John O'Driscoll

Partner

London

T +44 (0)20 7220 4987

M +44 (0)7812 222 043

E john.o'driscoll@walkersglobal.com

Practice Areas

John is a partner in Walkers' London office where he heads up the Insolvency and Dispute Resolution (IDR) team in London practising British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman law.

John has extensive experience in insolvency and commercial litigation including multi-jurisdictional disputes and restructurings. He advises on all forms of formal appointments of insolvency officeholders in BVI and Cayman and advises creditors, debtors, private equity and hedge funds and other stakeholders. He also frequently advises on matters relating to crypto-currency and digital assets.

John has significant experience in cross border litigation matters involving India, Kazakhstan, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.

He is co-founder of RAIIDAR International network.

John is ranked by Chambers and Partners (2022 edition) and as a leading lawyer by Legal 500 (2022 edition). He enjoys the unique distinction of being the only offshore practitioner ranked in England for Restructuring & Insolvency by Who's Who Legal (2022 edition).

Prior to his move to London to launch Walkers' London IDR team, he also worked in the firm's Cayman and BVI offices.

Recent matters worked on, include:

advising on aspects of the high profile crypto liquidation, Three Arrows Capital;
advising a board of directors of a shopping centre in the INTU portfolio;
advising on a multi-jurisdictional default in relation to bonds worth over euro 300 million and the movement of assets beyond the reach of creditors;
acting as BVI counsel for the joint liquidators on the restructuring of a high value multi-national shipping group;
acting for the shareholders of the Washington Special Opportunity Fund in highly contested winding up proceedings in the Cayman Islands;
advising the liquidators of an international hotels and resorts group across 17 different jurisdictions;
advising on a shareholder dispute litigated by way of a BVI arbitration;
acting for a US bank on the winding up of two Cayman funds;
advising on the high profile restructuring of General Healthcare Group, UK’s largest private hospital group, which includes 35 hospitals and debt of circa £2.1 billion; and
advising on two complex and contentious European bank insolvencies with interests in the Cayman Islands.

Prior Employment Experience

Prior to joining Walkers, John spent six years at a leading law firm in Dublin followed by five years at top US firms in London.

Admitted in & Qualifications

Admitted In:
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Ireland
England and Wales (not practising)
New York (not practising)

Qualifications:
Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Trinity College Dublin
Diploma in Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring (Law Society of Ireland)

Other Distinctions

2022 Chambers and Partners UK Guide - Band 3: "He is very bright, switched-on, commercial and user-friendly."

2020 Chambers and Partners UK Guide - Notable Practitioner: "Very well networked, good on strategy, commercial and pragmatic."

2020 Legal 500 - (Offshore) Leading Lawyer

2019 Legal 500 - (Offshore) Recommended Lawyer

2018 Legal 500 - (Offshore) Recommended Lawyer

2017 Legal 500 - (Offshore) Recommended Lawyer

"a trusted and responsive adviser, who is extremely user-friendly and proactive on any matter he advises on"

2016 Legal 500 - (Offshore) Recommended Lawyer

"always responsive and available to help"

2015 Legal 500 - Insolvency specialist and 'up-and-coming star in the making'

Boards & Associations

John is a member of INSOL, R3, the Law Society of England & Wales, the Law Society of Ireland and the New York Bar Association.

News, Matters and Publications

NEWS

Walkers Retains Market-Leading Ranking Amongst Offshore Law Firms Based in London - Walkers has maintained its position as the leading offshore law firm based in London and retains its...
English High Court Confirms NFTs As Property Under English Law - Earlier this year, the English High Court handed down its judgment in Osbourne v Persons Unknown & A...
First BVI Freezing Order Granted Against 'persons unknown' in Crypto Fraud Case - On 4 May 2022, the BVI Commercial Court handed down its judgment in ChainSwap v Persons Unknown.&nbs...
Walkers Scoops Asset Recovery and Restructuring & Insolvency Awards at 2021 Who's Who Legal Awards - Walkers is pleased to announce that its Global Insolvency & Dispute Resolution ("IDR") Group has won...
Walkers Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Secures Top 10 Ranking in the GRR 30 2021 - Walkers' Global Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Group has been listed in the top 10 of global law fi...

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ADVISORY

Is cryptocurrency likely to be accepted by the Cayman Islands and BVI Courts as a form of security? - As part of our series looking at the potential impact of recent cases on the future decisions of the...
Pre-enforcement Steps and Enforcement Action Under Bermuda, BVI and Cayman Law - The full strength of the economic headwinds facing the UK economy is not yet clear, but a helpful re...
Can the controllers of crypto exchanges in offshore jurisdictions be held liable for the funds stolen by crypto fraudsters through those exchanges? - Courts in offshore jurisdictions have started to adopt the decisions of the English Courts when gran...
Cayman Islands: When are relevant documents in the “power” of a litigant and therefore discoverable? - Under Order 24, rule 1 of the Grand Court Rules (“GCR”), a party is required to give discovery o...
Introduction of the New Cayman Islands Restructuring Officer Regime - The much-anticipated and welcome reforms to the Cayman Islands restructuring and insolvency legislat...

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ARTICLES

INSOL London 2022 - Global Perspectives on Insolvency, Restructuring & Dispute Resolution - With INSOL 2022 looming, lawyers from our market-leading Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Gr...
Asset recovery roundtable: Post-pandemic trends in offshore markets - Last month, leading litigation funder and asset management firm Burford posed questions on major leg...
Video: Cayman Islands Hedge Fund Corporate Governance and Best Practice, Including in Times of Distress - What are the fundamentals of board meetings? Let's discuss the best practices following the launch o...
Real Estate Structures in Distress - Offshore Security Considerations - Although the real estate finance market has so far seen a continuation of the theme of forbearance a...
A Cayman Islands Hedge Fund Review | Part 5: Relations with CIMA and Investors - A review of Cayman Islands hedge fund corporate governance and best practice, including in times of ...

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EVENTS

INSOL London 2022 - Our global Insolvency & Dispute Resolution practice group continues to grow, offering Bermuda, Briti...
Structures in Distress: Hedge Funds in Distress - In this webinar, Walkers' Partners Matt Sanders, Matthew Bloomfield and John O'Driscoll will be cons...
Structures in Distress: An Offshore Perspective Webinar Series - The current and worsening economic downturn is predicted to be unprecedented. Whilst the scale of th...
Fraud and Financial Crime – Risk and Regulation Conference 2019 - A changing world means that risk and regulation aren't just for compliance teams - these issues are ...
Colette Wilkins to Speak at INSOL New York 2018 - Partner Colette Wilkins is to speak (and Walkers is to sponsor) the 2018 INSOL International An...