Erik Penz > Kennedys > Hamilton, Bermuda > Lawyer Profile
Kennedys Offices
1 Church Street, Third Floor
Hamilton HM 11
Bermuda
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Erik Penz
Position
Erik Penz is Special Counsel practising commercial disputes in Bermuda.
Career
Erik maintains a broad advocacy and advisory practice in complex contentious matters, including in the insurance, construction and professional-services sectors. His practice areas include shareholder disputes, injunctions, winding-up petitions, policy claims and coverage disputes, international judicial assistance, and recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings and practitioners.
He has appeared as leading counsel before the Court of Appeal, Divisional Court, Superior Court and regulatory panels in Canada, before international and domestic arbitral tribunals, and in mediations in London and Canada.
Erik was a partner at Norton Rose in Canada for 9½ years and then practised international disputes in the Middle East for 4 years where he was ranked Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500 in 2021 and recognised as a leading practitioner in The Legal 500’s Arbitration Powerlist in 2022.
He was counsel on leading insolvency, contract and private-international cases in Canada, and acted in high-profile litigation and international arbitration proceedings in the Middle East including two successful appeals to the Supreme Court of the Sultanate of Oman.
Erik’s practice covers all forms of dispute resolution, including insolvency and regulatory proceedings, and he has extensive experience with strategic / tactical litigation and multi-jurisdictional proceedings. Erik is a strong proponent of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as mediation (including through the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London), pre-trial settlement conferences, and negotiation.
Memberships
Erik is called to the Bar of Bermuda and by the Benchers of Upper Canada. He is a member of the Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association of Bermuda.
Education
BA (First-class Honours) in History and Politics, University of King’s College, Nova Scotia
LL B, with focus on advocacy, commercial law and public law, Queen’s University, Ontario
Lawyer Rankings
Bermuda > Dispute resolution
Kennedys is a go-to firm for ‘the most complex and high-value civil litigation’. Its offering encompasses representation in commercial and corporate litigation, trusts and shareholder disputes, and (re)insurance and contentious restricting mandates. ‘Amazing litigator’ Mark Chudleigh heads up the practice with a ‘tremendous amount of arbitration experience’, as well as expertise in contentious insurance claims. Other key members of the group include insolvency specialist Nick Miles, who is praised as a ‘go-to regulatory counsel in Bermuda’, ‘standout senior associate’ David Thom, who is an insurance specialist, and the ‘highly talented’ Laura Williamson, who is skilled in disputes surrounding trusts and financial services. Special counsel Erik Penz is also notable for his expertise in international dispute resolution.
Bermuda > Insurance/reinsurance
Kennedys boasts ‘deep knowledge and experience in the field’ of insurance and reinsurance, and its client base includes (re)insurers, captive insurance companies, and their insured clients. Mark Chudleigh leads the contentious insurance offering, which encompasses coverage claims, litigation, and arbitration considering the laws of New York, Bermuda, and England and Wales, while Nick Miles heads up the non-contentious insurance practice which handles restructurings, transactions, and insolvency mandates in the insurance space. Laura Williamson has expertise in large, complex insurance arbitrations, as well as professional liability claims and director’s liability matters. Other key members of the group include Nicolas Champ, who is skilled in insurance-related transactions, David Thom, who is growing his policy disputes practice, and Erik Penz.