Carey Olsen

Dispute Resolution and Litigation; Regulatory; Restructuring and Insolvency

Alex Hall Taylor is a barrister, King's Counsel, partner and head of Carey Olsen’s BVI Dispute Resolution and Litigation team.

Alex has over 25 years' court experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution across a broad range of commercial, company, shareholder, trusts, insolvency, restructuring, civil fraud, asset tracing, security enforcement, tax, professional liability and fiduciary claims, arbitrations and mediations. He has extensive case management, interlocutory, trial and appellate advocacy experience including before the Privy Council. His practice is principally contentious, involving advocacy, tactical advice and strategic expertise in high value, complex, document heavy matters that are frequently multi-jurisdictional in nature. He is a CEDR-accredited mediator.

Alex is ranked as a leading individual in BVI dispute resolution in the most recent editions of both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners Global, where he is said to stand out for 'his knowledge, experience and responsiveness' and is described by market sources as 'an exceptionally bright, sensible litigator',  'fantastic' and a 'real delight to work with'.

Alex regularly acts and advises on trusts and shareholder disputes including unfair prejudice claims, alleged breaches of trust or of shareholder agreements, rectification actions, minority squeeze-outs and just and equitable winding up applications as well as on fraud and asset tracing claims and regulatory, corporate investigation, anti-corruption and money-laundering assignments. Alex is often involved in seeking or defeating interim remedies such as injunctions, the appointment of receivers and Norwich Pharmacal relief, often on an urgent basis. He has acted as an expert witness on BVI law, practice and procedure in foreign proceedings.

Recent BVI experience includes:

• Enforcement of arbitration award in the Unitel/Vidatel Angolan telecommunications dispute
• Obtaining discharge of an interim injunction obtained in support of Swiss arbitration proceedings in the medical imaging industry
• Acting for lead secured creditors in the billion $ restructuring of the Brazilian Constellation offshore drilling group, including first ever appointment of ‘light touch’ joint provisional liquidators in support of foreign restructuring
• Resisting unreasonable interference by BVI Receivers of BVI company in a Japanese listed subsidiary
• Liquidations and related applications and claims in connection with frauds by a former Sao Paolo mayor, including obtaining first reported BVI judgment on pooling related liquidations
• Advising trustees of long-established family trusts on allegations of breach of duty and potential application for removal by warring beneficiaries

Alex was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1996 (not currently practising there) and was appointed Queen's Counsel in England and Wales in 2020. He was admitted as a barrister of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in 2018.

Alex joined Carey Olsen in 2020 from the BVI office of Maples and Calder, where he jointly led the litigation, insolvency and restructuring team as a partner for over 2 years. Prior to moving to the BVI in 2018, Alex was a barrister at leading London Chambers 4 New Square where he spent 17 years, after 4 years training and practising at another leading Lincoln’s Inn set of chambers. At the English bar he was consistently ranked by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners in commercial chancery (particularly offshore), banking and financial services, civil fraud and professional liability work.

Alex is a member of the BVI Bar Association, the Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association (RISA), the Chancery Bar Association, the Financial Services Law Association, the London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association, the Professional Negligence Bar Association and the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple where he is a Governing Bencher.