Collas Crill advises HNWIs, family offices, and professional trustees on the structuring of Jersey trusts, and is also able to represent parties involved in trust disputes, including breach of trust claims and applications to remove trustees. Victoria Yates takes the lead on all non-contentious matters, from the structuring of both private and commercial trusts, while Damian James is sought after for contentious proceedings, handling multi-jurisdictional cases. Dionne Gilbert is the firm’s wills and probate specialist, in addition to acting for clients in divorce and child law proceedings.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Collas Crill provides an exceptional service to clients and is a pleasure to deal with. Not only does it provide the highest level of professional service, it also relates to clients and makes them a priority in all that it does.'
- 'Collaboration between the partners feels fluid and client-centric.'
- 'Dionne Gilbert is an expert in her field. She gives wise counsel and thoughtful and pragmatic advice. She is also empathetic and has excellent communication skills, ensuring that the nuances and implications are fully understood, and therefore the best decision is made.'
- 'A great team which is really on the up in terms of its presence and visibility in the market.'
- 'The team provides expert advice on cross-jurisdictional matters and as a firm we regularly refer clients to each other and lean on each other's expertise.'
- 'Dionne Gilbert has a solid practice.'
Key clients
- Apex
- Baccata
- Charles Russell Speechlys
- Citco
- Crestbridge Family Office
- CSC
- EFG Wealth Solutions (Jersey) Limited
- Entrust
- Equiom
- Fairway
- Farrer & Co
- Forsters
Work highlights
Advised an UHNW family, worth circa €25bn, on the restructuring of various Jersey trusts established for different branches of the family.
Advised a Jersey regulated trust company in relation to a Jersey trust established by a HNW family worth circa £51bn on a variety of complex multi-jurisdictional issues where one branch of the family is seeking a partition of the assets and another branch is contesting the court application on the grounds that a family agreement precludes partition.
Advised a HNW Jersey resident individual on the establishment of a suitable trust structure to hold his business, taking into account forced heirship provisions in Jersey and the client's desire to ensure his business, worth circa £500m, would continue to operate smoothly following his death.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Victoria Yates; Damian James; Dionne Gilbert