Brian Lacy
Partner | Legal
British Virgin Islands, Jersey
Partner
British Virgin Islands, Jersey
Big things are happening at Ogier. Change is embedded in everything we do. It is redefining our talent, our ways of working, our platforms of delivery, our culture.
Services
We have the expertise to handle the most demanding transactions. Our commercial understanding and experience of working with leading financial institutions, professional advisers and regulatory bodies means we add real value to clients’ businesses.
Sectors
Our sector approach relies on smart collaboration between teams who have a deep understanding of related businesses and industry dynamics. The specific combination of our highly informed experts helps our clients to see around corners.
We have the expertise to handle the most demanding transactions. Our commercial understanding and experience of working with leading financial institutions, professional advisers and regulatory bodies means we add real value to clients’ businesses.
Legal
Corporate and Fiduciary
Consulting
Banking and Finance
Corporate
Dispute Resolution
Employment law
Intellectual Property
Investment Funds
Listing Services
Local Legal Services
Private Wealth
Property law
Regulatory
Relocation Services
Restructuring and Insolvency
Tax
Banking and Finance overview
Asset Finance
CAYLUX Fund Finance
Debt Capital Markets
Derivatives
Fund Finance
Islamic Finance
Leveraged Finance
Listing services
Real Estate Finance
Regulatory
Restructuring and Insolvency
Structured Finance
Sustainable Finance
Corporate overview
Economic Substance
EIIS Services in Ireland
Equity Capital Markets
Insurance and Reinsurance
Listing services
Mergers and Acquisitions
Private Equity
Real Estate Structuring, Acquisitions and Disposals
Regulatory
Technology and Web3
Dispute Resolution overview
Banking Disputes
Corporate and Financial Services Disputes
Crypto Disputes
Enforcement of Judgments and Awards
Fraud and Asset Tracing
Funds Disputes
Insurance Disputes
International Arbitration
Regulatory
Restructuring and Insolvency
Section 238 Shareholder Appraisal Rights
Shareholder and Valuation Disputes
Trusts Disputes and Applications
Investment Funds overview
Hedge Funds
Managers and Sponsors
Private Equity
Real Estate, Infrastructure and Energy Funds
Regulatory
Sustainable Investing and Impact Funds
Technology and Web3
Local Legal Services overview
Cayman Local Legal Services
Channel Islands Local Legal Services
Employment law
Estate Planning, Wills and Probate
Expat services
Family Office
Intellectual Property
Ireland Local Legal Services
Make your Guernsey will online
Make your Jersey lasting power of attorney online
Make your Jersey will online
Notary public services
Property law
Relocation Services
Private Wealth overview
Employee incentives and pensions
Estate Planning, Wills and Probate
Family Office
Make a Jersey lasting power of attorney online
Make your Guernsey will online
Make your Jersey will online
Private Wealth and ESG
Private Wealth and Jersey Private Funds
Relocation Services
Trust Advisory Group
Accounting and Financial Reporting Services - Ogier Global
Cayman Islands AML/CFT training - Ogier Global
Corporate Services - Ogier Global
Debt Capital Markets - Ogier Global
Fund Services - Ogier Global
Governance Services - Ogier Global
Investor Services - Ogier Global
Ogier Connect - Ogier Global
Private Wealth Services - Ogier Global
Real Estate Services - Ogier Global
Regulatory and Compliance Services - Ogier Global
Our sector approach relies on smart collaboration between teams who have a deep understanding of related businesses and industry dynamics. The specific combination of our highly informed experts helps our clients to see around corners.
Ogier provides practical advice on BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Irish, Jersey and Luxembourg law through our global network of offices across the Asian, Caribbean and European timezones. Ogier is the only firm to advise on this unique combination of laws.
Keep up to date with industry insights, analysis and reviews. Find out about the work of our expert teams and subscribe to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
Fresh thinking, sharper opinion.
We get straight to the point, managing complexity to get to the essentials. Our global network of offices covers every time zone.
No Content Set
Exception:
Website.Models.ViewModels.Components.General.Banners.BannerComponentVm
Insight
10 December 2019
Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Jersey
3 min read
Welcome to the last edition of In Your Court of 2019. This past year especially has been one of the busiest for Dispute Resolution in the firm's history, and we have been involved in a broad range of large, complex contentious cases.
The increase in the variety of work has been matched by an increase in the volume of instructions across the board – and our team has grown and developed to meet that demand, with Jennifer Fox joining the partnership, the arrival of Daniel Mitchell and Katherine Bradley in our BVI office, and the promotions of Edwin Gomez and Michael Snape in our Hong Kong office. Our Cayman team in particular has tripled in size over the last two years. We are also ensuring our team's skills and knowledge are market leading, with Marc Kish the latest to graduate INSOL's prestigious Global Insolvency Practice Course.
In previous years we saw a few particular areas of major interest emerge, but the past year has been a year of wide variety. This has been one of our busiest years for dispute resolution and we and other Cayman lawyers have been involved in a broad range of large, complex contentious cases, including commercial litigation, restructuring and insolvency, trusts, regulatory fields, professional negligence cases (both for plaintiff and defendant), proceeds of crime cases (for institution and for customer) and other contentious disputes. We are also seeing the continuation of disputed valuation cases in connection with the squeeze-out of minority shareholders of Cayman companies – usually to facilitate a company’s subsequent public offering in China.
Read more of the Q&A from Jennifer Fox here: Recent legal trends in Dispute Resolution in the Cayman Islands
In a decision that serves as a clear warning to companies seeking to limit their discovery obligations in proceedings brought under section 238 of the Companies Law (2018 Revision) (the "Law"), the Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands has handed a group of dissenting shareholders a significant victory in what will likely become the benchmark for future directions orders in section 238 proceedings in the Cayman Islands.
Ogier represented a group of dissenters comprising over 82% of the total dissenters by number of shares (the "Dissenters").
Read more of the briefing from our team here: Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands confirms and expands upon the 'standard directions' in section 238 proceedings
Bryan Little recently joined Ogier's dispute resolution team in Cayman. He has experience working in London, Guernsey, and Cayman and studied at the Cayman Islands Law School. In this Q&A he gives insights into life and work across these different jurisdictions and his experience moving from in-house to private practice.
Read more of the Q&A from Bryan Little here: From in-house to private practice, onshore to offshore
As part of the JFSC's risk-based approach following its restructure of Supervision, registered firms are experiencing an increased number of visits from the regulator and greater focus on issues central to the JFSC's regulatory objectives. It is therefore crucial that firms and their senior management understand how the regulator expects them to engage with it.
Read more of the article from Daniel Maine here: Does your firm have an effective relationship with the JFSC?
Private Client analysis: This long-running fraud case illustrates the difficult task that the Channel Island courts sometimes have in comparing and distinguishing between developed principles of English law and foundational elements of the customary law of the islands which borrow from French and other civilian law jurisdictions.
It tackles two ‘hot potatoes’ in Jersey law. The first is the question of the rights between wrongdoers to claim an indemnity or contribution outside of the scope of the limited statutory scheme between joint tortfeasors and, secondly the extent and nature of the doctrine of unjust enrichment in Jersey law. Nick Williams, partner, at Ogier in Jersey, comments on the case CMC v Forster and others [2019] JRC 202].
Read more of the article here: Slowly getting to grips with unjust enrichment and Jersey’s legal hot potatoes (CMC v Forster)
Patisserie Valerie
Patisserie Valerie entered into administration at the start of this year following the discovery of fraud within the company. It is thought that inflated profit margins and sale figures and thousands of false entries in the company's ledgers caused the company's accounts to be overstated by approximately £94m. These factors were not identified by Grant Thornton when it conducted its audit. This was despite the fact that suspicions were raised by HMRC over two years ago.
Read more of the article from Oliver Passmore and Alex Horsbrugh-Porter here: The limits of audit: public perceptions and legal realities
A recent Privy Council decision relating to long-running Jersey proceedings (Volaw –v- Comptroller of Taxes [2019] UKPC 29) provides clarification on the extent to which a party to an action may resist disclosure notices from authorities by utilising the right of privilege against self-incrimination.
Read more of the article from Damian Evans here: The right of privilege against self-incrimination: Volaw v Comptroller of Taxes
What is the Guernsey solvency test?
The solvency test, found in section 527 of the Companies (Guernsey) Law 2008 as amended ("the Law"), is used to determine whether a Guernsey company is solvent. For non-regulated companies, it is a two-part test. For regulated companies there is a third part to the test[1] which concerns compliance with the solvency requirements imposed by their specific regulatory regimes. The test is cumulative, meaning that a company is insolvent if it fails any applicable part of the test.
Read more of the article from Bryan De Verneuil-Smith here: The solvency test in Guernsey: are you sure your company is solvent?
Brian Lacy
Partner | Legal
British Virgin Islands, Jersey
Partner
British Virgin Islands, Jersey
Contact Brian
Back
Jennifer Fox
Partner | Legal
Cayman Islands
Partner
Cayman Islands
Contact Jennifer
Back
Marc Kish
Partner | Legal
Cayman Islands
Partner
Cayman Islands
Contact Marc
Back
Oliver Payne 彭奥礼
Partner 合伙人 | Legal
Hong Kong
Partner 合伙人
Hong Kong
Contact Oliver
Back
Rachael Reynolds KC
Global Senior Partner | Legal
Cayman Islands
Global Senior Partner
Cayman Islands
Contact Rachael
Back
Bryan De Verneuil-Smith
Partner | Legal
Guernsey
Partner
Guernsey
Contact Bryan
Back
Damian Evans
Partner | Legal
Jersey
Partner
Jersey
Contact Damian
Back
Ogier is a professional services firm with the knowledge and expertise to handle the most demanding and complex transactions and provide expert, efficient and cost-effective services to all our clients. We regularly win awards for the quality of our client service, our work and our people.
This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.
Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice
Sign up to receive updates and newsletters from us.
Sign up
No Content Set
Exception:
Website.Models.ViewModels.Blocks.SiteBlocks.CookiePolicySiteBlockVm