Carey Olsen Bermuda Limited boasts ‘in-depth market knowledge’, as well as an ’exceptional relationships with regulators’. Its offering is multi-disciplinary, with regulatory, employment, immigration, corporate, trusts, and dispute resolution lawyers working collaboratively on contentious and non-contentious regulatory and compliance issues across transactional and non-transactional mandates. This includes advice on establishing businesses and fulfilling ongoing regulatory obligations. Providing regulatory investigative support to financial institutions is another core area of activity. Dispute resolution partners Michael Hanson and Kyle Masters head up the practice alongside corporate partners Gavin Woods and Steven Rees Davies. Hanson has expertise in reputation risk and crisis management scenarios, and Masters heads up the regulatory enforcement and protect department. Woods is skilled in the licensing of new entities, while Rees Davies is notable for his experience in fin-tech and digital assets regulatory matters. Matthew Watson is the latest addition to the team, having joined from Cox Hallett Wilkinson Limited in June 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘In-depth market knowledge, exceptional relationships with regulators and a commercial application to regulatory and compliance that is rare to find.’

  • ‘Kyle Masters is sharp with exceptional attention to detail, holds incomparable relationships with government and regulators that provides insight that you cant buy. Brilliant, responsive and committed.'

  • 'Michael Hanson oozes credibility, the only person in Bermuda you want to head up serious or complex regulatory and compliance matters. Responsiveness is off the charts. When he speaks, the regulators will listen. Savvy, commercial and no nonsense but also an absolute pleasure to work with.’
  • ‘Very progressive firm with wide range of expertise and experience levels. Service levels consistently good and pragmatic approach taken to legal issues and challenges.’

  • ‘Gavin Woods and his team are very experienced and reliable in the provision of advice and support on legal transactions. Gavin is commercially aware and solution oriented in the conduct of this practice.’

  • 'Charissa Ball has been very helpful to our team, able to analyse legal issues and provide commercial, practical advice. She is also readily available for discussion and has a friendly and professional demeanour.'

  • 'They are readily available to discuss and help push out new regulatory applications.'

Key clients

  • Alcority Services Limited
  • Annuity & Life Re Limited and Pope Asset Management LLP
  • Aon Insurance Co
  • BCT Limited
  • Bermuda Captive Network
  • Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited
  • Cactus Limited
  • Chard Re Investment Management
  • Fidelity National Title Insurance Company Limited
  • Fortitude Re
  • Granville Technology Group Limited (In liquidation)
  • Hiscox
  • JetBlue Airways Corporation
  • Mexico Infrastructure Finance LLC
  • NewOcean Energy Holdings Ltd
  • OT Computers Limited (In liquidation)
  • RenaissanceRe Holdings
  • SiriusPoint
  • Teneo Bermuda
  • Transocean
  • Trump Panama Hotel Management LLC
  • Trump International Hotels Management, LLC
  • VMT Limited (In liquidation)
  • Waterloo Investment Holdings
  • World on Wireless Ltd (Joint Provisional Liquidators of World on Wireless Ltd)

Work highlights

  • Acting for Aon and a number of its subsidiaries, including White Rock, in what has been described in the press as 'likely the largest fraud ever in the Bermuda (re)insurance market' and what has become known in the industry as the 'Vesttoo fraud'.
  • Advised Bittrex Global (Bermuda), a global crypto currency exchange, licenced in the US, Liechtenstein and Bermuda on matters following the board's determination I n 2023 that it was in the interest of all parties to wind-down operations.
  • Advised the Bermuda Medical Doctors Association on a strategy to oppose proposed amendments to the Bermuda Health Council Act which intend to allow the Bermuda Health Council the power to demand patient and other financial information in order to satisfy a direction of the Minister of Health.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Michael Hanson, Kyle Masters, Gavin Woods, Steven Rees Davies

Other key lawyers

Michael Frith, Ashley Fife, Charissa Ball, Alexandra Fox, Matthew Watson