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22-Sep-2023
Walkers sponsors St Ignatius A Level Law course for 2023/2024 academic year

Walkers sponsors St Ignatius A Level Law course

 

Walkers is delighted to sponsor the St Ignatius Catholic School AS and A Level Law course for the upcoming 2023/2024 academic year, where 21 students are enrolled across both programmes.

The AS and A Level Law course provides students with a comprehensive grounding in the legal landscape and has inspired many young Caymanians to pursue a career in law. Approximately 50 St. Ignatius graduates have gone on to study law at university, a number of whom have gone on to become articled clerks and lawyers at Walkers. 

Walkers' sponsorship will contribute toward resources such as legal literature, seminars and interactive sessions led by lecturers from the Truman Bodden Law School.

Commenting on the partnership, David Collins, Partner and Head of the Trainee Committee at Walkers, said, "Having previously sponsored the course for its launch in 2006, we are delighted to once again collaborate with St Ignatius School to support their AS and A Level Law course. We believe in nurturing the next generation of legal talent and investing in the educational foundation that paves the way for their success.

"This sponsorship embodies our dedication to making a meaningful contribution to the communities in which we operate. By collaborating with St Ignatius, we aim to help the students get the most out of their A Level experience and we hope that it will encourage them to consider a legal career."

Peter Embleton, Vice Principal of Secondary at St Ignatius, expressed gratitude for the support stating, "We are thrilled to have Walkers as our partner for the A Level Law Course. Their commitment to education aligns perfectly with our mission to provide students with the best learning experiences."



21-Sep-2023
Walkers acts as Cayman Islands counsel on Finastra Group $5.32 billion refinancing

Walkers is pleased to announce it acted as Cayman Islands legal counsel to the administrative agent, lead arrangers and lenders in connection with a refinancing of Finastra Group’s existing credit facilities. The refinancing included a $4.82 billion senior secured unitranche term loan facility and a $500 million senior secured multicurrency revolving credit facility, provided by a group of over twenty private credit funds and direct lenders to borrowers located in several jurisdictions. This deal was the largest ever private credit deal in the United States.

The Walkers Finance team was led by partner, Justin Hart, and supported by senior counsel, Joe Healey and associate, Richard Beazley, based in the Cayman Islands office. Davis Polk acted as lead legal counsel. 



19-Sep-2023
Two Guernsey Advocate hires in Walkers' Guernsey Investment Funds & Corporate team

Two Guernsey Advocates specialising in investment funds and corporate work have joined Walkers' growing team in Guernsey.

Charlotte Goncalves (formerly Brown) has joined the firm's Investment Funds and Corporate Practice Group as Senior Counsel, and Annaliese McGeoch has joined the same team as Senior Associate.

The arrivals mean that Walkers' Guernsey Investment Funds and Corporate Practice Group – ranked in the top tier for Corporate law advice by independent legal directory Legal 500 - is now made up of ten specialist lawyers, working alongside teams in Walkers' global offices across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

The Guernsey Investment Funds and Corporate Practice Group is led by Managing Partner Matt Sanders and Partners Craig Cordle and Chris Hutley-Hurst, who between them have over 30 years' experience in private practice in Guernsey, in addition to onshore experience in London, New York and New Zealand.

Charlotte has been practising in Guernsey for ten years and has been recognised by Legal 500 as a Rising Star in both Corporate & M&A and Capital Markets practice areas.

Annaliese has practised in Guernsey since 2016, and was recently recognised in eprivateclient's Next Gen Leader's List, co-founded the Guernsey Institute of Directors' Next Gen Forum and sits as vice-chair on its Next Gen Committee.

Both have experience of the full range of investment funds and corporate matters under Guernsey law, in addition to regulatory matters relating to fund and corporate structures.

Matt Sanders said: "We are thrilled that Charlotte and Annaliese have chosen to join Walkers – they both come to us with excellent reputations as Guernsey lawyers and are already having an impact on our growing practice.

"Having moved to new, larger offices a year ago as part of our Channel Islands strategy, we are consistently seeing growth in our market share as well as our headcount. I am very pleased to welcome Charlotte and Annaliese on board on behalf of the Walkers partnership."



19-Sep-2023
BVI Commercial Court grants urgent proprietary injunction over crypto assets

In a dispute involving the issuance and vesting of cryptocurrency tokens our team of experts recently sought and obtained a proprietary injunction restraining the respondent from dealing with or disposing of a number of crypto tokens pending the determination of the dispute.

In granting the order the BVI Court has followed established BVI authority in Chainswap[1] and Torque Group[2] that fungible tokens are to be treated as property, and demonstrated that it will move swiftly and on short notice to protect assets that are deemed to be at risk.

Murray Laing, partner in our BVI insolvency and dispute resolution team commented: "this is a welcome outcome for stakeholders dealing with a BVI company's digital assets".

Walkers are regularly instructed on high-value cross-border disputes and were able to deploy resources from different jurisdictions and time zones over a short period of time in order to successfully obtain the relief sought. If you or your clients require urgent assistance in the order to protect assets held by a BVI company, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

 

 

[1] BVIHC(COM)2022/0031

[2] BVIHC9COM)2021/0031



14-Sep-2023
Walkers announces five promotions in the BVI

Walkers has promoted five professionals as the firm continues to strengthen its practices and fulfil its commitment to nurturing talent in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) office.

The five newly promoted colleagues are:

  • Alex Drysdale has been made a partner in the Finance and Corporate group following his significant contribution to the development of the BVI practice. He has more than 15 years of experience advising corporates, private equity houses, hedge funds and financial institutions on corporate and financing transactions. 
  • Meenaa Azmayesh's is promoted to senior counsel in the Insolvency, Dispute Resolution (IDR) practice, recognising her track record of successfully guiding clients through complex dispute resolution matters. She regularly advises insolvency practitioners, directors, creditors and shareholders on a range of issues arising out of shareholder and investor disputes, restructurings and corporate insolvency matters
  • Renell Benjamin's promotion to senior associate underscores his exceptional legal prowess and commitment to excellence. Having joined Walkers in 2015 as an articled clerk and successfully completing his Articles in 2017. Since qualifying, Renell has developed a variety of commercial practices such as shareholder disputes, freezing injunctions, appointment and remuneration of liquidators, liquidation of companies on a just and equitable ground and a host of other commercial litigation and insolvency litigation matters.
  • Harry Oulton's promotion to senior associate signifies his exemplary contributions to Walkers' IDR Practice. Harry joined Walkers in 2022 and has since showcased his commitment to meticulous research, coupled with his practical insights, has significantly contributed to the positive outcomes achieved for our clients.
  • Hannah Sagala is promoted to team manager in Walkers Professional Services. She boasts over eight years' experience working with BVI entities, including pre-incorporation to termination of BVI companies, corporate governance, directorship, compliance and regulation.

Commenting on the promotions, Matthew Cowman, managing partner for Walkers in the BVI, said: "Congratulations to these colleagues on their well-earned promotions. They all embody our core values of excellence, innovation and client focus. Their dedication and commitment have enhanced our ability to provide top-tier legal and professional services to our clients.



14-Sep-2023
Walkers acts as Cayman Islands counsel on acquisition of Energuate from Inkia Energy

Walkers is pleased to announce it acted as Cayman Islands legal counsel to Threelands Energy on the acquisition of Energuate from Inkia Energy. Energuate is the largest privately-owned electricity distribution company in Central America, serving nearly 12 million beneficial users across over 100,000 square kilometres.

The Walkers team included Corporate and Finance partner, Hugh Anderson, and Corporate and Finance senior counsel, Michael Beck, based in the Cayman Islands office. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as lead legal counsel.