Dispute Resolution

Partner and Co-Head

Sebastian Said is a Partner and Co-Head of the Dispute Resolution practice Group in the Cayman Islands.

He is an English barrister, specialising in high-value international commercial litigation, in particular fund disputes, banking, insolvency and restructuring, fraud and asset-tracing, professional liability, and contentious trust disputes. He has represented clients in many of the most significant Cayman cases in his practice areas in recent years, including acting for clients in relation to the collapses of Weavering, Abraaj, Bear Stearns, 1MDB and Highland Capital Management.

Before joining Appleby he practised from Fountain Court Chambers, one of the English Bar’s “magic circle”, where he remains a door tenant. A highly experienced advocate, he leads teams handling substantial applications and trials before the Cayman courts, representing clients across all aspects of Cayman financial services, including hedge funds and their directors, fund managers, banks, law firms, trustees, companies, directors, shareholders, GPs and LPs of exempted limited partnerships, creditors of distressed Cayman entities, corporate bond-holders and their trustees, liquidators, and receivers.

Most of his experience is in complex cross-border cases, involving heavy Cayman litigation requiring strategic co-ordination with legal teams at leading on-shore law firms and chambers (in particular in London, New York, Hong Kong, Florida, California, Delaware, Connecticut, Dubai, and Brazil), often working alongside leading insolvency, funds, banking and trust professionals in Cayman, as well as Appleby colleagues in the other major offshore jurisdictions.

Sebastian’s current or recent clients include: BDO, Butterfield, Cayman National, The Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Fund Fiduciary Partners, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Mr Lau Chun Shun, and Nordic Trustee. At various times he has also acted for: Aspinall’s Club, Bank Julius Baer, Barclays, Gazprom, Generali, HBO, ISS, KPMG, Lloyds TSB, Man Financial, NatWest, NML Capital, Northern Rock, Pokerstars, Queen’s Park Rangers FC, Rawlinson & Hunter, RBC, RBS, Saipem, Sberbank, and the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority.

English

He undertakes work for the Bar Pro Bono Unit, has volunteered to assist with the Social Mobility Foundation and Bar Council Bar Placement Week, and has acted as a mentor in the Cayman Finance Student Education and Work Experience Programme (2016, 2017 and 2018). He has served on the International Committee of the English Bar Council, and the Joint Academic Stage Board, the body formerly responsible for the regulation of the academic stage of qualification for English barristers and solicitors.

His professional memberships include INSOL, the Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association, STEP, CILPA, COMBAR, and the Chancery Bar Association.

Before qualifying, and following a gap year on the Arthur Andersen Scholarship Programme, specialising in Corporate Tax, Sebastian studied Jurisprudence at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he took a Double First and was awarded a Domus Scholarship and the Monk Prize for the best performance in examinations at his college. He remained in Oxford to pursue the BCL, a Masters’ degree in Law, for which he took a Distinction and was awarded the Simms Prize by the University. Whilst at Oxford, he was also invited to sit the examination for a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College. After working for Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, Sebastian was called to the English Bar in 2004, as a Major Scholar of Inner Temple.

University of Oxford (Pembroke College).

Sebastian has been consistently recommended by the Legal 500 in the Cayman Islands since 2014, having previously been recommended while in practice at the Bar in London. He has been identified as a Next Generation Partner for Dispute Resolution by Legal 500 since 2019, and a Key Lawyer for Trusts, in respect of his trusts disputes practice, since 2021; with clients describing him as ‘A rising star, very switched on, responsive and personable.’ Other feedback has included: ‘Very responsive/user-friendly, and an extremely thoughtful and considered lawyer. He thinks carefully about how arguments should be presented and is an effective advocate who can hold his own against the London silks who appear in Cayman.’ ‘Sebastian Said is a standout. Excellent grasp of complex issues and able to apply strong legal analysis to any factual scenario.’; ‘that his competitors hire him…speaks volumes; perfect in a tricky spot.’

Sebastian is also recognised by Chambers Global as being ‘sought out by clients for advice on an array of issues, including trust disputes and insolvency proceedings. Clients say ‘He is incredibly hard-working and has great attention to detail,’ and has a ‘commercial and practical mindset.’ In the 2022 edition clients referred to him as ‘Exceptionally bright and very commercial. He has a great manner with the judges.’ ‘He is a strong lawyer and great on his feet in Court.’ In 2023: “a very clever and technically very able lawyer; a good man to have in your corner.” “incredibly bright and very hard-working.”