FIRE Americas: Washington, D.C.

Gabriela, the founder of the firm, focuses her practice on government enforcement defense matters, internal corporate investigations and complex cross-border civil litigation, with a focus on Latin America.  She represents clients in all aspects of offensive and defensive litigation matters brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other investigative agencies related to allegations of financial fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Gabriela has also extensive experience with the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards in the U.S., as well as related cross-border asset tracing and recovery.

As a dual-qualified lawyer, admitted to practice in New York, Washington, D.C. and Brazil, Gabriela is able to efficiently navigate different legal systems and provide clients with innovative legal strategies and techniques.

Before founding the firm, Gabriela practiced at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in São Paulo, where she handled corporate matters, Kobre & Kim in both New York and Washington, D.C., and Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C., where she handled Latin America-focused litigation and government enforcement.

Stephen is Managing Partner and head of the Dispute Resolution department in the Cayman Islands. He has a demonstrated history of advocacy in the practice of corporate and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on offshore insolvency and restructuring of companies.

Stephen's practice has a strong focus on company law including corporate insolvency; schemes of arrangements; capital reductions; shareholder disputes; director's liability; international asset tracing; the enforcement of foreign judgments; worldwide Mareva injunctions, Anton Piller orders, and Norwich Pharmacal orders. Stephen has significant contentious litigation experience arising from the representation of both liquidators, shareholders and creditors of companies and hedge funds including the claw back of fraudulent conveyances and undue preferences, allegations of investment fraud and investment manager disputes.

Since his appointment as Head of Dispute Resolution, Stephen has grown the team from two to eight lawyers, all with a strong background in insolvency and restructuring matters. Prior to joining the firm Stephen spent two and a half years in Miami as a member of a boutique litigation firm in the United States which focused on cross border insolvency and trust disputes.

Stephen was called as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa in 2003 and has subsequently qualified as a solicitor-advocate of the High Court of England and Wales and a solicitor-advocate of the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean. Stephen was called to the Cayman Islands Bar in January 2009. Stephen is ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Dr. Kalila Bodden

MB, BCh, BAO (NUI, RCSI), LRCP & SI (Hons), CCP, ICC

MD, Leadership Wellness Consultant

Bradley Sharp is the President & CEO of Development Specialists, Inc. (“DSI”), a leading provider of management consulting and financial advisory services to companies in need of restructuring or turnaround management. As one of the first turnaround firms in the United States, DSI has expanded from its headquarters in Chicago to include a significant national footprint with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, South Florida, Madison and Columbus, Ohio. 

Mr. Sharp has almost 30 years’ experience providing crisis management and third-party fiduciary services in numerous industries including finance, real estate development, high tech, manufacturing, food and agriculture.  He has served as a Federal Equity Receiver, Chief Restructuring Officer and Trustee under Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  Mr. Sharp is also one of the Joint Official Liquidators in an official liquidation under the supervision of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Mr. Sharp has significant experience with investor frauds and companies facing criminal issues.  Mr. Sharp is an expert witness with respect to fiduciary duties, banking, finance and securitizations.

Mr. Sharp is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the International Insolvency Institute (III), a full member of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER) and is a board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).

Marlyn Narkis Assis joined the firm in 2006 when she obtained her certificate of competence, becoming associate in 2012. During her practice at MDU Legal, she gained valuable experience as corporate lawyer, specializing in corporate law, commercial law, real estate, trademark law, migration, health law and public procurement.

Her practice focuses on legal counsel and on supporting local and international companies in all the stages of the business, including the preparation of corporate documents and other issues related to the daily legal needs of the companies such as negotiating contracts, obtaining permits, licenses, or other administrative proceedings with the Panamanian authorities. She assists clients with the legal aspects of real estate and development transactions. She also acts as lawyer in a banking institution, by supervising their proceedings of due diligence.

She has represented our clients in legal affairs related to the Public Procurement Sector, including the preparation of public offers, legal assistance during the bidding procedures, claiming and defending the interests of the clients before the corresponding instances, legal support in the review and governmental contract negotiations, counsel in the writing and review of construction contracts and legal support during the development of projects, including her relationship with contractors and public institutions. Marlyn is the current treasurer of the Latin-American Chapter of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (“IWIRC”) and was acknowledged as a leading attorney in transactions law by Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America.

Duane Loft leads Pallas’s New York practice. He represents clients in complex commercial litigation, with a particular focus on restructuring disputes, contested issues in bankruptcy, and cross-border litigation. An experienced trial lawyer, Duane is regularly called upon to provide courtroom leadership for creditors, institutional shareholders, and fund principals in cases where litigation drives recoveries. Duane is ranked in Chambers USA for Bankruptcy/Restructuring and is listed in Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators Guide.  Both the New York Law Journal and Law360 have named him a “Rising Star,” and his cases are featured regularly in Reorg Research, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal.

In the area of restructuring litigation, Duane has represented ad hoc groups of creditors in a number of significant corporate bankruptcies, including the Chapter 11 cases of Intelsat S.A. and LBI Media, in each case serving as trial counsel in multi-week hearings on contested plans of reorganization. Duane’s recent matters include representing the 2034 Noteholders of Bombardier Inc. in litigation to collect a make-whole payment arising from a covenant breach and to invalidate a vote-rigging liability management exercise; defending fraudulent transfer claims in Chapter 15 adversary proceedings brought by the trustee of Norske Skogindustrier, an insolvent Norwegian paper company, relating to a 2016 restructuring; and representing an Ad Hoc Group of Hertz creditors to recover backstop fee owed in connection with restructuring of Hertz’s European businesses.

In cross-border disputes, Duane has helped recover billions of dollars for institutional shareholders, including through Section 1782 discovery proceedings that have led to precedent-setting decisions in district and appellate courts throughout the United States.

Henrique Forssell is one of the founding partners of DFA, with extensive experience advising judicial administrators, foreign liquidators and financial institutions in the identification of bankruptcy and bank fraud of national repercussion. In the past ten years, he has been appointed by several judicial authorities to lead and coordinate some of the most important international asset recovery processes in Brazil. Since 2011, he has been a member of FraudNet, an organization established by the International Chamber of Commerce (International Chamber of Commerce), which selects highly qualified lawyers experienced in asset recovery in each country. He was appointed as a reference lawyer in Brazil in the area of ​​recovery of fraudulent assets by the English magazine Who's Who Legal.

Overview

Annalisa is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team in Cayman. She has a broad practice covering commercial litigation, cross-border insolvency and restructuring. Her experience includes work on high value fraud and asset tracing claims, the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and shareholder disputes. She regularly advises limited partners, shareholders, directors and fund managers on insolvency related matters.

Experience

Annalisa was admitted as an attorney in the Cayman Islands in 2014, following which she practiced as an associate at Walkers both in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.

Background

Annalisa obtained an LLB with Honours from Durham University and went on to complete the LPC at the University of Law in Manchester, before returning to the Cayman Islands to train as an Articled Clerk with Walkers.

Memberships

INSOL International Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners' Association

International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)

Annalisa is also a Cayman Islands Notary Public

Overview

Annalisa is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team in Cayman. She has a broad practice covering commercial litigation, cross-border insolvency and restructuring. Her experience includes work on high value fraud and asset tracing claims, the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and shareholder disputes. She regularly advises limited partners, shareholders, directors and fund managers on insolvency related matters.

Experience

Annalisa was admitted as an attorney in the Cayman Islands in 2014, following which she practiced as an associate at Walkers both in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.

Background

Annalisa obtained an LLB with Honours from Durham University and went on to complete the LPC at the University of Law in Manchester, before returning to the Cayman Islands to train as an Articled Clerk with Walkers.

Memberships

INSOL International Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners' Association

International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)

Annalisa is also a Cayman Islands Notary Public

David is a partner of Appleby’s Dispute Resolution team and is based in its Cayman Office.

David has substantial experience in commercial litigation, investment fund disputes and insolvency matters. His practice focuses on major, complex, cross-border disputes and insolvencies, with a particular interest in fraud and asset recovery. David has acted in some of the largest and highest profile investment fund disputes in the Cayman Islands in recent years.

David regularly advises clients on all aspects of arbitral award enforcement, on both the creditor and debtor side. David has particular experience of complex multi-jurisdiction enforcement exercises, including identifying and recovering assets.   

David has significant experience of insolvency matters, and is advising clients in respect of nine new liquidations which have commenced in 2023/2024. David regularly acts for petitioning creditors, JOLs, LCs, secured creditors and unsecured creditors.  

Prior to joining Appleby, David was a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright where he was a partner in each of their London, Hong Kong and Dubai offices. David has maintained his links to Hong Kong and work originating from Asia forms a substantial part of his practice.

Litigation Practice Group Leader Lori Marks-Esterman is an experienced commercial litigator representing private and public companies in complex corporate disputes.

Lori is the Chair of Olshan’s Litigation Practice Group, and is a seasoned trial attorney with nearly 25 years of experience in litigating complex, commercial disputes.  Lori represents a wide-range of clients, including hedge funds and private equity companies, shareholder activists, real estate developers, and other private and publicly held companies.  She has significant experience in a broad array of corporate litigation matters, with an emphasis on shareholder and investor disputes, merger and acquisitions litigation, director and officer liability, and actions involving breaches of major and complex contracts. 

Lori also has significant real estate litigation expertise, and was quoted extensively in The Real Deal’s article entitled “The Judges Who Rule over Real Estate.”  She also has significant experience representing clients in business-tort cases and employment-related claims, including restrictive covenants, tortious interference with business, and unfair competition.

Lori routinely provides litigation guidance and counsel relating to the firm’s activist practice.  She has successfully handled multiple matters for shareholder activist clients enforcing investor rights, compelling inspections of books and records and contesting company actions in influential jurisdictions including Delaware Chancery Court and New York courts.  And, Lori was recently lead trial counsel for three highly sophisticated corporate matters that went to trial in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. 

Zack Bluestone is a Principal in the Washington, DC/New York offices of Bluestone, P.C., where he focuses his practice on the enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards, as well as related cross-border recovery and commercial disputes. Recent matters have concerned investment fraud, 1782 applications, insurance fraud in telecom, cryptocurrency exchange hacks, economic torts against governmental bad actors, and enforcement actions against sovereigns.

Zack regularly represents governmental agencies and insurers, investors, litigation funders, digital asset issuers, corporates, and others involved in global finance and trade. Clients call on Zack to litigate complicated issues through trial, master difficult facts, and pursue all available avenues to obtain a recovery, often involving sensitive contractual and business issues. These disputes typically encompass multiple jurisdictions and several potential parties and claims, presenting often complex enforcement questions.

Brigeeta is the vice chair of the White Collar Defense & Investigations practice group, a leader of the luxury brand protection team, and represents some of the world’s most famous trademarks and IP owners. Brigeeta’s clients seek her counsel and advice in all aspects of securities regulatory proceedings, intellectual property enforcement, and related litigation. She focuses on counterfeit and online IP infringements, matters involving allegations of fraud, insider trading, and market manipulation.

Before joining Cozen O’Connor, Brigeeta was a prosecutor in the Enforcement Department at the British Columbia Securities Commission, a Criminal Investigator, and a member of law enforcement. Brigeeta’s clients benefit from her extensive experience in investigations and enforcement proceedings before various securities and regulatory commissions, the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as national and international agencies, including Canada Revenue Agency, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Interpol. Brigeeta’s clients rely upon her to work seamlessly across borders and with regulators and law enforcement officials throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

Brigeeta has extensive experience guiding clients through myriad online piracy issues and complex disputes, including private and public company litigation. Brigeeta provides proactive risk-management advisory services and crisis response leadership to enable companies and luxury brand owners to avoid, prepare for, manage, and respond to extraordinary situations, including regulatory actions and litigation. Brigeeta regularly speaks at international conferences and law schools on the topics of securities enforcement, counterfeit goods, and fraud investigations. Brigeeta has also been called upon to educate international brand holders on both internal and external investigations and the strategic prevention of counterfeit goods and services within the international market. Her experience in matters related to counterfeit goods is invaluable to clients prosecuting and defending applications before the Trademarks Opposition Board and in enforcement actions before Canada’s Federal Court.

As an internationally Certified Fraud Examiner, Brigeeta represents clients with complex, cross-border internal investigations, including whistleblower complaints.  She is frequently called upon to provide strategic advice to management on workplace investigations, compliance assessments, and the remediation and prevention of cyber breaches and online and electronic disclosures. Brigeeta’s in-depth knowledge of the digital economy and intellectual property enforcement strategies is of significant strategic value to clients in the technology, manufacturing, retail, and entertainment industries.

Ian Herbert represents global companies, executives, and trustees through government investigations and related litigation. Mr. Herbert has handled all aspects of multi-jurisdictional investigations, including complex legal analysis, global litigation strategy, and factual development. A member of the firm's Trust and Family Office and Anti-Money Laundering practice groups, Mr. Herbert has experience advising both individuals and entities, including multinational corporations, offshore trustees and financial services companies on a range of issues, including foreign bribery, tax fraud, and other financial crimes. 

Mr. Herbert has deep experience engaging with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal and state regulators. Additionally, because his matters often involve a coordinated response to both U.S. and foreign regulators, Mr. Herbert is familiar with the relevant enforcement authorities outside the United States and is experienced in navigating the complex issues that occur in multi-jurisdictional investigations. Mr. Herbert has also represented individuals in federal district court on federal charges for racketeering, mail fraud, health care fraud, and obstruction of justice. 

Mr. Herbert maintains a robust pro bono practice focused primarily on representing individuals in criminal prosecutions and post-conviction proceedings. In 2017, he briefed, argued, and obtained a reversal of a criminal conviction in the D.C. Court of Appeals. In 2020, he secured the early release of another client under the First Step Act. 

Mr. Herbert writes regularly on issues related to white-collar criminal enforcement and money-laundering. He is an editor of both the Executives at Risk newsletter, which reports on noteworthy cases and investigations impacting corporate executives, and the Money Laundering Enforcement Trends newsletter, which focuses on developments in money laundering regulation and enforcement.

Howard Fischer has extensive experience in trying complex financial disputes. 

As a former Senior Trial Counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), he was entrusted with some of the most sophisticated and noteworthy cases that the federal government prosecuted in the last decade. During his nine year tenure at the SEC, he earned multiple awards for exemplary service and served as first chair for numerous trials. This included acting as lead counsel in the litigation against Wing Chau and Harding Advisory LLC - relating to CDO asset selection in the run-up to the financial crisis - resulting in a major conviction against one of the characters lampooned in the film “The Big Short.”  Howard was also the lead trial counsel in the prosecution of Kareem Serageldin, another figure referenced in “The Big Short”, involving the mismarking of certain mortgage-backed assets, by Credit Suisse, in the wake of the financial crisis.

Howard also led the SEC litigation involving the infamous London Whale, arising from JPMorgan Chase traders incurring multi-billion dollar losses in its credit derivatives book.  This case involved many years of discovery on several continents, including several multi-week depositions.

Joel Cohen is a Managing Director in the Disputes, Compliance, & Investigations group.

Joel has over 19 years of experience in the dispute, forensic, and insolvency practice areas, most specifically focused in the financial services and asset management industries. His experience encompasses a number of significant cross-border insolvency and litigation matters, where he has served as financial advisor and consulting expert to fiduciaries, offshore liquidators, bankruptcy, and litigation trustees. He has assisted these clients in a variety of litigation consulting services, including asset tracing, fraud, Ponzi schemes, industry custom and practice for investment managers, and forensic analysis. Joel has also led several internal investigations within the context of family office, investment advisors, and various corporate structures.

Before joining Stout, Joel was a Managing Director at a boutique financial advisory and consulting firm. Prior to that, he spent a number of years with a global financial advisory firm in its Dispute & Investigations group where he helped manage a team of CPAs, economists, attorneys, and finance professionals in executing a diverse array of complex engagements related to the various hedge fund/private equity fraud, insolvencies, and litigations that characterized the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

He was a leader in the disputes practice at a Big 4 accounting firm and senior vice president at a prominent investment bank in charge of internal investigations. Joel has worked with premier law firms on accounting malpractice, business insurance disputes, fraud detection, and economic investigations.

Joel has expertise in managing the expectations of various stakeholders involved in insolvency proceedings, liquidations, litigation settlements, and receiverships, namely in his capacity of assisting a board, trustee, receiver, or official liquidator with their duties, including U.S. and cross border considerations. He has extensive experience within the offshore world, regularly handling cases out of the Caribbean.

Natascha has a wide range of experience in commercial litigation and international arbitration.

Her practice is focused on complex multi-jurisdictional disputes arising out of commercial contracts, shareholders agreements as well as disputes involving financial institutions and high net-worth individuals. She regularly advises shareholders, insolvency practitioners, banks and energy companies in cross-border proceedings. Natascha also has experience acting in section 238 fair value appraisal proceedings.

Prior to joining Collas Crill in 2021, Natascha spent nearly three years at Maples and Calder in the Cayman Islands. Before moving to Akin Gump, Natascha trained and practised at DLA Piper in London and New York.

Natascha completed her associates and bachelors degrees at New York University with a major in Political Science and minor in Russian Literature and Language.

She then went on to complete an LLM from BPP Law School with a focus on insider trading. During her two-year training contract at DLA Piper, Natascha gained experience in restructuring, corporate and leveraged finance before deciding to qualify as a litigator in 2012.

Natascha is a member of CIArb

Nick Kennedy is a trial lawyer. Unlike many others at large law firms, Nick regularly tries high stakes cases—at least one per year, and often more. These cases have regularly had tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and in one case more than a billion in dispute. Nick has been first chair in 4 arbitrations with more than USD 100 million in controversy. On the offensive side, his clients have recovered at trial or arbitration nearly a billion dollars in cases he has handled. On the defensive side, he has helped clients avoid claims for many hundred millions more through successful defense verdicts or arbitration awards. While Nick thrives at trial, he also has a successful pre-and post-trial practice with scores of successful dispositive and expert motions, along with appeals all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nick’s practices crosses industry and borders. He focuses heavily on the software, technology franchise, and consumer goods industries. Nick uses his ability to make complex technologies simple for jurors and arbitrators to represent technology owners in disputes about trade secrets, software performance, and contractual issues. He adeptly handles complicated financial concepts to represent business owners and partners in complex valuation, investment fraud, and fiduciary duty disputes. Nick regularly handles the damages portion of all types of complex cases, working closely with experts to do so. Nick also has a strong background with trade secrets and non-competes across industries, allowing him to help his clients protect their own IP and employees and defend against claims of misuse by others.

Nick routinely represents foreign clients in US disputes, or US clients in foreign disputes. He has arbitrated cases with all major arbitral institutions, including the ICC, ICDR, ICSID, UNCITRAL, JAMS, SCC, AAA, and LCIA. He has acted on behalf of investors against states in investor-state disputes under ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, and SCC Arbitration Rules and in related enforcement proceedings. He has handled disputes in or related to several dozen countries. This diverse experience helps Nick to advise clients on how to craft appropriate dispute resolution clauses when drafting contracts, and how to maximize their benefits when a dispute arises. Finally, Nick’s international experience includes a strong track record of enforcing foreign judgments or arbitration awards in the US and abroad, including identifying and collecting upon assets of uncooperative debtors.

Co-responsible for the Litigation Department and strongly business oriented.  Specialized in financial entities and private- public  matters, he regularly guides the clients to practical solutions and seeks businesses opportunities for them.  He is also regularly involved in major real estate projects which include negotiations with governmental authorities, concessions and private-public solutions.

Scott Berman has a varied practice in complex commercial disputes, particularly in securities, investment fund, and bankruptcy litigation. He regularly handles matters involving securities fraud, common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraudulent conveyance, and other claims arising from complex transactions.

Scott has extensive experience representing and advising large institutional investors, bankruptcy trustees, receivers, family offices, funds of funds, investment advisors, officers and directors and wealthy individuals in high-profile matters involving investment funds and their auditors, administrators, prime brokers, and other professionals, and has procured significant settlements. He also counsels investors and funds regarding investment decisions and potential issues before litigation has commenced and has resolved many matters pre-litigation.

Scott represents both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts, including at trial and arbitration, and has significant experience handling cross-border disputes. He also acts as an arbitrator in cases involving financial disputes and has twenty years of experience serving as a mediator.

Felipe Vieira has more than 15 years of experience in complex cases, having worked in several transnational insolvency procedures and in the elaboration and execution of a global strategy for the recovery of misappropriated and/or hidden assets through onshore/offshore structures. Felipe Vieira has a Post-Graduate in Procedural Law (IBDP), Post-Graduate in Business Law (UEL), Master of Laws (LLM) in Corporate Law (INSPER), and is a member of the Judicial Recovery and Bankruptcy Committee of the OAB/SP, guest professor at TMA – Turnaround Management Association, speaker at national and international events and author of articles in the field of international insolvency.

Jason Robinson is a Senior Managing Director with Teneo in the Cayman Islands, having joined Teneo following its acquisition of KPMG’s Cayman Islands Restructuring business.

Jason has over 15 years of experience assisting clients in the financial services sector, having worked at KPMG in Canada and KPMG in the Cayman Islands. While in the Cayman Islands, he has played a central role in various cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters, involving Cayman domiciled entities with assets and/or recovery actions in a variety of jurisdictions. Jason has been appointed as a provisional and official liquidator by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, controller by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, and acted as a foreign representative as part of Chapter 15 recognition proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Jason has also acted as voluntary liquidator to several entities in the Cayman Islands.

Jason is a Chartered Professional Accountant of Canada, qualified insolvency practitioner in the Cayman Islands, and a Fellow of INSOL International.

David Griffin established and co-leads the FTI Consulting practice in the Cayman Islands. Mr. Griffin has close to 25 years of experience in corporate finance and restructuring. He has been involved in some of the largest restructuring, insolvency and enforcement matters in the region involving investment funds and complex international groups of companies. He has a broad range of industry expertise, with a particular focus on financial services, private equity, energy and real estate.

Rebecca has acted on matters including fund litigation, contractual disputes, financial services litigation, regulatory investigations, fraud and economic tort claims, shareholder and joint venture disputes, enforcement matters, and general commercial litigation.

Before joining Ogier, Rebecca was part of the disputes team at a high profile law firm in London.

Rebecca's broad experience includes:

Acting for the investors and conflict director of Neoma Private Equity Fund IV in respect of numerous complex issues and sets of Cayman Islands proceedings arising out of the collapse of the Abraaj Group. The Abraaj Group was the largest private equity investment group in the Middle East, with $14bn in stated assets prior to its collapse. It was placed into provisional liquidation in 2018 and went into official liquidation in 2019. Ogier's mandate included handling a three-month fraud trial in 2023/24 alongside numerous other workstreams

Advising in respect of a Cayman trust structure on substantial claims brought against it by a sovereign wealth fund

Acting for the OL Group in contentious insolvency proceedings concerning a Cayman Islands investment fund

Assisting with expert evidence of Cayman law for use in foreign proceedings, including in respect of company law, contractual fraud claims

Representing an international investment bank in regulatory enforcement proceedings concerning the adequacy of AML / KYC systems and controls

Representing a multi-national corporate on potential bribery and corruption offences in connection with facilitation payments overseas

Advising a Gulf bank on proceedings relating to a US$90 million failed investment project in Turkey

In 2016/17, Rebecca was seconded for nine months to the Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement team of a global investment bank. She has also spent time as a Legal secondee in the Enforcement Division of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in the UK in 2010.

Rebecca is a member of the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and a Committee member of the Cayman Islands IWIRC network.  Rebecca is also a member of Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association (CILPA).

Alex Lawson is a Managing Director and the Head of A&M Cayman Islands and is a qualified Cayman Islands Insolvency Practitioner.

He brings 15+ years of experience in restructuring and specializes in offshore and cross border engagements. His primary areas of concentration include hedge funds and PE funds, mining, oil and gas and alternative investments.

Mr. Lawson leads international teams focused on delivering bespoke solutions to maximize stakeholder returns across stressed to distressed situations involving complex cross-border cases. With a strong focus across all hedge funds and PE funds, international corporations and conglomerates, Mr. Lawson has developed a reputation as an industry leader in the offshore restructuring market and has been recognized as an expert in the field by “Who’s Who Legal.”

Mr. Lawson has been appointed by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands as an Inspector, Provisional Liquidator, and Official Liquidator to many high profile cases. In addition, he has been appointed as a Controller by CIMA and acted as voluntary liquidator to many Cayman Islands registered companies. Outside of the Cayman Islands, he has been appointed Joint Liquidator by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court over British Virgin Islands companies and has been recognized in the Courts of Norway, Hong Kong, Dubai, United States and Australia.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Lawson worked at KPMG in the Cayman Islands for ten years and was a Partner in the Restructuring Practice.

Mr. Lawson earned bachelor’s degrees in both commerce and law from the University of Queensland. Mr. Lawson is an admitted lawyer (non-practicing) with the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia and is a CPI and JIEB pass holder with the Insolvency Practitioners Association of England and Wales and member of INSOL and the Cayman Islands RISA chapter. He is an Insolvency Practitioner in the Cayman Islands and Chartered Accountant (Australia & New Zealand) as well as a member of the Cayman Islands Society for Professional Accountants (CISPA).

Erin serves as Eversheds Sutherland's (US) Head of Cross-Border Restructuring & Insolvency – Financial Restructuring Group.

Erin has extensive experience advising clients on restructuring, financial litigation, and distressed transactions, representing diverse stakeholders across the dispute and transactional spectrum. She has represented numerous parties in bankruptcy proceedings and insolvency-related litigation, including equity committees, ad hoc creditor committees, purchasers, lenders, foreign representatives, indenture trustees and debtors, with a particular focus on representation of investment funds in complex restructurings and commercial litigation.  Erin is recognized for her acute business acumen and ability to offer clients — from global financial institutions to start-up funds — proactive, creative and pragmatic solutions in complex and novel distressed scenarios.  

William Barry is the Chair of Miller & Chevalier's 40-person Litigation department. He is a trusted advisor to multinational companies, boards of directors, foreign trustees, hedge funds, private equity funds and senior officers and executives. For more than 25 years he has solved complex problems involving multi-jurisdictional investigations and litigation, as well as enforcement, compliance, and transactional issues. He helps his clients emerge from crises and resume focus on their business. Client feedback in Chambers USA describes Will as "the kind of person that everyone in the boardroom listens to" and notes he is "a very thorough thinker, very calm, and is the ideal ambassador for corporations when dealing with government agencies."

Will guides clients through the complex issues involved in responding to inquiries from domestic and international regulators regarding accounting fraud, foreign bribery, money laundering, economic sanctions, and other financial crimes. He represents clients faced with the challenge of responding to competing demands in parallel proceedings, such as internal reviews, government investigations, and private civil actions. He oversees multi-jurisdictional litigation matters, providing strategic oversight, directing local counsel, and ensuring a coordinated approach. 

Will has been recognized repeatedly by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, Legal 500, Who's Who Legal, and other respected legal publications for his expertise in white collar defense, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation and defense, securities enforcement, and litigation. He has obtained numerous declinations and favorable resolutions for clients involving allegations of non-U.S. and U.S. corruption, financial fraud, money-laundering and economic sanctions violations, insider trading, and securities and tax fraud. 

Will is a member of the American Bar Association's (ABA) International Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Committee and International Anti-Corruption Committee. He has been designated as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).

Will is a member of the board of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and the former Chairman of Olney Boys & Girls Club, a non-profit sports association in Maryland.

David Castleman is a partner at Otterbourg P.C. in New York, focusing on federal equity receiverships, bankruptcy, and complex litigation.

For two years, Dave has served as Receiver over a $250 million alleged Ponzi scheme in the Southern District of New York. 

Under Dave’s leadership, the estate has recovered over $150 million in value for claimants, including over $90 million in cryptocurrency held overseas. Dave served as counsel to the official committee of creditors in the Johnson & Johnson LTL talc bankruptcy and has represented securities plaintiffs in ancillary bankruptcy proceedings. 

Dave also represented NAFER as amicus curiae in an appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Eighth Circuit. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Dave also clerked on the Sixth Circuit, and served as a New York Assistant Attorney General.

Tom Wright is Counsel in the Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team and is based in Cayman. He has a broad commercial litigation practice, covering contentious restructuring and insolvency matters, contractual disputes and tortious claims.

Tom has been a litigator for 15 years and has garnered experience in a wide range of litigation, often complex, high-value and cross-jurisdictional.

Work highlights include:

• Securing the first recognition by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands of a Bermuda-appointed receiver of a segregated accounts company.
• Advising the General Partner of the Port Fund L.P. on clams brought against it by two Kuwaiti state entities.
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Kirsten is a Senior Associate in the Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team, currently on secondment in our Cayman office. She advises clients on contentious matters in various areas of law, including contractual disputes, torts and general commercial disputes.

Kirsten also advises on dispute prevention and risk mitigation measures, such as effective contract drafting and negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. She has a particular focus on securing the best solution in the circumstances, whether through litigation or otherwise.

Prior to joining Collas Crill Jersey in October 2019, Kirsten worked at the Johannesburg office of a Pan-African law firm. There, she advised on disputes including class actions, contentious insolvencies, and tax, contract and product liability disputes. She has experience in the Courts of South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania, and her clients included local and international financial institutions, high net worth individuals, major players in the food and beverage sectors and various Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed entities.

Kirsten has a keen interest in the development of the law in relation to financial technology, especially blockchain and other distributed ledger technology. She advises clients on how fintech can be integrated into dispute resolution mechanisms, and on the resolution of disputes within the sphere.

Christian is a senior associate in our Dispute Resolution Group based in New York.

He represents clients in international arbitrations, commercial litigation, and complex cross-border mandates, including enforcement of arbitral awards and discovery in aid of foreign proceedings. He is also an active member of our pro bono team.

I’m a Partner and the Practice Leader of the Litigation and Insolvency team in the Cayman Islands office.  I joined Mourant in 2010 and have over 10 years' experience of litigation in the Cayman Islands and BVI.

Before joining Mourant, I worked at another leading offshore law firm.  Prior to that, I spent over five years practising at the London Bar.

I have extensive experience in fraud and asset tracing, insolvency and financial services litigation, as well as regulatory matters.

Kevin is a Member in Mintz’s Litigation Section and Co-Chair of the firm’s Cross Border Asset Recovery Practice. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and representing clients in a diverse set of industries, including institutional investors, retail & consumer brands, and manufacturing. He has represented large institutional investors, including banks, financial services firms, and other stakeholders in complex global asset recovery cases with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Clients also rely on his experience and unique skillset to enforce and collect international arbitration awards. He recently litigated a case in the U.S. for enforcement of a Singapore arbitration award against Philippine defendants and achieved a settlement payment to the client of more than $300,000,000.

Kim has vast experience in administering insolvency processes and delivering restructuring advice to corporates, banks, and governments to support financial, relationship, contractual, reputational and governance objectives.

His experience includes company-side, as well as lender and creditor-side, financial advisory work. Kim is able to undertake independent business reviews, financial viability assessments, contingency planning and options analysis, and counterparty due diligence

Jason Mbakwe is a senior associate in Carey Olsen's dispute resolution and litigation team. He focuses his practice on contentious restructuring and insolvency matters, complex commercial litigation, regulatory and white collar crime investigations.

Jason has extensive experience advising a broad range of stakeholders in distressed situations, including financial institutions, investment funds, bondholders, ad hoc committees, corporate debtors, directors and insolvency practitioners.

Jason regularly advises in relation to formal insolvency procedures in the Cayman Islands; shareholder disputes; minority oppression and directors’ duties; asset recovery; the enforcement of domestic and foreign judgments; information gathering, including Norwich Pharmacal relief; various forms of injunctive relief, including freezing and receivership orders.

Jennifer is a Partner in the Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team and is based in Cayman. She is a commercial litigator specialising in cross-border insolvency and restructuring.

Before joining Ogier in 2021, Farrah was part of another offshore law firm's dispute resolution team after moving to the Cayman Islands in 2016. Farrah has a wealth of knowledge and experience in all aspects of commercial litigation and corporate insolvency. In particular, she provides advice and acts for shareholders in fair value proceedings arising under section 238 of the Companies Act.

At Ogier, Farrah undertakes work on a variety of commercial litigation matters, often involving cross-border issues and arising in an insolvency related context, including but not limited to:

• insurance disputes;
• claims against directors/trustees;
• shareholder/beneficial ownership disputes;
• breach of duty (contract, tortious and fiduciary);
• asset tracing and commercial fraud
• enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, and interim relief (including third-party disclosure and injunctions); and,
• appraisal / fair value proceedings.

Farrah is an experienced advocate who regularly attends court for contested interim applications, other interlocutory hearings and trials.

Farrah is a member of the International Womens' Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation as well as 100 Women in Finance.

In her spare time Farrah enjoys scuba diving and taking part in marathons, half-marathon and triathlons.

Katie leads our commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring practices.

Katie has practised in the Cayman Islands since 2009, which makes her one of the most expe­rienced Cayman Islands litigators. Prior to founding Claritas in 2022, Katie was a partner in the litigation team of global offshore law firm, Harneys. Katie is an experienced advocate and frequently appears before the courts of the Cayman Islands.

Katie combines a keen intellect with a practical focus. Given her experience, she is able to see quickly to the heart of an issue, devise a solution, and execute it with ruthless efficiency. She is committed to delivering value for money to her clients.

Katie’s expertise is recognized by Chambers Global (2024), where client sources report that “Katie Pearson provides high-quality output for litigation matters. She is responsive, reliable and commercially flexible," “Katie offers a hands-on service and is super-bright, very personable, good to work with and very effective" and “Katie Pearson is excellent and a strong technical lawyer."

She is also recognized as a “next generation partner" in Legal 500 (2024) and by Who’s Who Legal (2023) as a Thought Leader in Asset Recovery. Katie was awarded the Lexology Client Choice Award 2024 for Asset Recovery in the Cayman Islands.

Katie began her legal career in London where she trained at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and practised at leading fraud litigation firm, Peters & Peters, before moving to the Cayman Islands, where she practised with Appleby and then Harneys.

Nicosia Lawson is a Senior Associate at Baker & Partners which has offices in the Cayman Islands, Jersey, London, and the BVI.  Nicosia is a Cayman Islands attorney and has practiced as a foreign registered lawyer in Hong Kong. Her areas of focus are civil fraud and asset recovery (including in relation to cryptocurrency), cross-border insolvency, and restructuring. Nicosia’s most recent experience include working on prominent cases like the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Fund (“1MDB”) which involves the recovery of billions of dollars stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Nicosia has also represented the petitioning creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, AAX, a case which resulted in the first published cryptocurrency specific court decision in the Cayman Islands. 

Nicosia is a member of the Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association (Cayman) Limited (“RISA”) and was shortlisted for RISA’s ‘Next Gen of the Year’ award in 2022.  Nicosia is also a member of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and a member of the INSOL Small Practice Group.