Caribbean - British Virgin Islands
Appleby
Appleby leverages the firm's global network of offices to handle a broad spectrum of cross-jurisdictional disputes and remains a key name in the BVI market for shareholder disputes and insolvency issues; it is also active in asset tracing and trust litigation. At the helm of the team is ‘extremely clever’ Andrew Willins, a seasoned practitioner with a strong reputation in insolvency, asset tracing and fraud work. Olwyn Barry excels in insolvency proceedings, debt enforcement work and commercial disputes, cementing her position as a notable figure in these areas, while associate Laure-Astrid Wigglesworth focuses on international litigation. Adding to the group's strength, the firm welcomed Dan Mitchell in July 2023, who made the move from Ogier, further enhancing the team’s capabilities in the insolvency and cryptocurrency spaces.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Great team and client service.’
‘Andrew Willins - excellent lawyer and advocate.’
‘Best lawyer in BVI -in Andrew Willins, and a very experienced litigation department.’
‘Appleby's dispute resolution team has great strength in depth. They coordinate well across offices, and are perfectly placed to advise on complex global asset recovery exercises.’
‘Andrew Willins is a star litigator and an outstanding advocate. He leads a team of exceptional associates in the BVI, who can be relied on to run the most complex and contentious disputes.’
‘Appleby has, indeed, one of the strongest dispute resolution teams in the BVI. I can limitlessly describe how good they are. When we instructed them to receive the injunctive relief from the court, they did so flawlessly and promptly: we were absolutely happy with the quality of their services.’
‘Andrew Willins is the engine, brain and goodwill of Appleby's dispute resolution team in the BVI. Everyone knows him and, I believe, everyone trusts him. He has built a terrific practice, which delivers great results, and he remains hands on. His reputation is impeccable, so is the quality of service.’
‘Andrew Willins is hugely experienced in the BVI and extremely clever. His attention to detail and work ethic is exceptional, married with great common sense and commercial awareness.’
Key clients
- Snapper, Basic and Putney
- Pakistan International Airlines
- Halimeda International Corporation
- Pacific Asia Opportunity Fund
- Alfa Bank
- Victory Success Holdings Ltd
- Liquidators of Peak Hotels & Resorts Limited
- Liquidators of Peak Hotels & Resorts Ltd
- Witel AG
- Stockman Interhold SA
- Lunan Pharmaceutical Group
Work highlights
- Acted for Pakistan Airlines in defeating an attempt to enforce a $5bn arbitral award over its BVI assets, in a case which raised questions of public international law.
- Acted successfully on behalf of Halimeda International at every stage in bringing winding up proceedings in relation to a $200m debt, and in defending conspiracy claims on jurisdictional grounds.
- Acting on behalf of Pacific Asia in its attempts to recover a $120m judgment against a Chinese dissident, a billionaire now residing in New York.
Lawyers
Leading individuals
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Andrew Willins