The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial , Conyers Dill & Pearman is a first tier firm,

A 'truly excellent firm with great lawyers and great people', Conyers Dill & Pearman's 'level of service is outstanding'. The practice advised Kosmos Energy on its IPO of up to $500m of its shares as it sought to capitalise on the success of one of the biggest oil discoveries of the past decade. The team also acted for Petrobank Energy and Resources and Petrominerales in connection with their corporate reorganisation, and the firm assisted Oslo-listed shipping company Stolt-Nielsen on its redomiciliation to Bermuda from Luxembourg. The practice also advised Aircastle in connection with the delivery of new Airbus Model A330-200 aircraft to South-African Airways to support South African Airways' fleet modernisation program. Team leader John Collis 'has a very quick and commercial mind, as well as being creative'. Anthony Whaley is noted for securities law, funds, hedge funds, corporate restructurings and corporate finance; David Cooke is recommended for asset financing and M&A; Graham Collis is experienced in financings, securities, insurance and corporate restructurings; Marcello Ausenda acts in financings, public companies, securities, partnerships, insurance and corporate restructuring; and James Macdonald is recommended for insurance and M&A matters.

Within Dispute resolution , Conyers Dill & Pearman is a first tier firm,

Conyers Dill & Pearman's 'dedicated' Narinder Hargun heads the litigation and restructuring team. Key matters included successfully defending an international bank in a breach of duty action brought against it in its capacity as former administrator and custodian of two Bermuda hedge funds. Jeffrey Elkinson is 'able and responsive', Paul Smith, Christian Luthi and Robin Mayor are also key contacts.

Within Insurance/reinsurance , Conyers Dill & Pearman is a first tier firm,

Conyers Dill & Pearman's team head Charles Collis advises on the establishment of captive insurance companies, as well as many of the island's Class 3 and Class 4 reinsurance companies. The 'extremely reliable' Collis also specialises in insurance derivatives and has conducted a significant number of insurance securitisations and transformation transactions using special purpose vehicles, traditional reinsurance companies and segregated account companies. Highlights for the practice included acting for Lodestone Re in connection with its two cat bond transactions with Chartis, as a result of which both series of notes were listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange. David Doyle is known for insurance and reinsurance matters, and has extensive experience in the area of segregated accounts' insurance companies, Chris Garrod is experienced in insurance regulatory matters and new insurance incorporations, and Michael Frith acts in insurance incorporations and the private placement equity financing of insurance companies.

Within Legal market overview,

The Bermudian legal market remains mostly dominated by global law firms Appleby and Conyers Dill & Pearman. Of the domestic practices, Cox Hallett Wilkinson and Mello Jones & Martin are widely considered to be the strongest contenders. Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki, Sedgwick Chudleigh and Wakefield Quin also draw high praise.

Within Trusts/private client, Conyers Dill & Pearman is a first tier firm,

At Conyers Dill & Pearman, 'important addition' Blair Botsford joined the private client practice from the Waterloo office of Canadian firm Miller Thomson. Botsford has brought expertise in estate planning and administration, trusts, incapacity planning and taxation. The practice is noted for its delivery of bespoke solutions to substantially wealthy clients and their onshore legal advisors, and is a leader in the creation and management of private trust companies. Experienced trust litigators also complement the private client team. Recently, the group advised on a complex reorganisation of a Bermuda law trust with Italian resident beneficiaries, which involved substantive advice on cross-jurisdictional issues, including complex forced heirship and succession right issues, and acted for the trustees in connection with a proposed private acquisition of a large publicly-listed UK company for the benefit of a high-net-worth client. For one client, group head Alec Anderson is 'clearly the best person for this work in that jurisdiction', and Craig MacIntyre is 'an excellent young partner who is conscientious and has good initiative. He is responsive and client oriented'. The 'extremely hardworking advisor' Helen Cooper and Peter Pearman are also recommended.