Offshore Britain - Isle Of Man
Appleby handles complex and high value disputes on a domestic and international level. The firm offers considerable expertise in international commercial litigation, insolvency work and trust disputes on behalf of some of the market’s most important players. Managing partner Mark Holligon focuses on commercial litigation and restructuring both onshore and offshore. The ‘bold and experienced litigator’ Caren Pegg handles a range of heavyweight civil and commercial disputes involving fraud, freezing injunctions and contentious data protection issues. Charles Davies handles complex corporate and commercial disputes, while Christopher Cope specialises in fraud claims and trust disputes. Other key names include Claire Corkish, Keira Gore and Erin Trimble-Cregeen.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team at Appleby are really excellent. they understand the UK and IOM insolvency work and also are well aware of other off shore jurisdictional insolvency landscapes.’
‘Mark Holligan is excellent and really knows his way around the IOM court system and what is required, when and how. He also has great knowledge of the English Insolvency legislation which is really helpful. He is a quality lawyer with a quality team around him.’
‘Highly capable of dealing with complex litigation, outshining competitors on the Isle of Man (even where those competitors have been backed by London-based solicitors).’
‘Caren Pegg - a bold and experienced litigator.’
‘An excellent team of litigators, who can handle the most complex litigation on the island. They have strength in depth, and the capability to deal with urgent matters promptly and professionally.’
‘Keira Gore is an excellent advocate - calm headed, but strong and persuasive on her feet.’
‘The firm is led on the Island by Mark Holligon. He is a force to be reckoned with on the Island. A very punchy litigator who will take the fight to the other side.
‘The team is led by the excellent Mark Holligon, who is the go-to commercial disputes lawyer in the Isle of Man. He brings experience from having practised in London as well as offshore. He leads a capable team including Caren Pegg and Claire Corkish. Mark is always available and goes the extra mile.’
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Christopher Cope is a Consultant in the Dispute Resolution department in the Isle of Man. Prior to joining the firm Christopher practised as a barrister for 10 years. In 2001 he relocated to the Isle of Man and joined the firm and was appointed as a partner in 2004.
Charles Davies is a partner within the Dispute Resolution department in the Isle of Man. He joined Appleby in October 2007 and became a partner in 2010. He specialises in complex corporate and commercial disputes. Since joining the firm, Charles has advised and acted for clients in a variety of commercial, corporate and trust disputes. Clients have included regulatory and governmental bodies, insurers and city firms of solicitors. Prior to joining the firm, Charles practised from 1996 to 2007 as a barrister in a commercial set of chambers in London (Stone Chambers), specialising in all aspects of commercial and shipping litigation, including arbitration.
Mark Holligon is the Managing Partner of the Isle of Man office and head of Appleby’s Isle of Man Dispute Resolution team. His expertise spans the contentious and non-contentious arenas, both onshore and offshore, with a focus on commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring. He began his career in England, qualifying in the City of London in 1995 and gaining experience with two further leading UK firms before moving to Walkers in the Cayman Islands in 2003 and on to the Isle of Man in 2008.
Rising stars
Erin is Counsel and practices a broad range of commercial litigation working in Appleby’s Dispute Resolution teams in the Isle of Man and Jersey. Having trained and qualified in the Isle of Man, Erin joined Appleby in October 2015 after gaining several years’ experience at a leading offshore firm in Guernsey. She specialises in trust disputes and general trust advisory work including advising trustees and beneficiaries on a wide range of contentious trust and estates issues and regularly presents to trust service providers on the obligations of trustees. She also undertakes commercial litigation work including insolvency matters and advising regarding restraint orders in the Isle of Man under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2008. Some recent examples of representative work include: advising trustees in respect of potential disputes with beneficiaries; advising trustees and beneficiaries in applications for rectification and/or rescission on the grounds of mistake; advising beneficiaries in an application for a variation of trusts under the Variation of Trusts Act 1961; advising trustees and executors in relation to applications to the Court for directions; advising executors and administrators in relation to the contentious aspects of the administration of estates;
Leading individuals
Caren Pegg is a partner in the Dispute Resolution department in the Isle of Man. She joined the firm in 2001 and qualified as an Isle of Man advocate in 2003. She is an experienced advocate and deals with a broad range of civil and commercial disputes, including freezing injunctions, enforcement of judgments, asset tracing, Norwich Pharmacal applications, public law issues and director/shareholder disputes. Caren also specialises in employment law and is the Global Head of the Employment team. She has extensive experience in dealing with both non-contentious and contentious matters, including redundancy, employment issues related to mergers & acquisitions, restructuring, unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and contracts of employment. Her clients range from leading global and local corporate entities to high net worth individuals. She also has experience in dealing with GDPR, work permit and immigration issues and also regarding the employment aspects of shipping law, including crew contracts. She has been actively involved in liaising with the Isle of Man Government as part of the consultation process for both the Isle of Man Law Society and the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce for all the employment legislation that has been introduced over the last twenty years including the Employment Act 2006 and the Equality Act 2017.
Next Generation Partners
Claire Corkish is Partner and an experienced litigator within the Isle of Man Dispute Resolution department. She has extensive experience in a broad range of commercial litigation matters. In particular, she advises on injunctive relief, search and disclosure orders, cross border mutual legal assistance actions (including anti-suit injunctions), jurisdictional issues, fund disputes and insolvency matters. Claire also advises and appears on behalf of clients in high profile take over and transfer schemes. Since qualifying in November 2009 Claire has appeared before the Isle of Man High Court (at first instance and appellate levels) on a variety of contentious litigation matters. Claire also has significant experience in representing clients at mediation and joint settlement meetings. She completed a six month secondment from the Isle of Man to Hong Kong with Appleby in 2014. Whilst in Hong Kong, Claire assisted a number of Chinese and Korean clients in relation to corporate disputes involving BVI and Cayman incorporated entities.
Keira is Partner within the Dispute Resolution department in the Isle of Man. She is dual-qualified as a Manx Advocate and a Barrister in England and Wales. Keira was a tenant at a leading Chambers in London prior to joining Appleby in 2018. Keira is an experienced litigator who deals with a broad range of civil and commercial cases, including professional negligence, injunctive relief, and director/shareholder disputes. Keira regularly appears before the High Court in complex and high value cases. Keira is also a specialist in employment and discrimination law. As a Barrister, Keira appeared for a wide range of clients in the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in England. During her time at Appleby, Keira has represented clients in respect of employment disputes proceeding in the Employment and Equality Tribunals of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Keira also delivers bespoke training in a number of areas including: Employment Law, Discrimination Law, and Dispute Resolution. She is co-author of the English Law Society’s Employment Law Handbook (5th and 6th Editions).
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Mark Holligon