The ‘exceedingly sharp’ team at Ogier is well versed in tackling complex trust disputes, with additional expertise in commercial, insolvency and regulatory proceedings. Practice head Mathew Newman is an insolvency specialist, representing clients where fraud and asset tracing issues have arisen. Simon Davies takes on both commercial and trust disputes, with expertise in breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence and insurance claims. Bryan De Verneuil-Smith represents a client base consisting of trustees, beneficiaries, directors and shareholders in disputes that span trust matters, fund and shareholder litigation, and property matters. Alex Horsbrugh-Porter combines a commercial disputes practice with a specialisation in handling schemes of arrangement, where he works alongside the firm’s corporate team.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘I found that the Ogier team was effective in representing our legal needs during dispute resolution talks.’
‘Very willing to learn and explore an industry that they had not represented before.’
‘The Ogier Guernsey dispute resolution team is a balanced one, with significant strength in depth. User friendly and exceedingly sharp, they are a pleasure to have on the team.’
‘Mathew Newman is an eloquent advocate that is supremely (and rightly) confident on his feet and in person. His knowledge and tactical awareness is excellent.’
‘Their strength lies in their detailed specialist knowledge in the field of high-value offshore trusts and international commercial disputes generally. Their key capability from their clients' point of view lies in an impressive ability to marshal highly complex facts and figures and to apply them to a pretty complex area of law, often including an international element.’
‘Mathew Newman displays a seriously impressive knowledge of his specialist area of law and an equally impressive ability to master complex facts and figures and identify the critical legal and factual issues on which a dispute will turn. He is then very effective in arguing his case with a view to achieving the most effective resolution for his client.’
Key clients
- HSBC
- Teneo
- Apex Fund Services
- Disruptive Capital
- CRGF GP
- Begbies Traynor
- Grant Thornton
- Leonard Curtis
- Alvarez & Marsal
- Investec
- Praxis
Work highlights
Acted for a trust company which is the trustee for 12 trusts that own extensive assets across multiple jurisdictions and are subject to an asset freeze imposed due to sanctions.
Acted for the plaintiffs, who have brought a multi-million claim against the former trustees of a Guernsey trust which is currently at the disclosure stage of proceedings.
Defended an administration application for a debt worth £42m and successfully negotiating a withdrawal of the application and a restructuring of the debt.
Lawyers
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Practice head
Mathew Newman
Other key lawyers
Simon Davies; Bryan De Verneuil-Smith; Alex Horsbrugh-Porter; Sandie Lyne