significant change for Appleby, which announced the private equity-backed management buyout (MBO) of its fiduciary business in July, separating the legal and fiduciary arms.
To stay ahead in its markets, group managing partner Michael O’Connell tells Legal Business, the firm knows it cannot stand still. Consequently, it fundamentally changed its strategy in 2015. ‘This MBO will enable two strong parts of our business to grow and prosper independently; the resulting capital investment will significantly help each business to stay ahead,’ says O’Connell.
Having completed at the end of 2015, the MBO led to an overall reduction in the firm’s number of qualified lawyers, although partner numbers are up on last year, with the firm making 17 promotions either to partner or counsel in December 2015.
The practice also closed its London and Zürich offices, with partners Stephen James and David Clark relocating from London to the Cayman and BVI respectively, while Deborah Poole retired to pursue other interests.
According to O’Connell, Appleby closed parts of the business to streamline its costs and resources in preparation for the MBO. ‘Like any well-managed business, we ensure our geographic locations are aligned to clients’ needs,’ says O’Connell. While Caribbean rivals such as Conyers Dill & Pearman boosted its London offering in 2015, Appleby does not see its withdrawal as significant, pointing out that it is able to service clients without the associated overhead costs of having an office in London and that it has a unique Crown dependency footprint with more lawyers in this time zone servicing the London market ‘than any of our competitors’.
Lateral hires for the firm included partner Sailaja Alla joining the Cayman funds team from Harneys; and bolstering the private client capability in Jersey, partner David Dorgan arrived from Collas Crill.
According to O’Connell, the firm experienced increasing instructions from onshore firms, particularly on the corporate side of its business. ‘The biggest uptick in work is coming from North America and the UK/Europe, where we see confidence building and stronger signs of sustained return to economic prosperity.’
BEDELL CRISTIN
Lawyers: 103, including 30 partners
Offices: Eight (Jersey, Guernsey, London, Dublin, Geneva, Mauritius, BVI, Singapore)
Managing partner: Richard Gerwat (Jersey)
Focus: Banking, capital markets, property, corporate/commercial, insolvency/restructuring, insurance/re-insurance, investment funds, litigation, private client, probate, regulatory and compliance
Recent standout deal: Partners Tim Pearce and Alasdair Hunter advised Sacturino on the Jersey law aspects of its 2015 $9bn takeover offer for the shares in Russia’s largest gold producer, Polyus Gold International.
Recent standout litigation: In December 2015, David Cadin secured the acquittal of Italian lawyer, Antonino Siracusa, the first defendant on an indictment alleging conspiracy to defraud Nedbank Private Wealth in Jersey of $20bn.
‘The Asia region is a key market where our increasing presence and cross-border expertise in BVI, Jersey and Guernsey law is generating new leads and a growing client base.’
David Cadin, Bedell Cristin
Growth in 2015 was evident across all of Bedell Cristin’s practice areas, including banking, corporate and commercial matters, and the firm confirmed that it has ‘consolidated’ its position after reporting a strong financial performance in 2013/14. The firm also retained its strong standing in insurance and reinsurance work: in 2015, innovative insurance-linked securities activity for the firm included advising foreign governments on protected cell company and incorporated cell company legislation.
There was also an enhanced focus on Asia, which has been the main plank of the firm’s strategy in recent years. ‘The Asia region is a key market where our increasing presence and cross-border expertise in BVI, Jersey and Guernsey law is generating new leads and a growing client base,’ says Jersey partner David Cadin.
In September 2015, the group’s trust company, Bedell Trust, expanded its international presence through the acquisition of a majority stake in fiduciary and corporate services business, Singapore Trust Company. This follows the opening of its own office in Singapore in 2012.
‘This enhances our multi-jurisdictional capabilities and enables us to provide clients with a one-stop shop for both fiduciary and legal services; it provides us with a platform in Asia for further growth and gives us increasing substance when delivering our cross-border services to both private and corporate clients,’ says Cadin.
CAREY OLSEN
Lawyers: 180, including 43 partners.
Offices: Seven (BVI, Cape Town, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Chair: John Kelleher (Jersey)
Focus: Banking/finance, corporate/commercial, investment funds and private equity, dispute resolution, trusts/private wealth, property, employment, and insurance
Recent standout deal: Guernsey partner Tom Carey advised Aviva on its April 2015 £5.6bn acquisition of Friends Life Group.
Recent standout litigation: BVI dispute resolution head Ben Mays successfully applied to appoint provisional liquidators on behalf of substantial holders of an approximately $1bn tranche of notes, issued by a BVI finance-raising vehicle, for the collapsed Brazilian OAS group.
According to Jersey-based managing partner Alex Ohlsson, Carey Olsen’s funds and banking and finance practices enjoyed a notable increase in work on the financing and setting up of new corporate real estate structures.
‘Continued low interest rates are leading institutional investors to increase their allocations to the alternative asset class in the hunt for returns.’
Alex Ohlsson, Carey Olsen
While such work was chiefly driven by a surge in activity in the UK real estate sector (particularly London), the teams also advised clients targeting or financing investments throughout Europe. ‘Investors include those in North America and South-East Asia, but we have also seen sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and institutional investors making direct investments,’ Ohlsson says.
October 2015 saw the launch of a Singapore office, led by local managing partner Linda Lee, formerly a partner at Allen & Overy’s Hong Kong and Singapore offices. The office’s initial focus is on corporate and commercial transactions, including capital markets, M&A, banking and finance and investment funds.
‘We have a longstanding track record of providing offshore advice to international law firms and clients in Asia on an extensive range of matters and transactions; establishing a significant presence in the region was a logical step,’ says Ohlsson.
The firm also expanded its global litigation offering with the launch of a BVI litigation and insolvency practice under partner Ben Mays, who joined in February 2015 from Maples and Calder.
With other notable successes, such as British Land confirming that Carey Olsen would be one of the firms it would take advice from in specialist areas when it announced its first formal legal panel in December, and standout deals, including acting as lead counsel for a Channel Islands consortium of buyers in its acquisition of Channel Islands’ retailer Sandpiper, it is unsurprising that the firm recorded a 15% year-on-year increase in turnover.
LOCAL LEADERS – UK CROWN DEPENDENCIES
International firms Mourant Ozannes, Carey Olsen, Ogier, Bedell Cristin and Collas Crill are the best-known names in the Channel Islands legal market; Caribbean-based firms Appleby and Walkers also have highly regarded Jersey practices, with Appleby the only offshore law firm with a presence in each of the three Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Nonetheless several successful local firms also practise on the islands. In late 2015, Jersey specialist litigation and dispute resolution practice Baker & Partners’ Stephen Baker and Simon Thomas – recently made partner together with William Redgrave – secured a significant victory for the beneficiary in Dick-Stock v PanTrust International, Wigley & Wigley, with the Jersey Royal Court accepting jurisdiction to remove and replace the Panama-based trustees.
Other notable Jersey law firms include three-partner Jersey practice Dickinson Gleeson, well known for contentious trust and estates, fraud and asset tracing and insolvency, and company and funds litigation; and Voisin, a specialist firm in commercial matters, disputes, and property. In November 2015, Voisin advised on the first-ever court application in Jersey to ratify an unlawful distribution by a Jersey company, the application presented by partner Ashley Hoy.
Also based in Jersey, Hatstone Lawyers grew its practice in 2015 when it hired well-respected trial lawyer Mike Preston, who specialises in trust and commercial dispute resolution, as group partner.
In Guernsey, local practice AO HALL has a sound reputation for corporate, dispute resolution, employment and IP law; and AFR Advocates recently grew its partnership through the promotion of Peter Stahelin, who specialises in corporate and commercial, banking and finance and non-contentious commercial and residential property matters.
Isle of Man law firms, such as Cains, Simcocks and DQ Advocates, all have solid, full-service practices and pick up their fair share of lucrative mandates. Cains’ Mike Pinson and Tristan Head advised private equity house Bridgepoint on the corporate and regulatory side to its 2015 primary management buyout of Appleby’s fiduciary business.
The Isle of Man saw a significant change to its legal market in January with the announcement that alternative legal provider Keystone Law was making its first move off the mainland with the launch of a new practice in Douglas. Keystone’s new operation partly comprises recruits from market leader Cains and will be led by Geoff Kermeen, the former head of Cains’ London office, who has become managing director of Keystone Law Isle of Man.
COLLAS CRILL
Lawyers: 61, including 30 partners
Offices: Five (Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Managing partner: Jason Romer (Guernsey)
Chair: Alex Rodger (Guernsey)
Focus: Banking/finance, capital markets, corporate/commercial, dispute resolution, investment funds/private equity, trusts/fiduciary/private client services, property, risk and regulatory and UK real estate
Recent standout deal: In October 2015, Jersey banking and finance partner Nicholas Davies advised global e-money services provider, Optimal Payments, on the Jersey aspects of the financing of its €1.1bn acquisition of the Skrill Group.
Recent standout litigation: Jersey-based dispute resolution head Nuno Santos-Costa successfully defended Michelle Jardine against charges under the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999, marking the first prosecution of its kind in Jersey.
According to managing partner Jason Romer, the most significant development for the firm in 2015 came at the start of the year: the merger in January 2015 between Collas Crill and Cayman firm Charles Adams Ritchie & Duckworth to become Collas Crill & CARD (now back to Collas Crill).
‘Increased demand for Cayman advice through Singapore is reflected in the significant upturn in capital markets and funds work we are seeing flow through these offices.’
Jason Romer, Collas Crill
The merger not only created the first offshore law firm with offices in Singapore, Cayman, London and both Jersey and Guernsey, but also allowed it to meet increased client demand for Cayman advice through its Singapore office. ‘This is reflected in the significant upturn in capital markets and funds work we are seeing flow through these offices,’ says Romer.
The Cayman office has grown since the two firms combined, hiring Stephen Leontsinis from Kobre & Kim to lead and grow the Cayman dispute resolution team, while the corporate and commercial team welcomed corporate and investment funds specialist Joss Morris as partner from Harneys, where he was Cayman private equity head.
Collas Crill also experienced impressive growth in the Channel Islands, hiring both Jersey fiduciary head Kellyann Ozouf and Guernsey-based consultant David Moore from Bedell Cristin.
In 2015, the group saw 10% growth above its 2014 revenues through a mixture of the merger and organic growth, Romer tells Legal Business. Key areas have included Cayman litigation, corporate and funds work in the Channel Islands, and Cayman fund instructions coming out of Asia, including emerging markets such as Malaysia.
CONYERS DILL & PEARMAN
Lawyers: 131, including 57 partners
Offices: Eight (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mauritius, Singapore)
Co-chairs: Narinder Hargun (Bermuda) and David Lamb (Hong Kong)
Focus: Corporate (including aviation, banking and financing, capital markets, hedge funds, insurance, M&A, private equity/venture capital and shipping), dispute resolution, private client/trust, IP and real estate
Recent standout deal: Hong Kong partner David Lamb provided Cayman law advice to Hongyi Zhou, as part of a consortium, on the approximately $9bn acquisition of Chinese mobile security software company, Qihoo 360 Technology Company.
Recent standout litigation: BVI-based partner Mark Forte successfully acted on appeal for BTA Bank in its enforcement of a $1bn-plus judgment in the BVI.
Conyers’ Bermuda practice was particularly buoyant during a successful 2015, according to co-chair Narinder Hargun. Well known for the strength of its insurance practice, Hargun believes that it will continue to flourish, particularly with the jurisdiction’s award from the European Commission of full Solvency II equivalence under the EU’s tough regulations. With Bermuda emerging as a domicile of choice for raising capital on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, Conyers has acted on a large portion of the share issues.
‘Conyers is committed to the London market and continues to broaden its focus in the region, which strengthens our global footprint overall.’
Narinder Hargun, Conyers
Although the IPO market slowed towards the end of 2015, the firm did pick up lucrative instructions. In Bermuda, director Neil Henderson advised Axovant Sciences on its $315m IPO in June, reportedly the largest US float in the biotech sector for 20 years. Conyers’ Hong Kong partner Christopher Bickley also led the firm’s Cayman Islands advice to television and online broadcasting programme content producer and event organiser, Creative China Holdings, on its IPO and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Growth Enterprise Market.
In the BVI, M&A and joint venture work has increased. Examples include partner Anton Goldstein advising Cerberus on its February 2015 acquisition of the Clyde shopping centre in Glasgow for around £70m. Meanwhile, in Cayman, according to co-chair David Lamb, the firm experienced strong performance in its private equity, M&A, shipping and aviation practices, as well as growth in the banking and finance group.
In London, while other offshore firms have retreated from maintaining London legal service offices – Ogier in 2013 and Appleby in 2015 – the office was bolstered by the recruitment of director Anne Forbes-Harper from Walkers, while Linda Martin was selected to lead the London office. Martin, a former Clifford Chance lawyer and partner at Cayman firm Travers Thorp Alberga, joined Conyers in 2014.
‘Conyers is committed to the London market and continues to broaden its focus in the region, which strengthens our global footprint overall,’ says Hargun.
LOCAL LEADERS: CARIBBEAN
Among the large Caribbean-based firms, Maples and Calder, Harneys, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Appleby and Walkers have established Cayman Islands (Cayman) and British Virgin Islands (BVI) practices. In Bermuda, global offshore law firms Appleby and Conyers are traditionally the strongest practices, but Walkers and Harneys have also recently launched Bermuda practices.
Channel Islands firms are also very present in the Caribbean. Ogier, Mourant Ozannes and Carey Olsen have offices in both Cayman and BVI, while Jersey-headquartered Bedell Cristin has a BVI office; and in January 2015 Collas Crill and Charles Adams Ritchie & Duckworth formally merged to become Collas Crill & CARD (now Collas Crill once more).
Non-UK firms with offices in the Caribbean include Irish practice Dillon Eustace in Cayman, US litigation practice Kobre & Kim in the BVI and Cayman, and Canada-based law firm Bennett Jones, which joined some of the larger offshore players by launching in Bermuda in April 2015.
US and UK-based firm Sedgwick’s Bermuda office, Sedgwick Chudleigh – which in 2015 saw revenue growth of 20%-plus on the back of a busy caseload – continues to be involved with the Bermuda liquidations of the Kingate Funds (Kingate) – two of the largest Bernard Madoff feeder funds – and related litigation in Bermuda. In 2015, partners Mark Chudleigh and Alex Potts represented the Kingate Funds before the Supreme Court of Bermuda on preliminary issues of law, relating to Kingate’s claims for restitution of $400m in management fees.
Domestic outfits in the Caribbean also pack a punch; at full-service Cayman-based Solomon Harris, partner Ian Jamieson recently advised Europe-based SMP Partners Group on its agreement to purchase RBC’s Trust, Custody and Fund Administration businesses in the Caribbean.
Cayman boutiques Stuarts Walker Hersant Humphries and Travers Thorp Alberga also deserve mention, the latter strengthening its corporate and funds team in 2015 with the hire of Louise Freestone as partner from FourWinds Capital Management, where she was general counsel.
Strong domestic BVI firms include Forbes Hare, which also has Cayman and London offices and launched an outpost in Singapore in late 2015 and O’Neal Webster, which expanded its IP capabilities in November 2015, announcing the formation of OW Services, a BVI-licensed trade mark agent.
In Bermuda, commercial law firm Cox Hallett Wilkinson won headline instructions in 2015, with corporate and commercial head Ernest Morrison advising Italy-based investment company Exor on the Bermuda law and regulatory aspects of its approximately $6.9bn acquisition of global reinsurance company, PartnerRe.
Other notable Bermuda firms include ASW Law, known for corporate, insolvency and litigation matters, and Marshall Diel & Myers, which saw Mark Diel take over as managing director in 2015 from Kevin Taylor (who returned to practising litigation), as well as MJM and Wakefield Quin.
HARNEYS
Lawyers: 132, including 39 partners
Offices: Eight full offices (BVI, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, London, Cyprus, Montevideo and Singapore). The firm also has representatives in Anguilla, São Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo and Vancouver; it also operates in Mauritius in association with BLC Chambers.
Executive committee chair: Peter Tarn (London)
Focus: Litigation, restructuring/insolvency, commercial/corporate, private wealth/trusts, investment funds, tax and regulatory, IP, banking/finance, shipping/aircraft, insurance and real estate.
Recent standout deal: Cyprus and BVI partners Aki Corsoni-Husain, Demetris Loizides and Emily Yiolitis in Cyprus and BVI-based Philip Graham advised Turquoise Partners on establishing the first EU-approved alternative investment fund focused on Iran.
Recent standout dispute: Cayman partner Marc Kish successfully advised China Shanshui Investment Company on the striking out of a winding up petition for lack of standing.
2015 was an unprecedented year of international expansion for Harneys, firstly opening a representative office in Tokyo in July, which has gained ground quickly. According to executive committee chair Peter Tarn, Cayman funds have become a popular offshore offering in Japan and Harneys now has the right team in place to take advantage. Hong Kong partner Matt Roberts has worked in the Japan funds space for years while Yuji Asano, who joined in July 2015 from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (UK), is a Japan funds industry veteran.
In September, Harneys combined with Bermudian firm Hurrion & Associates to form Harneys Bermuda; Sarah-Jane Hurrion became managing partner and Michael Burns, a former Appleby senior equity partner, joined as Bermuda corporate head.
According to Tarn, Bermuda is a blue-chip jurisdiction with an outstanding reputation; he believes that Harneys is the perfect fit for the island because its established roots in Latin America and Asia provide the perfect platform to grow Bermuda’s presence in those markets.
Now on a roll, in November 2015, a representative office in Shanghai was opened with China managing director Kristy Calvert joining from Ogier, where she was China managing director.
In terms of workflow, the year saw the firm instructed in high-value restructuring mandates, with litigation and insolvency also busy areas. Its regulatory and sanctions practice is also in demand, while the transactional business thrives across several markets.
As for the funds sector, says Tarn, Harneys saw a lot of interest in innovative BVI fund products, as well as enjoying significant market share increase in Cayman, with the practice boosted by Cayman funds partners Ian Gobin and Matthew Taber joining from Appleby.
MAPLES AND CALDER
Lawyers: 285, including 104 partners
Offices: Seven (BVI, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Singapore)
Global managing partner: Alasdair Robertson (Cayman)
Focus: Dispute resolution, corporate/FATCA, finance, funds, insolvency/corporate restructuring, insurance, IP/technology/telecoms, private equity, property/construction, regulatory/ financial services, sports/media/entertainment, tax and trusts
Recent standout deal: Expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, partners Alasdair Robertson, Jonathon Meloy, Nick Evans, Ed Miller and Will Fogarty advised Irish-headquartered global aircraft leasing firm, Avolon, on its $7.6bn sale to Bohai Leasing.
Recent standout disputes work: Cayman partner Mac Imrie successfully acted for East Capital in the case In the matter of Integra Group, resulting in the first decision of the Cayman Islands courts on the meaning of fair value of dissenters’ shares.
Following a six-year tenure as global head, Henry Smith stepped down from the role in November 2015, with Alasdair Robertson succeeding as global managing partner while continuing as chair of its fiduciary and fund services offering, MaplesFS.
The funds team in Cayman again saw impressive growth. Five new partners were promoted at the end of 2014; and while the former global head of the trusts and private client group, Justin Appleyard, retired in January 2016, Morven McMillan, formerly of Mourant Ozannes, joined as Cayman trusts co-head.
Significant securitisation highlights included partner Scott Macdonald advising issuer ECAF I on the Cayman legal aspects of its $1.21bn asset-backed securitisation of a diverse portfolio of 49 aircraft, with partners Sheryl Dean and Philip Dickinson assisting Element Financial Corporation with the upstream funding structure, put in place to facilitate equity investment into the issuer.
And in a standout deal that saw the firm work alongside global elite practices such as Allen & Overy and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the firm acted on a $1.7bn deal for oil and gas technology titan Schlumberger to acquire a 46% interest in Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Company. Maples advised Schlumberger’s special committee, alongside Texan oil and gas firm Vinson & Elkins.
Other notable successes for Maples in 2015 included being ranked as the number one provider of legal services to Irish funds – advising on 1,269 funds – in the Monterey Insight Ireland Fund Report 2015. In July 2015, the firm’s affiliates, Maples Fund Services and Maples Fiduciary (the operating divisions of MaplesFS), opened offices in San Francisco and the Netherlands, respectively.
MOURANT OZANNES
Lawyers: 188, including 55 partners
Offices: Six (BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, London)
Global managing partner: Jonathan Rigby (Jersey)
Senior partner: Robert Shepherd (Guernsey)
Focus: Finance and corporate, funds, international trusts/private client and litigation
Recent standout deal: In December 2015, Cayman partner Hayden Isbister acted for private equity firm Catterton Partners on its $925m acquisition of Steiner Leisure.
Recent standout dispute: Guernsey partner Jeremy Wessels continued to act for ITG and Bayeux Trustees in ongoing litigation concerning the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust, resulting in three judgments from the Court of Appeal, involving a comprehensive analysis of a key part of the Trust Law of Jersey and Guernsey for the first time and the leading judgment in Guernsey on abuse of process and strikeout.
According to global managing partner Jonathan Rigby, Mourant Ozannes had an excellent year from a financial perspective, with all parts of the firm showing significant growth in revenue and profit. Overall growth in global revenue over the 12 months to December 2015 was a striking 22%.
‘Litigation across all jurisdictions remained strong, but we’ve also seen a very significant increase in revenue in banking and finance, corporate and funds,’ says Rigby.
The firm experienced a notable increase in workflow from Asia in 2015, touching upon every one of its global offices due, in part, to its expanding Hong Kong team.
Reinforcing Mourant Ozannes’ one-firm approach, 2015 saw partners relocate to support the fastest-growing areas of its business.
For example, Shaun Folpp moved from the BVI to Hong Kong to head the firm’s litigation and insolvency practice in Asia. ‘Shaun’s move builds on the substantial amount of BVI and Cayman Islands litigation, restructuring and insolvency work already being undertaken by the firm in the region and reiterates the significance of the Asian market as an area of focus and growth,’ says Rigby.
Meanwhile, Mike Williams’ relocation, from BVI to Jersey enhances the firm’s BVI law capability in Europe. Furthermore, litigator Nicholas Fox moved from Cayman to the BVI and funds specialist Alex Last relocated to Cayman from Hong Kong to develop the firm’s private equity funds practice in North America.
External growth in 2015 included funds head Tim Morgan in Jersey and Guernsey-based corporate specialist Caroline Chan both joining from Ogier; and Cayman and BVI trusts lawyer, Tony Pursall, recruited from Maples and Calder as partner in London.
OGIER
Lawyers: 155, including 52 partners
Offices: Eight (BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Luxembourg, plus presences in Shanghai and Tokyo)
Global managing partner: Nick Kershaw (Jersey)
Global senior partner: Sarah Fitz (Jersey)
Focus: Banking/finance, corporate/commercial, dispute resolution, environment, investment funds, listings, private client/trusts, real estate, regulatory, restructuring/insolvency and tax
Recent standout deal: Partner Anthony Oakes acted as Cayman counsel to Garuda Indonesia on its $500m Islamic bond issue, marking the first non-sovereign US-dollar Sukuk out of Indonesia.
Recent standout dispute: Guernsey dispute resolution head Mathew Newman advised the joint liquidators of Huelin-Renouf Shipping and Huelin-Renouf (Guernsey) and alongside Grant Thornton successfully petitioned the courts in an innovative pooling application that allows both the Jersey and Guernsey operations to be treated as one for the purposes of the liquidation
According to global managing partner Nick Kershaw, Ogier’s success in 2015 can partly be attributed to strategic changes that happened in the past 18 months. In 2014, Ogier Fiduciary Services’ (OFS) partners completed the complex management buyout of OFS (now branded Elian) from the Ogier Group.
Corporate and finance were particularly busy for the firm, while traditional areas, such as real estate, created a strong flow of transactional instructions with the majority of deals having assets in the London or wider UK market.
Big-ticket M&A has been an area of growth over the last couple of years for the firm. Significant deals include partner Simon Dinning advising the vendors on the November 2015 sale of retailer Sandpiper to a local consortium of investors.
The IPO pipeline also continued. In Jersey, partner Simon Schilder advised Novocure on its October 2015 Nasdaq IPO, which raised $165m; and partner Michael Lombardi acted for Integrated Diagnostics Holdings on its recent listing on the London Stock Exchange’s main market. ‘This work, in particular, allows lawyers at Ogier to blend experience gained in the onshore markets with technical expertise offshore,’ says Dinning.
Significant lateral hires for Ogier included litigation partner Brian Lacy joining the BVI office from Maples and Calder; and in Cayman, dispute resolution and arbitration specialist Ulrich Payne arrived from Kirkland & Ellis’ London office.
In Jersey, regulatory and funds specialist Matthew Shaxson was recruited from Mourant Ozannes; and in Guernsey, Martyn Baudains joined in December 2015 to set up a new property practice from Babbé.
WALKERS
Lawyers: 206, including 70 partners
Offices: Eight (BVI, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Global managing partner: Ingrid Pierce (Cayman Islands)
Senior partner: Mark Lewis (Cayman Islands)
Focus: Banking and finance, corporate, funds, insolvency and dispute resolution, insurance, listing services, private equity, real estate, regulatory/compliance, structured products/capital markets, taxation (Ireland) and wealth structuring
Recent standout deal: Cayman partners Melissa Lim and Rolf Lindsay acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Home Loan Servicing Solutions on its approximately $1.4bn sale.
Recent standout disputes: Cayman partner Matthew Goucke and Neil Lupton acted for both sets of Cayman liquidators of one of the largest Madoff ponzi scheme’s feeder funds, involving groundbreaking hearings in Cayman’s Grand Court to determine the validity of redemption claims.
The most significant development for Walkers last year saw it re-enter the corporate and fiduciary services business when it launched Walkers Professional Services in Cayman, Dubai and Hong Kong, three years after selling off Walkers Management Services.
‘We have been asked to offer Bermuda legal services under the Walkers brand and now is the right time for us to take steps to achieve that.’
Ingrid Pierce, Walkers
According to Cayman partner Tim Buckley, the firm can now provide the services that its clients require from Walkers. ‘We can also ensure that we provide Walkers’ quality work to our clients as we are now in full control of those service lines,’ he says.
International expansion involved the firm announcing its opening in Bermuda by the end of 2015. ‘We have been receiving requests from clients for some time to offer Bermuda legal services under the Walkers brand and we believe now is the right time for us to take steps to achieve that,’ says global managing partner Ingrid Pierce.
With regard to workflow, all the firm’s practice areas are growing, Pierce tells Legal Business. However, the insolvency and dispute resolution group is recruiting in Cayman and globally – Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore – to keep up with instructions.
Significant arrivals for the firm included James Burch joining as partner from Mourant Ozannes. ‘James’ expertise and experience will enhance our already very strong finance and corporate team,’ says Pierce. Other growth saw Jonathan Sheehan joining as tax head in Dublin from Arthur Cox. LB