Richard Holden

Richard Holden

Partner

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Richard Holden is a partner in Walkers' Jersey Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, focusing on complex trusts matters and commercial disputes. He is a seasoned trial and appellate advocate with more than 25 years' experience having practised as a Barrister in London before moving offshore, and is admitted in Jersey, England & Wales, New Zealand and New South Wales. Alongside practising, he has also taught law in Jersey, England and New Zealand, including as a Visiting Professor of Trusts Law at the Institute of Law in Jersey.


Practice Areas

Richard Holden is a partner in Walkers' Jersey Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, focusing on complex trusts matters and commercial disputes. He is a seasoned trial and appellate advocate with more than 25 years' experience having practised as a Barrister in London before moving offshore, and is admitted in Jersey, England & Wales, New Zealand and New South Wales.

He has a wide practice, with a focus on complex contentious trusts matters and disputes relating to other asset holding structures, and fraud, asset-tracing and enforcement. He is also expert in the application of traditional Jersey customary law to modern commercial disputes.

In 2016, he authored Offshore Civil Procedure, the definitive guide to court and litigation procedure in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man published by Sweet & Maxwell as a companion to its existing and widely-used White Book.

Alongside practising, he has also taught law in Jersey, England and New Zealand, including as a Visiting Professor of Trusts Law at the Institute of Law in Jersey.

Prior to joining Walkers' Jersey team in September 2022, Richard spent ten years practising with two other Jersey law firms.

Before that he practised as a Barrister in London at a commercial-chancery set, in New Zealand with Simpson Grierson, and at the London Market Office of a leading insurance firm

He is Visiting Professor of Trusts Law at the Institute of Law in Jersey. He has previously taught property and trusts law at King's College London and Victoria University of Wellington, and was also Assistant Chief Examiner for civil procedure, evidence and remedies for the Bar Standards Board in London.

Richard speaks French and Spanish.

Admitted in:

Jersey - 2015

England & Wales - 1996

New Zealand – 2005

New South Wales – 2013

2023 Legal 500 - Dispute Resolution - "Richard Holden provides clear, commercial and strategic advice. He is a good team player, and is user-friendly. He reacts well and quickly to new issues and is a strong advocate."

2022 Legal 500 - Dispute Resolution - Rising Star - "Richard Holden is a very clever, technical lawyer. He has enormous experience and an in-depth knowledge of his craft. Richard is very eloquent and produces exceptional written advocacy. Richard is very collaborative in his approach, down-to-earth, accessible and easy to work with."

2022 Legal 500 - Dispute Resolution - Rising Star - "Richard Holden in particular is excellent. He is very collaborative, gives clear advice and is a strong advocate."

2021 Legal 500 - ‘I have worked with Richard Holden who has proved a valuable counsel. Richard is quick to understand and appreciate his customer’s position and concerns. He has the ability to communicate in a very clear manner the options in dealing with a situation, the possible risks of each one and provide a fair estimate as to how each option is likely to turn out. He has been impressive in providing a recommendation for a way forward and forming an overall strategy for a case.’

2021 Legal 500 - ‘Richard Holden managed... a multijurisdictional issue involving transactions spanning a decade very efficiently and on a tight budget.’

2021 Leaders' List Citywealth Top 100 Trust Litigators - "Highly accomplished, dedicated whilst being resolute and determined."

2020 Legal 500 - “A stand out practitioner [whose] knowledge, tactical acumen and finesse in dealing with matters, including difficult issues that arise during the course of proceedings distinguishes [him] from other practitioners” 

2019 Legal 500 - “Very technically astute

2018 Legal 500 - “An excellent advocate

Publications

Arrested development: enforcement against a discretionary trust? (2021) JGLR 330: analysing the decision in Kea v Watson [2021] JRC 009 and the availability of a beneficiary’s interest under a discretionary trust to enforcement by a creditor under Jersey law.

Pugachev versus Jersey’s reserved powers legislation (2018) 24 Trust & Trustees 341: analysing JSC Mezhdunarodny Bank v Pugachev [2017] EWHC 2426 (Ch) and whether it could be followed as a matter of Jersey law.

Contributor to Christopher Hare, Documentary Credits: Law and Practice Lloyds Commercial Law Library (2017).

Arrested and charged:  FG Hemisphere and the proprietary effect of an arrêt entre mains (2012) 16 J&GLR 209: analysing operation of arrêt entre mains as a charge on the third party debt arrested and conflict of law considerations arising from this.

Avoiding the Euro debt trap (2012)  162 NLJ 211 Euro collapses?  Articles considering the position of euro debts and lex monetae should the euro be abolished.

Restitution, insolvency and interest [2008] NZLJ 271:  article regarding evolution of claim for money had and received and whether it is properly a “debt” for statutory purposes.

Boards & Associations

Jersey Law Society

Chancery Bar Association (Honorary Member)

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn

Working Party for the Restatement of the Jersey law of contract

Member of Contra

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