Anthony Williams

Dispute Resolution

Anthony is Head of Dispute Resolution in Guernsey.

Anthony is an experienced trial and appellate advocate. He has significant experience in many areas of corporate litigation and dispute resolution. Anthony has a particular expertise in high value and complex commercial litigation, with particular focus on investment fund disputes, regulatory enforcement, contentious insolvency matters, asset-tracing and recovery work, and trust litigation.

Anthony’s experience includes:

• Acting for certain directors to defend claims in the region of USD 1 billion brought by the liquidators of a parent company based in Guernsey.
• Advising and acting in Aareal Bank AG v JJW Limited, at first instance [2020] GRC 046 and on appeal [2021] GCA 021 which involved the first reported case in Guernsey concerning a contested compulsory winding up application.
• Acting for the successful Defendant in Rusnano v CRGF, proceedings before the Royal Court of Guernsey to terminate a Limited Partnership.
• Acting in Rusnano Capital v Molard International [2019] GRC011 and in the Guernsey Court of Appeal [2019] GCA077, which involved the question whether a sole beneficiary of a discretionary trust can call for distribution of the trust assets under Saunders v Vautier where the protector has a power to add further beneficiaries.
• Advising HSBC on the transfer of their banking business in Guernsey pursuant to a scheme of arrangement as part of a wider restructuring of the banking business in the UK. This was the first court sanctioned scheme of this kind in Guernsey.
• Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal on behalf of a Trustee in relation to an application by a beneficiary to terminate the trust. This is the leading decision in Guernsey with respect to the application of the common law rule in Saunders v Vautier.
• Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal on behalf of a Beneficiary in relation to an application to set aside various dispositions into trust. This is the leading decision in Guernsey with respect to the rule in Hastings Bass.
• Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal in relation to the scope and applicability of Directors’ indemnities. This case created new law in relation to the presumptive basis on which Directors take the benefit of indemnities contained in the Articles of Association.
• Appearing as trial advocate successfully representing a beneficiary of a trust in relation to a claim that certain trust assets be distributed to her. This case is the leading financial crime decision in Guernsey with respect to the scope and applicability of suspicious activity reports and the statutory “no consent” regime.
• Appearing as trial advocate representing a former senior executive defending claims of fraud with respect to the ownership of an LP. The trial involved extensive cross examination of multiple factual and expert witnesses. The decision has been reserved.
• Obtaining a freezing injunction and wide ranging disclosure orders as part of a worldwide claim arising out of complex and high value litigation in the UK.
• Obtaining an administration order in in respect of a number of Guernsey investment companies, forming part of a wider UK property holding structure, as part of a plan of restructuring to rescue the group as a going concern. The reorganisation involved the proposed restructuring of a secured loan facility in excess of £700million, and the managed disposal of an extensive portfolio of UK commercial real estate assets.
• Appearing for the acquirer in relation to the successful CAN$775million takeover of the NYX Gaming Group by way of contested scheme of arrangement.
• Acting for a global bank in connection with claw back claims instituted by the US Trustee of Madoff and the Liquidators of Fairfield.
• Acting on behalf of a number of Guernsey financial services businesses in connection with regulatory enforcement action for breaches of AML / CFT legalisation including advising with respect to compliance issues and remediation projects.

Anthony qualified as an Advocate of the Royal Court of Guernsey in 2012. Anthony is also admitted to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales (non-practising) and as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia.

English

Anthony is a prominent member of the local Bar having sat on the Guernsey Bar Council for the past 7 years as Treasurer and a Council member. In this role Anthony is responsible, alongside fellow council members, in considering issues impacting the future of the Guernsey Bar and the legal community on the island. Anthony is also a member of a Royal Court Committee comprising senior Advocates and Judges considering reforms to the civil procedure rules in Guernsey, which will impact on the manner in which commercial litigation is conducted on the Island. Finally Anthony is a member of R3, INSOL International, the Insolvency Practitioners Association, and the Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts.

University of Queensland (Australia); Université de Caen (France)