Appleby‘s dispute resolution team typically represents financial services clients in regulatory, contentious insolvency, financial crime and data protection matters, with further expertise in trusts. Anthony Williams heads up the practice, with a commercial disputes practice which covers investment funds, regulatory enforcement and insolvency. Richard Field is a regulatory specialist, handling anti-money laundering and data protection issues, while Richard Sheldon is responsible for contentious employment matters. Senior associate Alex Thornton de Mauroy has expertise in corporate disputes. James Gallimore joined the firm in January 2023 from Simmons & Simmons, and has a focus on employment disputes.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Ability to come up with solutions that address the client's legal needs in a complex litigation.'

  • 'Alex Thornton de Mauroy - exceptional attention to detail.'

  • 'High levels of service, quick turnarounds, very easy to work with.'

  • 'Richard Field - he is excellent on data protection and cyber matters. His extensive experience is incredibly useful. He is responsive and excellent with clients.'

  • 'Richard Field ensured he and his team clearly understood the mandate and applied his knowledge, skills and expertise to find solutions to a highly complex situation.'

  • 'Richard Field is the go-to lawyer for all data protection matters. Very switched on to developments in the law and understands the needs of our business.'

  • 'Richard Field is very personable and dependable and I would have no issue in recommending Appleby. He is up-to-date on what is happening in the market and has experience with the regulator, which is reassuring.'

  • 'We work with Richard Field. He brings experience, professionalism and integrity to all the work he does. The whole team at our office enjoy working with him - he is very personable and easy to communicate with, even when matters are complex he has a way of ensuring clarity and focus.'

Key clients

  • Aareal Bank AG
  • CBW
  • CRGF GP Ltd
  • Deloitte LLP
  • EPEA Fund Services
  • Grant Thornton
  • HSBC Group
  • Northern Trust
  • Oak Group
  • Peters & Peters
  • PraxisIFM Group
  • Snapper Investments Inc
  • Standard Chartered Trust
  • Standard Bank Group
  • Standard Chartered Bank
  • Teneo Financial Advisory Limited
  • Utmost Worldwide

Work highlights

  • Defended EPEA Fund Services (Guernsey) against claims by the liquidators of Lavaux Capital in connection with failed fund investments.

Lawyers

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Appleby
Anthony is Head of Dispute Resolution in Guernsey. Anthony is an experienced trial and appellate advocate. He has significant experience in many areas of corporate litigation and dispute resolution. Anthony has a particular expertise in high value and complex commercial litigation, with particular focus on investment fund disputes, regulatory enforcement, contentious insolvency matters, asset-tracing and recovery work, and trust litigation. Anthony’s experience includes: Acting for certain directors to defend claims in the region of USD 1 billion brought by the liquidators of a parent company based in Guernsey. Advising and acting in Aareal Bank AG v JJW Limited, at first instance [2020] GRC 046 and on appeal [2021] GCA 021 which involved the first reported case in Guernsey concerning a contested compulsory winding up application. Acting for the successful Defendant in Rusnano v CRGF, proceedings before the Royal Court of Guernsey to terminate a Limited Partnership. Acting in Rusnano Capital v Molard International [2019] GRC011 and in the Guernsey Court of Appeal [2019] GCA077, which involved the question whether a sole beneficiary of a discretionary trust can call for distribution of the trust assets under Saunders v Vautier where the protector has a power to add further beneficiaries. Advising HSBC on the transfer of their banking business in Guernsey pursuant to a scheme of arrangement as part of a wider restructuring of the banking business in the UK. This was the first court sanctioned scheme of this kind in Guernsey. Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal on behalf of a Trustee in relation to an application by a beneficiary to terminate the trust. This is the leading decision in Guernsey with respect to the application of the common law rule in Saunders v Vautier. Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal on behalf of a Beneficiary in relation to an application to set aside various dispositions into trust. This is the leading decision in Guernsey with respect to the rule in Hastings Bass. Winning an appeal to the Guernsey Court of Appeal in relation to the scope and applicability of Directors’ indemnities. This case created new law in relation to the presumptive basis on which Directors take the benefit of indemnities contained in the Articles of Association. Appearing as trial advocate successfully representing a beneficiary of a trust in relation to a claim that certain trust assets be distributed to her. This case is the leading financial crime decision in Guernsey with respect to the scope and applicability of suspicious activity reports and the statutory “no consent” regime. Appearing as trial advocate representing a former senior executive defending claims of fraud with respect to the ownership of an LP. The trial involved extensive cross examination of multiple factual and expert witnesses. The decision has been reserved. Obtaining a freezing injunction and wide ranging disclosure orders as part of a worldwide claim arising out of complex and high value litigation in the UK. Obtaining an administration order in in respect of a number of Guernsey investment companies, forming part of a wider UK property holding structure, as part of a plan of restructuring to rescue the group as a going concern. The reorganisation involved the proposed restructuring of a secured loan facility in excess of £700million, and the managed disposal of an extensive portfolio of UK commercial real estate assets. Appearing for the acquirer in relation to the successful CAN$775million takeover of the NYX Gaming Group by way of contested scheme of arrangement. Acting for a global bank in connection with claw back claims instituted by the US Trustee of Madoff and the Liquidators of Fairfield. Acting on behalf of a number of Guernsey financial services businesses in connection with regulatory enforcement action for breaches of AML / CFT legalisation including advising with respect to compliance issues and remediation projects.
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Appleby
Richard is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team at Appleby, specialising in corporate, trust and commercial litigation and regulatory matters. His regulatory focus is on data protection (including cyber), AML and compliance, technology and eGaming. Richard is one of the global leads for Privacy and Data Protection at Appleby and is the Guernsey lead for the firm’s Technology and Innovation practice group. Richard has acted for a range of local and global institutions on complex, cross-border disputes involving funds, banking and investment relationships and trusts. Many of the cases he has worked on involve fraud, asset-tracing and applications for injunctive relief, or regulatory issues (such as enforcement, AML, bribery or sanctions), often resulting in ground-breaking judgments, both in Guernsey and England. He is Vice-Chair of GACO (Guernsey Association of Compliance Officers) and involved in the current review of changes to Guernsey’s financial crime regime and preparations for the island’s MoneyVal assessment. He has been heavily involved in trust litigation, appearing in the trial of the Tchenguiz litigation in Guernsey, also advising on trustee removal, mistake and momentous decision applications, working along the firm’s private client team. He has recently appeared in a three-day trial of a will construction matter which will become the leading authority on such issues, and is working with the Jersey team in defending a novel claim involving reconstitution of a trust. Richard has been working on data protection and cyber matters for many years and is recognised as being at the forefront of advising on Guernsey´s Data Protection regime and GDPR. He sits on the States of Guernsey´s GDPR Industry Working Party, is involved in policy development and is both a committee member of the Islands’ Data Governance Forum and a qualified GDPR Practitioner. He is instructed by insurers in relation to cyber/incident response and managing breaches from initial discovery to remediation. Richard sits on the Digital Guernsey Panel and has been involved in providing input into the island’s Electronic Agents legislation, believed to be a “world first” in terms of setting a regulatory framework. He has also been involved with the Guernsey Financial Service Commission’s G-FIN working group and their wider initiatives at engagement with the local business community on fintech issues. He has historically been involved with the first use of blockchain in the private equity marketplace, spoken at the island’s first blockchain conference and advised on several digital identity, digital wallet, connected vehicles, cryptocurrency and e-CDD projects. Richard has written and spoken about GDPR/privacy extensively, both in the Channel Islands and further afield, working on projects including guidance on Guernsey´s data protection regime, co-authoring a guide to the impact of GDPR in the Channel Islands and contributing the Guernsey chapter to global law firms and legal subscription databases. He has also provided input to STEP UK on their GDPR guidance for trustees and fiduciary office holders.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Anthony Williams

Other key lawyers

Richard Field, Richard Sheldon, Alex Thornton de Mauroy, James Gallimore