Tom Cochrane
Partner
Dubai
The firm's British Virgin Islands, Ireland, and Jersey law teams are also ranked for the second year running.
Walkers is a leading international adviser on fintech with a long and deep track record of advising on ground-breaking work in the area of digital assets, digital trading platforms and payment services, DAOs and regtech. The firm has been supporting financial technology clients for many years in what is believed to be the longest established fintech practice advising on offshore jurisdictions. Walkers has fintech specialists across all of its 10 offices spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Six Walkers lawyers are ranked in the 2024 guide. Bermuda partner Natalie Neto and Cayman partner Melissa Lim have received Band 1 rankings for their practices. Ireland and Cayman partners Niall Esler and Lucy Frew have also been ranked again. BVI partner Alex Drysdale and Bermuda partner Rachel Nightingale have both been recognised as up and coming. Group partner Dilmun Leach was also listed as a notable practitioner for the ranked team for Jersey law.
Natalie Neto, Bermuda partner and co-head of the global fintech group, commented: "We are delighted to retain our Band 1 ranking yet again. From global financial institutions to innovative start-ups, clients across the world look to our specialist fintech team to help them create value from today’s most exciting cutting-edge technology and we are delighted that Chambers recognises this."
Walkers' unique vantage point allows it to combine industry experience in fintech's core sectors with a specialist legal expertise, to create a market-leading offshore fintech team. With experts from Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, Walkers understands that innovative businesses think beyond borders.
Melissa Lim, Cayman Islands partner and co-head of the global fintech group, said: "I am very pleased to see our team maintain its premier standing for our Bermuda and Cayman Islands fintech work in the Chambers FinTech guide. Thank you to all our clients for their continued confidence in us and their kind words in the Chambers and Partners commentary."
Dilmun Leach, group partner in Walkers' Jersey investment funds & corporate group, added: "We are delighted to be ranked in the Jersey fintech guide again. Our fintech team works across all of our 10 offices and the six laws that we practice. This gives our clients access to deep expertise and market leading solutions regardless of where they are located and this ranking is a testament to that."
Niall Esler, partner and head of Walkers' Ireland regulatory & risk advisory group, said: "We are thrilled to once again receive this recognition from the Chambers FinTech guide for our team. The endorsements highlight our relationships with our clients and our lawyers' commitment to delivering the best commercial advice."
Walkers continues to invest in growing its fintech expertise. Senior hires this year include former financial services regulator Ian Mason as a partner in the Cayman Islands and Iona Wright as senior counsel in the British Virgin Islands.
