Mourant — British Virgin Islands

About

The firm: Mourant is a law firm-led, professional services business with over 60 years' experience in the financial services sector. We advise on the laws of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and Luxembourg and provide specialist entity management, governance, regulatory and consulting services. We are an international and globally-integrated firm with offices in a number of the world's leading international finance centres, including London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Our business is intrinsically linked to the global economy and the capital flows that support it. We serve the needs of our clients in all major time zones, facilitating responsible cross-border finance and investment, the pooling and protection of capital and the resolution of disputes. Our clients include many of the world's leading financial institutions, international corporations, asset managers and institutional investors. We are routinely instructed to work alongside the world's pre-eminent legal, accounting and financial services firms. We have an outstanding reputation for integrity and professional ethics, underpinned by a strong risk management culture. ### Our BVI practice specialises in Banking and finance: The firm’s banking and finance practice covers all aspects of banking and finance transactions and advice. It is highly respected for its work on the most complex and demanding transactions, where the firm’s strength-in-depth and hands on multi-jurisdictional, partner-led approach can make all the difference. Expertise includes: acquisition and leveraged finance; asset finance; derivatives and structured finance; insolvency, restructuring and security enforcement; Islamic finance; project finance; real estate finance; securitisation; CBOs, CDOs, CLOs and other debt repackagings; and convertible bonds. Corporate: Mourant brings its expertise, versatility and outcome-driven focus to all of the work that it does, whether the job is large or small. The firm is best known for its work on the most complex and demanding transactions, where its strength-in-depth and hands on, multi-jurisdictional, partner-led approach can make all the difference. Corporate work is at the heart of the firm’s practice. The corporate practice covers all aspects of corporate transactions and advice. Expertise includes: preference share structures; corporate migrations and continuations; corporate governance and directors’ duties; corporate reorganisations; employee incentive schemes; IPOs and secondary offerings; joint venture and other co-ownership arrangements; mergers and acquisitions; private equity structures and investments (including pre-IPO financings); private placements; and voluntary liquidations. Financial services and regulatory: The financial services and regulatory practice provides specialist and focused advice on the conduct of BVI regulated financial services, including investment and banking business. It provides specific, highly commercial, robust legal and strategic advice in relation to regulatory issues for those conducting or wishing to conduct BVI-regulated activities in accordance with BVI’s financial services legislation. Expertise includes: AML policies, procedures and failings; compliance; conduct of regulated financial services activities, including (financing and money services, funds, investment business and banking and trust company services); licensing (including licensing of investment managers and advisers); and sector specific advice (telecommunications). Funds: Mourant has an international reputation as one of the leading investment funds practices in offshore jurisdictions. The firm advises on the formation, structuring and regulation of investment funds in the BVI and provide ongoing legal advice to funds, fund managers and investment advisers. Clients range from start-up ventures to leading asset managers and fund promoters. Expertise includes: distressed funds; hedge funds; hybrid funds; private equity funds; and other asset classes: hybrid funds; mezzanine funds; infrastructure funds; and multi-strategy funds. Insolvency and restructuring: The Insolvency and Restructuring team has played a leading role in the largest and most high-profile insolvency-related cases in the BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. These are usually cross-border in practice and the firm is able to provide the efficient, coordinated advice these matters require. It deploys carefully integrated, multi-disciplinary teams to work closely with leading professionals worldwide, advising on all aspects of complex corporate restructurings, providing pragmatic solutions for clients. Intellectual property: The firm’s dynamic intellectual property (IP) team provides specialist IP law advice in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. It takes a creative and pragmatic approach in addressing clients’ needs. It prides itself on providing a commercial and bespoke approach both in the conduct of IP litigation and in the negotiation of IP related contracts. Litigation: Mourant has a reputation for being at the forefront of offshore litigation, and it is involved in many of the largest and most complex disputes currently before the Courts. The firm provides accurate, timely, and clear advice to clients, and is able to draw on its global network of litigation practitioners, many of whom are leaders within their fields. Much of the firm’s work centres around international and cross-border issues, and it works closely with its clients so as to ensure the most efficient, and cost-effective, approach (whether judicial or nonjudicial) is taken to address their particular needs. Clients include major financial institutions, trust companies, regulators, public authorities and prosecutors, and high-net-worth individuals.

Office locations

Practice areas

Lawyers in this office

Aliki Skelton-Lettsome

Aliki is an Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team of the Mourant BVI office. She advises on a wide range of matters including but not limited to international litigation, fraud and asset recovery, insolvency, general commercial litigation, shareholder and general company disputes, and corporate disputes. · Litigation

Eleanor Morgan

Eleanor is the Managing Partner and Practice Leader of the Litigation team in the Mourant BVI office. Eleanor has extensive experience acting on a wide range of international litigation, contentious trust and insolvency matters, with emphasis on distressed funds work. She has been involved in many of the largest offshore disputes to come before the BVI Court in recent history. Eleanor regularly speaks at leading international conferences. · Litigation

Ian Montgomery

Ian is a partner in the Mourant BVI office and the Practice Leader of the BVI Finance, Corporate and Funds team. He has particular experience advising on corporate and finance transactions in the real estate, financial services, energy and technology sectors, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, debt and equity fundraising, public listings, security arrangements, corporate restructurings and corporate and commercial aspects of shareholder and contractual disputes. Ian's clients include leading international law firms and accountancy firms, financial institutions, multi-national businesses, funds and their managers, and high net worth individuals. · Banking & Finance

Jennifer Jenkins

Jennifer's practice at Mourant focuses on commercial fraud and insolvency. She has extensive experience of interim relief applications, such as freezing orders, disclosure orders and contempt applications, and dealing with jurisdictional issues. Jennifer regularly deals with director breach of duty claims and reviewable transactions in an insolvency context, as well as shareholder disputes. · Litigation

Marianne Wilson

Marianne is Counsel in our BVI and Cayman FinCorp practice, based in the BVI. She advises on general corporate and banking law, with a particular focus on real estate finance and fund finance, and M&A, joint ventures and group reorganisations. · Corporate / M&A

Martyn Heyes

Martyn is Counsel in our BVI Corporate practice. He works with leading international law firms across the globe advising on a broad range of public and private corporate transactions, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, public and private share and debt offerings, capital raisings, shareholder arrangements and corporate restructurings. Martyn also advises on finance transactions, including leveraged and real estate finance. · Corporate / M&A

Saraid Taylor

Saraid is Counsel in the Mourant BVI Corporate and Finance practice. She has extensive experience advising on a range of corporate finance transactions, equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. She also advises on regulatory law, corporate restructurings, equity and debt fundraisings and general corporate matters. · Corporate / M&A

Shane Donovan

Shane is a commercial litigation lawyer with specialist experience in complex international litigation, including fraud and asset recovery, insolvency, and corporate and shareholder disputes. He is also experienced in obtaining urgent injunctions such as worldwide freezing orders and anti-suit injunctions, and Norwich Pharmacal (disclosure) orders. · Litigation

Sophie Christodoulou

Sophie is Counsel within the Litigation and Insolvency practice of the BVI office. She deals with a broad range of matters including director, shareholder, and general company disputes, insolvency matters, and trust related disputes. Sophie regularly works on injunctions, appeals, and interim applications, as well as running cases to trial. She has practised in the BVI since January 2019, working across time zones with global teams, with significant Court exposure. · Litigation