Dispute resolution

Conyers

As 'a quintessential BVI outfit', Conyers' litigation and restructuring team handles local and global litigation and often appears before the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal, acting for a client roster of financial institutions, Fortune 100 companies and private equity houses. Recent areas of activity include handling shareholder disputes, insolvency litigation, asset tracing matters and enforcement proceedings. The team notably handled some of the largest asset tracing litigation involving CIS states, and more recently ventured into emerging areas, including cryptocurrency disputes. The ‘very smart and practical’ Mark Forte sits at the helm of the department and acts in cross-border litigation, insolvency proceedings and emergency interim relief work, while Richard Evans excels in shareholder disputes, with a particular focus on those stemming from Asian jurisdictions. Triple-qualified Tameka Davis regularly acts in insolvency, conspiracy, and asset tracing claims and also handles enforcement work, and recently promoted partner Matthew Brown is praised as 'level-headed and thoughtful, and always takes care to talk through the rationale for strategic decision making', while Jerry Samuel is singled out as 'first class, extremely hard working and very client focused'.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Conyers BVI are outstanding: a quintessential BVI boutique outfit, spearheaded by Mark Forte, which handles bit ticket litigation from all around the world. The numbers at stake are eyewatering which is matched by the complexity of the legal and factual issues. Conyers BVI are smart can-do litigators, and highly skilled at delegating and collaborating with off island counsel where the case demands it.’
‘Richard Evans: you will not find a more knowledgeable and seasoned BVI litigator. He has seen it all, been there and done it. Yet he is utterly charming and unflappable - and a real pleasure to work with.'
‘Mark Forte is a huge force in the BVI. Great strategist and tactician. Goes the extra mile for clients. Richard Evans has enormous experience across all fields. Excellent lawyer and very commercially astute. Jerry Samuel - first class, extremely hard working and very client focused. Jane Fedotova - excellent on detail and full dedication to clients.’
‘I regularly work with both Charles Goldblatt and Matthew Brown on a number of innovative and interesting engagements. They are both knowledgeable, approachable and commercially brilliant.’
‘Charles Goldblatt - Senior Associate - Charlie is clearly going to be heading toward partnership ultimately. He is very bright and able and excellent at identifying upcoming steps and planning accordingly.'
'Matthew Brown - Partner - Matt has recently been promoted to partner, and deservedly so, he is extremely responsive. He is level-headed and thoughtful, and always takes care to talk through the rationale for strategic decision making. His attention to detail is meticulous and he does a fine job of summarising complex matters into key critical components.’
'Mark Forte is our go-to lead lawyer for BVI related disputes - he is a great tactician, fantastic with clients and very user friendly. He also always makes himself available for us.'

Key clients

Finaro
Rangecroft Ltd.
King Bun
Symphony Partners Limited
WWRT Limited
Haimen Zhongnan Investment Development (International) Co. Ltd
Grove Services, Inc
All Year Holding Limited
Sustainable Investment Enterprises Ltd.

Work highlights

Acted as BVI counsel to Symphony Partners Limited, Next Global Investments Limited and Dynamic Link Ventures Limited in registering three arbitral awards with a combined value in excess of $100m.
Acted as BVI counsel to US-based commodities business Grove Services in a large cross-border alleged fraud claim arising from the long running Ablyazov fraud, involving 54 named defendants.
Acted as BVI counsel to All Year Holdings and to its joint provisional liquidators in pursuing its Chapter 11 restructuring and related BVI plan of arrangement.