Caribbean - Bahamas
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Dispute resolution

McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes

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The ‘very professional and knowledgeable’ practice at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes excels across the spectrum of contentious work with experience before the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. The group is particularly noted for its commercial and trust disputes expertise as well as insolvency and restructuring knowledge and is able to handle multi-jurisdictional mandates. Senior partner John Wilson KC leads the department and is also active in the firm’s trust and private client practice. Elsewhere in the team, Sean Moree KC is praised as ’responsive, efficient and quite the all rounder’, Timothy Eneas KC focuses on property litigation, and Genell Sands handles insurance and personal injury claims. Kevin Moree is the key contact for tax disputes, and Erin Hill is the primary name at senior associate level.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team and McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes is very professional and knowledgeable. They have assisted us immensely in navigating the legal challenges we were faced with.’

  • ‘Sean Moree KC stands out as very responsive, efficient and quite the all rounder as a litigator. Kevin Moree is very strong technically on his core areas. Erin Hill is very professional in her approach.’

  • 'The exceptional individuals at McKinney Bancroft & Hughes set themselves apart with their expertise and personalised service. Among these remarkable team members, Genell Sands stands out for building her ability to create a strong client-attorney relationship. She is accessible and goes the extra mile to comprehend clients' values and cultural nuances. This personalized approach ensures her guidance is not only legally sound but also profoundly aligned with her clients' ethos.'

  • ‘We certainly appreciated the services of Andrew Smith who is very innovative in his approach to dealing with legal matters. He is timely and communicates clearly and effectively in a way that we can fully grasp the concepts and counsel he is providing.’

  • ‘Roster of people available to assist our point of contact, great resources to research case references.’

  • 'Knowledgeable, engaged and truly brilliant in laying out and executing on the litigation strategy.'

  • 'We receive timely reports on the progress of matters and are given options as how we wish to proceed. The strength of this firm is each partner can draw on the expertise of other partners in the firm even if those partners are not directly involved the particular case at hand.'

  • 'One of the strengths of working with Genell Sands is that she provides a very personal touch to her service and, 95% of the time, the required result is achieved in the settlement of any matter. She is never too busy to discuss matters and is always easily accessible.'

Key clients

  • The Private Trust Corporation limited
  • Ansbacher (Bahamas) Limited
  • EFG Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Limited.
  • Butterfield Trust (Bahamas) Limited
  • Windermere Island North Development Limited
  • Adlard Holdings Limited
  • FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Ltd.
  • Pictet Bank & Trust
  • Bamont Trust Company
  • RAV Bahamas Ltd.
  • BB Entertainment Ltd.
  • J. S. Johnson & Company Limited
  • Qamea Stanley Limited

Work highlights

  • Representing the joint official liquidators of one of the largest construction companies in The Bahamas in all aspects of the winding up proceedings.
  • Advised a Bahamian trust company in dealing with requests for information from FTX itself and the SEC involving a critical assessment of the validity of requests from US companies in bankruptcy and the US SEC.
  • Defending Pictet Bank & Trust Limited, one of the largest private banks in The Bahamas, in an action commenced by Monte Leone Arbitrage Fund Ltd (SAC) and ML Arbitrage Advisory Limited.

Lawyers

Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Erin Hill
Senior Associate Erin M. Hill is a Senior Associate of the firm who is well-versed in a variety of practice areas, including banking and finance, corporate and commercial litigation, and trusts/private client litigation.  She is a full member of STEP with Trust Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation and currently services as a Director for STEP Bahamas (2022-23). Erin a vibrant, young lawyer who is arduous researcher - remaining up to date on financial and corporate related case law and statutes in The Bahamas. Known for her responsiveness and efficiency, Erin has assisted in many civil litigation claims and was recently involved in complex litigation concerning a company which alleged a breach of fiduciary duties on the part of its directors leading to millions of losses by the Company.  Erin is also currently assisting in a multi-million dollar litigation stemming from a dispute surrounding a corporate re-structuring and a multi-million dollar trust litigation involving a trustee’s discretion to distribute trust funds. Erin has established a reputation of a hard-working, pragmatic lawyer who is detail oriented and attentive to all client needs. Outside of her work highlights, Erin is fluent in in Spanish which is vital to assist with clients from Spanish speaking countries. She is also an ADRgroup Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator and completed an LLM which focused on the metamorphoses of Arbitration.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
John Wilson KC
Senior Partner, Chair of MBH Executive Committee
Sean Moree KC
Partner, chair of the Trust & Private Client Practice Group and  a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. Moree manages caseloads for multi-national companies and ultra-high-net-worth families. An accomplished litigator, Moree represents clients in a wide range of commercial disputes, including trust litigation, derivative actions, shareholder disputes and third-party claims. His litigation practice also focuses on insolvency, restructuring, and disputes in the banking industry. Moree runs an active arbitration practice and appears regularly before tribunals, both in The Bahamas and internationally. He frequently works on cases that involve multiple jurisdictions, demonstrating prowess at liaising and collaborating with attorneys in other jurisdictions to ensure efficient management of international matters. He cultivates long-term working relationships with his clients, often representing or managing their legal affairs for years in various areas of law.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Kevin Moree
Partner and Co-Chair: Tax & Trade and Financial Services & Regulation practice groups Co-chair of Tax & Trade practice group: Advise clients on issues related to value added tax, business licence tax and real property tax and represent them in the dispute process associated with the same. Frequently provide opinions in connection with the suite of legislation passed to ensure The Bahamas is in line with international standards on tax transparency; namely, the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, the Removal of Preferential Exemptions Act, the Register of Beneficial Ownership Act and the Multinational Entities Financial Reporting Act. Co-chair of Financial Services & Regulation practice group: Advise clients on regulatory matters associated with the financial services industry including the Banks & Trust Companies Regulation Act, Companies Act, International Business Companies Act, Foundations Act and Investment Funds Act. Litigation & Dispute resolution: Regularly appear in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in connection with various civil and commercial litigation matters. Experienced with multi-jurisdictional matters involving counsel located around the world and dealing with complex legal issues.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

John Wilson KC

Other key lawyers

Sean Moree KC, Timothy Eneas KC, Genell Sands, Kevin Moree, Erin Hill, Andrew Smith

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