Harneys‘ litigation, insolvency, and restructuring practice often appears before the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal in high-value and highly complex proceedings. Praised for its ’smart, commercial and strategic’ approach, the team's workload regularly spans liquidations, restructuring and insolvency proceedings, complex shareholder disputes and trust litigation, as well as crypto asset disputes, asset tracing issues and arbitration proceedings. With Andrew Thorp stepping down as head of the group, the practice is now co-led by ‘remarkable litigator’ Claire Goldstein, who has notable expertise in contentious trust and multi-jurisdictional fraud cases; and Christopher Pease, who is an expert in disputes concerning fraud and bribery elements. Other key individuals include global contentious co-chair Peter Ferrer and Philip Kite, who is an ’extraordinarily well versed lawyer’. Jonathan Addo is noted for his injunctive relief work expertise, and Kimberly Crabbe-Adams excels in assisting ultimate beneficial owners in contentious company restorations, while recently promoted to counsel Marcia McFarlane regularly assists high-net-worth individuals, law firms and office holders.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Harneys team is not only responsive, transparent and reliable, but also and most importantly, the team is creative. The team keeps assessing the dispute constantly and provide clear input to its clients explaining pros and cons and detailing the different options and way-forward. I enjoy personally interacting with Harneys Dispute Resolution team and consider them as my most reliable source in the BVI.’
‘Claire Goldstein is a remarkable litigator with extensive experience in the BVI. She seamlessly combines commercial nuance, analytical thinking and legal expertise and is supported by a great team of dedicated associates.’
‘Jonathan Addo and team are excellent litigators. Respected by the judiciary and peers, they are a formidable team to have on your side, and every time we have used them, we've won. Peter Ferrer is an elegant and cerebral adviser, with real international arbitration experience.'
‘Harneys offers noteworthy expertise across a range of offshore work and its team has solid experience in appearing in high-value disputes in front of the BVI courts. They truly are the go-to firm for high value offshore litigation.’
‘Harneys BVI disputes team have strength and depth. They have talented individuals at all levels. They are well established in the jurisdiction and immersed in the island's legal culture, meaning you can trust their judgment on tough decisions.’
‘A household name in the international legal market place. Wonderfully talented lawyers such as Jonathan Addo, Phillip Kite and Claire Goldstein, all immensely capable, engaging and highly respected internationally.’
‘The Harneys team is absolutely top of the market - smart, commercial, strategic, responsive; everything one could wish for. My absolute go to for anything complex in the BVI, particularly with a trust, equity or insolvency dimension. Collaborative approaching when working with multiple counsel in different jurisdictions.’
‘John McCarroll SC - one of the if not the leading silk. Great to work with. Insightful, strategic, smart. All around advocate and litigator.'

Key clients

Unsecured Creditors Committee of Voyager Digital
Sian Participation Corp (in liquidation), Intimere Holdings Limited and SGS Universal Investment Holdings Limited
Interpath Advisory
Wilmington Trust
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Kipford Ventures
MBS Software Solutions Ltd
DotC United
Meta Platforms (Facebook)
Shareholder in Mobike
Commercial Bank of Dubai
Haitong International Securities

Work highlights

Representing the bankruptcy trustee in a very high-profile, sprawling case concerning controversial exiled Chinese billionaire, Kwok Ho Wan, also known as Miles Guo.
Advising the Unsecured Creditors Committee of Voyager Digital and the plan administrator for the proposed Voyager wind-down entities.
Acting for entities associated with one of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen who owns Summa Group, which is focused on transport, construction, management and logistics, and with annual revenues of $10bn.