Keystone Law

Alan Owens

Alan has over 25 years’ experience as a litigation and regulatory investigations lawyer, latterly to the global online betting and gaming industry and related sectors, including operators, personal management licence holders, technology providers, advertisers, affiliates and online platforms. He is often appointed by global brands in disputes with strategic impact, navigating an external or governmental regulatory enquiry and co-ordinating internal investigations. He also has significant experience in complex technology disputes, often tied to long-term strategic partnerships. Alan also has significant experience working on disputes in the film, TV and online media industries, particularly concerning the failed funding or delivery of major film projects. Alan also works with clients in the preparation for and in the urgent management of significant data breaches and cyber security incidents, providing a co-ordinated response across multiple disciplines.

Alasdair Taylor

Alasdair is a technology lawyer who has spent over 20 years working at the interface of law and IT with expertise spanning IT and ecommerce law, data protection and privacy, contract law, copyright and other intellectual property rights and consumer protection law. His clients include UK-based and international cloud services providers, online platform operators, ecommerce businesses, software and website developers, systems integrators, resellers, managed services providers and digital media companies. The heart of Alasdair’s practice is helping these businesses manage legal risk and exploit commercial opportunities, by: advising on legal compliance, including providing practical advice relating to data protection, product design and development, marketing systems and sales processes; creating contract documentation, including drafting contracts for customers, licensees, resellers, referral partners, suppliers, subcontractors and business partners, each tailored to the technology, brand and risk tolerance of the client; negotiating contract terms, shepherding contracts negotiations from handshake to signature, advising clients on strategies and tactics, and providing smart solutions to overcome roadblocks.

Andrew Langan-Newton

Andrew is an Isle of Man advocate who specialises in resolving commercial disputes on behalf of a wide range of local and international clients. He is experienced in advising on commercial disputes involving alleged fraud, professional negligence, insolvency, and commercial debt recovery. Andrew also has a particular interest in trust and corporate disputes. Andrew has argued cases before the Isle of Man High Court and Appeal Court, and also has experience of advising clients in relation to claims before the Isle of Man Employment and Equality Tribunal. He often provides data protection advice and prepares non-contentious applications to the Isle of Man Court and to the Isle of Man Companies Registry.

Anne-Marie Rugeris

Anne Marie is an experienced solicitor specialising in healthcare regulation and fitness to practise cases, with significant experience in acting for healthcare and other regulators in respect of professional disciplinary investigations, including on behalf of the Health and Care Professions Council, the General Dental Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council, the Teacher Regulation Agency, and the General Chiropractic Council. Anne Marie also has particular expertise in acting on regulatory cases both in the First-tier Tribunal and the High Court, as well as advising and supporting clients in relation to inquest proceedings, CQC enforcement, safeguarding and a variety of other regulatory issues. In addition, Anne Marie has niche expertise in healthcare contractual disputes and performers list cases, including advising in respect of the performance management of healthcare professionals, commercial contracts, and NHS dispute resolution proceedings.

Ben Hughes

Ben has advised on pensions and employee benefits for fifteen years. He has a broad range of experience in occupational and personal pension schemes, both domestic and international. Ben provides legal counsel on corporate transactions as well as the establishment, maintenance, restructuring, and insolvency of pension schemes. His clients include major multinationals and publicly listed corporations, insurers, banks, pension providers, and leading UK and American law firms as well as the Isle of Man Government.

Geoff Kermeen

Geoff is a Manx Advocate with a practice that includes a wide range of Isle of Man corporate and structured finance work. He has particular experience in advising lenders, investors and developers in the UK and European commercial real estate sector, and in recent years has advised upon many high-profile CRE transactions for blue chip clients relating to prime assets (mainly located in London).   Geoff is a regular attendee at real estate industry events and is a member of the Investment Property Forum. He also works closely with leading advisors in London in developing the Isle of Man’s important role in attracting international business and investment to the City and the UK.

Hazel Dawson

Hazel is a corporate and commercial lawyer who advises Isle of Man companies listed on the AIM, LSE Main Market, NEX Exchange and TISE capital markets in relation to IPOs, reverse takeover, restructuring and rights issues. As part of her varied practice she also provides corporate advice on complex Isle of Man company law issues and commercial advice to clients in relation to a wide variety of transactional work. Other areas of expertise include acquisition and asset finance, corporate banking and finance, business and asset sales, and joint venture arrangements. Hazel also advises on regulatory and compliance issues, offering expert advice to clients on their legal obligations under the Island's financial services legislation. She is also an accredited Data Protection Practitioner, and often advises on data protection and GDPR, with a focus on corporate matters and contractual obligations with third-party service providers.

John Melia

John is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer with significant experience in finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, capital markets transactions, restructurings and commercial contracts. He is qualified to practise in England and Wales, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands, and has extensive experience in transactional matters across those jurisdictions. Areas of expertise: Corporate and Commercial Law Flotations (LSE & AIM) Mergers & Acquisitions Joint Ventures Fundraising Private equity Company restructuring and disposals

Julie Morrissy

Julie is an experienced construction and engineering lawyer with a practice that combines contentious and non-contentious work for a range of public and private sector clients. She has particular expertise in advising on procurement strategies and contract preparation, negotiation and administration. Julie works with clients on a number of different contract structures including traditional, design and build, EPC contracts, construction management, consultants’ appointments, guarantees and bonds. In addition, she has been involved in a number of infrastructure, schools, energy-from-waste and rail projects and commercial schemes including office developments, hotels, retail, distribution centres and urban regeneration. Julie also advises on dispute resolution across a range of construction and engineering projects, particularly in relation to commercial developments and PFI/PPP projects

Rachel Berry

Rachel is an advocate in the Isle of Man team with specialist focus on employment and dispute resolution. She has assisted with the employment aspects of a number of acquisitions and reorganisations in the Isle of Man, carrying out reviews of employment contracts and advising prospective purchasers of their obligations towards the employees. On the contentious side, Rachel has advised both employers and employees on their disputes, has helped negotiate settlements, drafted compromise agreements and, when a solution could not be reached, appeared before the employment tribunal.Outside of the employment arena Rachel has a broad litigation experience, having acted in a number of high-value personal injury claims (mostly defendant insurer work), complicated will disputes, and insolvency matters.  AREAS OF EXPERTISE:  Unfair dismissal Contracts of employment and consultancy agreements Compromise agreements Employment tribunal claims Commercial litigation Personal injury Construction disputes Will and estate disputes Inheritance Act claims

Richard Fox

Richard is a hugely experienced employment practitioner who has specialised in representing employers and employees on a broad range of employment issues for the last 25 years. He advises clients on matters including confidentiality and restrictive covenants, executive pay, bonus and severance arrangements, unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and redundancy programmes. He is frequently asked to advise in situations involving allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace following the rise of the #MeToo movement, and the cases that have followed. This includes conducting (as investigator) and advising on investigations into such conduct.

Sally Cranshaw

Sally is a Manx Advocate whose practice includes a broad variety of Isle of Man (IoM) corporate and structured finance work with a particular emphasis on UK commercial real estate (CRE). Her client base comprises special opportunity funds and high-net-worth individuals investing in London and the South East, as well as regional assets across a range of asset classes. Sally is also skilled in dealing with key areas of CRE-related work, from the establishment of IoM vehicles (including companies, limited partnerships, and funds), associated acquisitions and related financing, through to the disposal of the relevant corporate vehicles or underlying assets.

Stephen Rodd

Stephen is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer with a wide range of expertise across of number of jurisdictions. He has experience of advising borrowers on tax- and VAT-efficient offshore structures that hold UK-based real estate assets and expertise in advising lenders in relation to the financing of such offshore structures. In addition to providing commercial law advice to a wide range of businesses, Stephen also has extensive experience of advising IT, telecoms and e-gaming companies on technology-based commercial agreements and has previously worked as a telecommunications consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). His clients include an online card payment company that provides multi-currency bill payment services to online and traditional businesses. Stephen has multi-jurisdictional experience and connections having worked in London, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well as Glasgow and the Isle of Man.

William Margot

William is both a Manx Advocate and qualified Solicitor in England and Wales advising on a range of legal issues affecting corporate organisations. He also advises on a range of real estate and asset finance matters acting for banks, lenders (including alternative lenders and challenger banks) and borrowers in respect of the financing of Isle of Man entities, in particular companies, partnerships and trusts.Prior to joining Keystone, William worked for ten years in the corporate and private client teams of two IOM-based international law firms. He also served as In-house Legal Counsel at OCRA Worldwide. AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Corporate law Mergers and acquisitions Restructuring of real-estate holding companies Partnerships Funds Due diligence Corporate governance

Zena Bolwig

Zena specialises in health and welfare mental capacity and best interests law, particularly cases in the Court of Protection, and in broader community care law. She advises and advocates on behalf of clients in complex cases, which frequently involve novel issues including cross-border disputes, serious medical treatment, complex deprivation of liberty disputes, and capacity to consent to sexual relations, to marry and to have contact. She also acts in contentious property and affairs cases including disputes involving lasting powers of attorney and the appointment of deputies. The large majority of Zena’s cases have resulted in vulnerable clients returning to their homes, or to less restrictive care settings, or in regaining contact with loved ones, in line with their or their families’ wishes.