Will Burnell
Will Burnell
Partner | Mourant
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Family Governance and Business
Trusts & Trusteeship
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
Jersey
Short Biography
I am a Partner in Mourant's International Trusts and Private Client team in Jersey. I advise corporate, charitable and private clients from a range of jurisdictions on the creation, ongoing management and termination of British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Jersey trusts and other wealth and succession planning vehicles. I am qualified in Jersey, the BVI and England (non-practising).
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Zuma in Miami always offers a special experience.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
It's not about what you know, it's about finding the answer when you don't know.
What was your first job?
Paper round.
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
I find myself recommending Edward St Aubyn's Patrick Melrose novels most often, although I'm not sure I could recommend them to everyone...
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
I expect to see an increase in structures holding digital assets.
Tony Pursall
Tony Pursall
Consultant | Mourant
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Planning
Trusts & Trusteeship
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
United Kingdom
Short Biography
Tony Pursall is a Consultant in the International Trusts & Private Client team at Mourant Ozannes, based in their London office. Prior to joining Mourant in 2016, Tony led the Trust and Private Client team for Europe and the Middle East at another leading offshore law firm. Tony was admitted as an attorney-at-law in the Cayman Islands in 2001 and as a legal practitioner in the BVI in 2005. He has 30 years' experience advising trustees, beneficiaries, protectors, banks and high-net-worth individuals on a wide range of trust and private client matters and has co-authored three books, Drafting Cayman Islands Trusts, Drafting British Virgin Islands Trusts and Guernsey Trust Law. Tony is the International Correspondent for Private Client Business and a member of the Trust and Succession Law Review Committee of STEP, BVI branch, that recommends new legislation to the BVI government.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Stephen Baker
Stephen Baker
Senior Partner | Baker & Partners
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Civil Fraud
Commercial Litigation
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
Jersey
Short Biography
Stephen Baker is an English barrister and Jersey Advocate. He is Senior Partner at Baker & Partners. He was called to the English bar in 1989 and is a highly experienced court room advocate, having conducted many contested trials. He practised at the English bar for many years before moving to Jersey in 2003 where he established Baker & Partners. He specialises in complex international financial litigation including trust and commercial disputes as well as civil fraud. Educated at Manchester and Cambridge Universities he has a first class Masters degree in law.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Stephanie Thompson
Stephanie Thompson
Barrister | Serle Court
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Civil Fraud
Commercial Litigation
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
United Kingdom
Short Biography
Stephanie is admitted in England and Wales, the British Virgin Islands and New Zealand and has a broad commercial chancery practice, with a focus on civil fraud, offshore trust litigation and domestic trust and probate litigation. She has a particular interest in cases involving conflict of law issues and evidence of foreign law. Stephanie has experience in overseas jurisdictions including Bermuda, The Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Jersey, Guernsey and New Zealand. She is regularly instructed as sole counsel but is equally comfortable working as part of a larger team, having been part of the four member counsel team acting in Wong v Grand View Private Trust Co concerning very substantial purpose trusts. Stephanie also has a developing arbitration practice, particularly in relation to arbitrations relating to trusts and private foundations, and has acted in arbitrations under the UNCITRAL, ICC and LCIA Rules and on ancillary court applications.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Perilla in Stoke Newington
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Don't take on too much - do less, but do it well
What was your first job?
Dog walker - the best job there is
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Currently, Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
An increase in the use of AI in our cases, and expectations from clients that we do so to improve efficiency. It remains to see how easy that will be!
Shan Warnock-Smith KC
Shan Warnock-Smith KC
King's Counsel | ICT Chambers
JURISDICTION
Cayman Islands, England and Wales, Bermuda, Hong Kong SAR, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
Cayman Islands
Short Biography
Shan is a prominent English KC and an international advisor and litigator specialising in trusts, other wealth structures and estates. She travels the world from her base in the Cayman Islands and is to be found "everywhere" according to the guides who also describe her as being at "the pinnacle of her profession and sheer class". Shan also acts as a protector, s director of a private trust company and a mediator of trust and estates disputes.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Caprice at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Never believe your own publicity
What was your first job?
riveting boxes in a metal box factory
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
More stress-testing existing structures in light of increased attacks on trusts from regulators and others
Robin Rathmell
Robin Rathmell
Partner | Kasowitz Benson Torres
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Dispute Resolution or Arbitration
Reputation and Crisis Management
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
United States
Short Biography
Robin Rathmell, Co-Chair of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP’s International Disputes team, is a renowned international litigator representing high-net-worth individuals and institutions in litigation involving allegations of fraud, money laundering and other forms of misconduct. Dual-qualified as an English barrister and U.S. lawyer, Rob formulates offensive and defensive global litigation strategies for international clients, including in relation to civil and criminal asset forfeiture, trusts, commercial and insolvency litigation, INTERPOL, and international sanctions regimes. Rob's engagements always span multiple jurisdictions, legal systems and asset-holding structures. He has acted as counsel in cases involving the world’s key offshore financial centers, as well as Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. In addition to his regular interface with U.S. regulatory and intelligence agencies, Rob has extensive experience coordinating legal strategies in matters involving actions brought by non-U.S. authorities, requiring sensitive negotiations with government agencies across multiple jurisdictions.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
HaSalon in Tel Aviv
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Follow Mark Twain’s advice: "If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything."
What was your first job?
Gardening
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Making progress on sanctions remediation as geopolitical trends shift.
Robert-Lindley
Robert-Lindley
Partner | Conyers
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
Cayman Islands
Short Biography
Robert is head of Conyers' Private Client & Trust practice in the Cayman Islands and the BVI with more than 20 years of private client experience. He has previously worked in the Isle of Man and the UK. He has a broad practice of contentious and non-contentious trust and private client work. Robert also acts as Protector and in other fiduciary roles in the context of structures for HNW families and family offices.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Mr Singh's Roti for the best Doubles in the Caribbean.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
Pot washer in a hotel in the Isle of Man
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
An increase in trust and estate litigation, particularly on issues relating to capacity and complex restructuring.
Robert (Bobby) Christie
Robert (Bobby) Christie
Partner | Bedell Cristin
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Commercial Litigation
Dispute Resolution or Arbitration
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
Jersey
Short Biography
Robert is a Jersey Advocate, and English and BVI barrister, specialising in trusts, company, commercial and insolvency litigation. Robert practised for six years at Radcliffe Chambers before moving offshore, to BVI and then to Jersey in 2015. Robert has acted for beneficiaries, trustees and protectors (among others) in numerous contentious and semi-contentious trusts proceedings, and also has extensive experience of shareholder disputes and claims against directors, including in an insolvency context. He joined Bedell Cristin as a partner in December 2020.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Upstairs at Anley Street, but only if the client or colleague in question likes pies.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
To own your mistakes.
What was your first job?
Busking with my bagpipes.
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
The Magus by John Fowles.
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Unfortunately, more insolvencies in businesses which have managed to survive the impact of Covid but can no longer continue.
Richard Wilson KC
Richard Wilson KC
Barrister | Serle Court
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
London, United Kingdom
Short Biography
Described by one of the legal directories as "... the all-around superstar of a barrister" Richard Wilson KC has an extensive multi-jurisdictional practice in trusts and estates matters, frequently acting for large professional trustees and UHNWIs. He has appeared in many of the leading cases in these fields, including the Wang dispute in Bermuda. He also advises on high value trust and succession planning.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Oswald's
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Do not pretend to know that which you do not
What was your first job?
Barman / waiter for a catering company (I can still do silver service!)
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Probably an increasing number of trusts and estates disputes!
Rob Gardner
Rob Gardner
Partner | Bedell Cristin
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Commercial Litigation
Insolvency
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
London, United Kingdom
Short Biography
After qualification at Wilde Sapte I embarked on a 12 month exchange with a Madrid law firm (turning up there with very little Spanish) before moving to Lawrence Graham in London. I then worked at Walkers in the Cayman Islands and BVI for almost 5 years before moving to Jersey, where I joined Bedell Cristin and qualifed as a Jersey advocate in 2012. My only previous experience of the Channels Islands had been attending a wedding in Alderney in the early 90s, but the experience of living in Jersey for 16 years was amazing. I am now based in the London office of Bedell Cristin, although all of my work involves Jersey (and some BVI) law. I frequently appear in the Jersey Courts on a wide range of contentious cases including trusts, general commercial disputes and insolvency related matters.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Oyster Box St Brelade's Bay Jersey
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
leave York, don't look back and go off and see the world
What was your first job?
Hotel ''porter'' in Saas Fee, Switzerland: involving everything from driving the electric milk float to collect guests, to bringing in the logs, to stocking the bar, to washing up. They squeezed 16 hour days out of me, so I crwaled out of there after 4 months
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Probably an up-tick in insolvency and security enforcement work