Jersey

Leading offshore law firm Baker & Partners has welcomed Jennifer Colegate as Partner in the Cayman Islands. In addition to Jennifer’s appointment, Tara Liao has joined the firm's London office to support clients in cross border disputes. Jennifer is a commercial litigator specialising in cross-border insolvency and restructuring. Jennifer’s expertise encompasses contentious workouts and distressed debt situations as well as investigations, asset tracing and enforcement and recovery work. Jennifer is named in the 2024 Legal 500 rankings as a Next Generation Partner. She is also ranked in Band 5 in the Chambers & Partners directory where clients have described her as ‘a standout practitioner’ as well as ‘whip-smart and super-responsive.’ She previously practiced with Mayer Brown in London and Hong Kong before relocating to the Cayman Islands in 2016. Jennifer’s appointment marks the third Partner appointment to the firm’s Cayman Islands office. The continued growth of the office is a result of continued client demand and complex offshore instructions covering restructuring, insolvency and commercial litigation matters. Tara is joining Baker & Partners as Counsel while maintaining her practice as a barrister in the UK and Hong Kong. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin and is dual qualified in the UK and in Hong Kong. She sat as a Deputy District Judge in Hong Kong in 2021 and 2023 and is ranked as a leading junior in the Commercial Disputes category by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific from 2021 to 2024. This year marks the firm's 20th anniversary celebrations. Since its inception by Jersey Advocate Stephen Baker, Baker & Partners has expanded from Jersey into the Cayman Islands, London and BVI and now employs over 50 people. Managing Partner, Stephen Baker commented: “This is an exciting time for the firm as we continue to grow our offices globally. Jennifer has been involved in cases of significant Cayman and international interest spanning a number of industries from investments funds and banking and finance to petrochemicals and commercial real estate. I’m delighted she has made the move to Baker & Partners. Tara is an accomplished lawyer with invaluable expertise, and I look forward to working with her. It has been a great year to celebrate and reflect on our achievements over the past 20 years, and to build the firm to be ready for the next 20. I have no doubt that Jennifer and Tara will play a key role in our continued success for clients.” For over 20 years, Baker & Partners has been at the forefront of some of the most complex and high value offshore commercial and trust litigation. Baker & Partners is unique among offshore law firms in being led by a partnership of very experienced courtroom advocates who have between them conducted a very large number of trials in England, Jersey, the Cayman Islands and the BVI.  

Leading offshore law firm Baker & Partners has welcomed Fleur O’Driscoll as Partner.  This appointment comes at a time when the firm is increasingly supporting clients in Asia with disputes involving significant offshore jurisprudence.  Fleur, who has spent the last 14 years in either the Cayman Islands or Asia, is qualified in both the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands and has experience of large-scale commercial work and cross-border insolvency in both jurisdictions. The addition of Fleur to the team follows the appointment of Tara Liao as Counsel in 2024 and illustrates the firm’s commitment to existing and future clients in Asia. Fleur has spent extensive time in the Asia-Pacific region, including mainland China, since 2017, building on her experience living and working in the Cayman Islands since 2011. Fleur’s practice includes both commercial litigation and contentious insolvency mandates. She is experienced in acting for companies with regards to section 238/dissenter fair value claims and in winding up proceedings for Cayman incorporated, listed companies. She has acted in a number of listed company disputes and proxy battles, including Convoy Global, Fang Holdings Limited and Global Cord Blood Corporation. Her previous experience also includes acting for the liquidators of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted property developer with liabilities in excess of US$300 billion. Fleur’s appointment marks the continued growth of Baker & Partners and is because of continued client demand and complex offshore instructions covering restructuring, insolvency and commercial litigation matters. Managing Partner, Stephen Baker commented: “Increasingly, our clients in Asia want to access litigators in their time zone with an in depth understanding of their local needs, alongside the appropriate credentials and track record in Cayman Islands and BVI cross-border disputes. Fleur’s expertise in this area is firmly established and I am delighted that she has joined us to assist with our growth aspirations.” Partner, Fleur O’Driscoll added “I am very much looking forward to playing a part in Baker & Partners future growth, leveraging my offshore experience and network to expand the firm's capabilities and relationships. Baker & Partners is a specialist, independent dispute resolution firm so I was drawn to the conflict-free and independent model they have in place. There is a commitment to excellence here, with the firm consistently ranked as a top offshore law firm and, as a result, I am delighted to join the firm as a partner, working alongside fantastic teams in the Cayman Islands, BVI, London and Jersey.” For over 20 years, Baker & Partners has been at the forefront of some of the most complex and high value offshore commercial and trust litigation. Baker & Partners is unique among offshore law firms in being led by a partnership of very experienced courtroom advocates who have between them conducted a very large number of trials in England, Jersey, the Cayman Islands and the BVI. Press contact: Kezia Lightfoot, Switch Digital [email protected] +44 (0)1534 708646 About Baker & Partners Baker & Partners is a specialist independent offshore litigation and dispute resolution law firm, headquartered in Jersey, Channel Islands with offices in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and London. Since 2003, Baker & Partners has been at the forefront of some of the most complex and high value offshore commercial, trust, and asset recovery litigation.

Baker & Partners in conjunction with Baker Regulatory Services Limited have successfully negotiated Jersey’s first deferred prosecution agreement following the introduction of the Criminal Justice Deferred Prosecution Agreements (Jersey) Law 2023 that came into force on the 3rd of March 2023. This is the first deferred prosecution agreement in Jersey and was ratified by the Royal Court. Given that the case will act as a template for future cases the Royal Court issued a comprehensive judgment setting out why it believed the case met the legal thresholds for a deferred prosecution agreement and endorsed the content of the agreed statement of facts and the level of financial penalty agreed between the entity and the Attorney General. Read the full judgment here. So, what is a DPA and the process for securing such an agreement? A Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA“) is an agreement reached between the Attorney General and a corporate entity which could be prosecuted for specific offences including breaches of the Money Laundering (Jersey) order 2008. The agreement is subject to approval by the Royal Court. It is a discretionary tool which enables a corporate to make full and carefully structured reparation for its conduct and avoid the damaging consequences of a conviction. A corporate that enters into a DPA with the Attorney General may avoid a complex, lengthy and costly trial. A DPA can also have a significant adverse impact on a business and such drawbacks need to be considered and discussed with a client before embarking on the process. Attorney General guidance The Attorney General issued helpful and high-level guidance setting out the process for securing a deferred prosecution agreement. The Royal Court must be satisfied that the DPA is in the interests of justice and that the terms are fair, reasonable and proportionate. The effect of the DPA is that a prosecution is suspended for a defined period provided the corporate meets certain specified conditions. A DPA is an exceptional criminal justice tool and is not a routine measure. In the event that the terms of the DPA are breached the proceedings can be revived. All DPAs must start with a self-report that is compliant with the Law.  Any breaches identified in a self-report must be supported with evidence of the breach. The contents of the self-report are private and confidential. Once the Entity has compiled an acceptable and comprehensive self-report in accordance with the guidelines, the Attorney General is obliged to carry out a determination as required in Article 5 (1). No determination will commence unless the Entity undertakes to meet the costs of the Attorney General. The quality of the report is key to securing the Attorney General’s approval to enter into DPA negotiations. Next steps after an agreement Once such agreement has been secured the next step and a key part of the process is negotiating the content of an agreed statement of facts. The statement of facts will ultimately represent a full public record of the wrongdoing in which the Entity has engaged. The guidance issued by the Attorney General states that “The public are entitled to a full statement of the facts in order to understand why the Entity is not being prosecuted”. The following standards apply to a statement in Article 3 (1) (b): The particulars relating to each alleged offence must be clearly set out. The statement must give details of any financial gain or loss, with reference to key documents. Mitigation or explanations for misconduct should not be included, save where remediation steps have been taken since the self-report or where it is necessary to explain a complex programme of remediation. The Entity should take care to avoid assertions relating to matters wholly outside the knowledge of the Attorney General or irrelevant matters of fact that would not make a material difference to any financial penalty Where the mens rea for particular offences requires alternative states of mind (intention or recklessness, knowledge or suspicion), the Entity must make it clear which applies to the misconduct alleged in the indictment and the Attorney General must agree which applies before any statement of facts is agreed. There is no requirement for formal admissions of guilt in respect of the offences alleged in the indictment. However, it will be necessary for the Entity to admit the contents and meaning of key documents referred to in the statement of facts. Where admissions are made, these should be clearly stated and explained. If possible, they should mirror the misconduct alleged in the indictment. The statement of facts will explain that in the event the DPA proceedings are terminated, and the Entity is subsequently prosecuted for the alleged offences in the self-report or, where the Entity, for example, misled the Attorney General during DPA proceedings the statement of facts is admissible against the Entity in those subsequent criminal proceedings. Financial Penalty Any financial penalty must be broadly comparable to a fine that the Royal Court could have imposed upon an Entity if had pleaded guilty to all of the offences in the Indictment. The following will normally be requirements of the DPA: A financial penalty. that the DPA relates only to the offences particularised in the counts of the draft indictment. an undertaking provided by the Entity that the information provided to the Attorney General throughout the DPA negotiations and upon which the DPA is based does not knowingly contain inaccurate, misleading or incomplete information relevant to the conduct the Entity has disclosed in its self-report or at any stage to the Attorney General; a requirement on the Entity to notify the Attorney General and to provide where requested any documentation or other material that it becomes aware of whilst the DPA is in force which an Entity knows, or suspects would have been relevant to the offences in the draft indictment. the payment of the reasonable costs of the Attorney General; and Co-operation with any investigation into the alleged offence(s). Royal Court Approval The Royal Court is required to approve the DPA in its final form. The Attorney General is likely to bring to the Court’s attention the Entity’s conduct and the extent of its cooperation during the DPA process. In the first DPA the excellent level of cooperation from the entity was recognised in the Court judgment and by the Attorney General. Unlike other jurisdictions, the appointment of an independent monitor is not optional and represents an essential part of the process. The content of the DPA must provide for the appointment of such a monitor and is subject to approval by the Court. The scope of the appointment is negotiated during the DPA process. The entity incurs the cost of the appointment that the update reports that the Monitor will be expected to make during the term of the appointment. The Attorney General may make an application to the Court if, at any time while a DPA is in force, he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the entity has failed to comply with the terms of the DPA. Factors which may influence the exercise of the Attorney General’s discretion under Article 10 include the contents and findings of the reports made by the independent monitor. DPA Advice The first DPA case creates the foundations for future settlements, and it is clear from the judgment that the prospect of a DPA should, wherever possible, be explored before any entity is placed under formal investigation. If you are considering seeking a deferred prosecution agreement and would like to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a DPA contact either Barry Faudemer or Simon Thomas.  

Leading Jersey family law firm, Myersons, is delighted to announce that Sir Nicholas Francis, who retired as a High Court Judge in May this year, has been appointed as a consultant.    Nick is a renowned expert in family law and was one of the pioneers of the private Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) process.  He was one of the first to qualify as a Family Law finance arbitrator when the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA) scheme was launched in 2012.  Nick was recognised for many years as one of the leading financial remedy silks in England & Walesand served as Head of Chambers, at 29 Bedford Row, for over 14 years before being appointed a Judge of the Family Division of the High Court. Nick was called to the Bar in 1981 and took Silk in 2002.  He was appointed as an Assistant Recorder in 1999, as a Recorder in 2000 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 2011.  He was then appointed as a Justice of the High Court with effect from 6 October 2016, assigned to the Family Division and known as The Honourable Mr Justice Francis. He was a co-author of the first textbook in the UK concerning international prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.  Additionally, as a co-chair of the Pensions Advisory Group, he played a pivotal role in developing guidelines for the treatment of pensions during divorce proceedings. Welcoming Nick to the firm, Victoria Myerson, Managing Partner of Myersons, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Nick to the firm. He has well-established connections with the Island in that his Judgments have been cited in cases before our courts in Jersey, both at the Registrar level and in the Court of Appeal.  He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in family law, including non-court dispute resolution, from which our clients will benefit.  As we continue to grow our firm, Nick will play a key role in our continued success.” Nick shared his excitement about the appointment: “I am looking forward to being part of a team which has an in-depth knowledge of all areas of family law, and most importantly a focus on clients’ emotional and physical wellbeing. The work that Myersons undertakes has always seemed to me to be of the highest quality as well as dealing with some of the most challenging and interesting work in this professional sphere in Jersey. This is what has attracted me the most to this role and I share their approach of supporting clients holistically in what will often be the most difficult phase of their lives.  I look forward to supporting current and future clients of the firm and working with the Myersons team.”