FinTech

Our lawyers advise clients ranging from global financial institutions leveraging cutting-edge technology, to start-ups changing the status quo with innovative products and services.

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Walkers Launches Compliance Services Offering

Walkers Compliance complements Walkers' legal, corporate and fiduciary services to deliver a one-stop-shop for clients looking to use the Cayman Islands jurisdiction for their business needs.

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Brexit

Following the result in the United Kingdom's EU referendum, Walkers has created a Brexit page dedicated to providing our clients relevant information about the jurisdictions in which we practise.

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Walkers is a leading international law firm. We advise on the laws of Bermuda*, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Ireland and Jersey.
GlobalMap Oct2018
Promotions 2018

Walkers' Promotions Highlight Growth of Global Firm

We are pleased to announce that 8 attorneys across our 10 global offices have been invited to join the partnership. In addition, 18 associates have been promoted to senior counsel, or local equivalent.

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15/02/19

Walkers - Most Ranked Offshore Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers

With the most ranked lawyers, Who's Who Legal has confirmed Walkers as the leading offshore law firm for restructuring and insolvency in their 2019 guide. Walkers has six partners ranked in the Who's Who Legal Guide. This includes Jersey partner Fraser Hern, who is...

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14/02/19

Walkers advises Apex Group on three major acquisitions

Leading international law firm Walkers is pleased to have advised leading fund services provider Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex”) on three major acquisitions which significantly enhance its presence and service capabilities in the fund and corporate administration markets in the Channel Islands and Ireland. Walkers...

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13/02/19

Walkers Grows Guernsey Funds, Corporate and Finance Practice

Guernsey, February 2019 - Walkers' Investment Funds, Corporate and Finance team continues to expand with the arrival of Senior Counsel, Zoë Hallam, who has joined us from Walkers' Cayman Islands office. Guernsey born Zoë is returning to the Channel Islands having worked in Walkers'...

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07/02/19

UK Location Rule – Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) clarification on a No-Deal Brexit basis

In a welcome clarification on 4 February, the CBI published a Notice of Intention on its website in relation to the location requirements for directors and designated persons of Irish fund management and self-managed companies ("ManCos").The Notice of Intention clarifies that should the UK...

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05/02/19

Walkers Continues its Expansion in the Channel Islands

Walkers' expansion in the Channel Islands is continuing at a rapid pace, with the number of lawyers in its Guernsey office doubling since July 2018, and the number of lawyers in its Jersey office increasing by over 60% in the same time period. The...

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23/01/19

Ireland Update – Amended Credit Servicing Regulatory Regime Now in Force

Following the issuance by the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, of a commencement order, the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 (the “Act”) has entered into force from 21 January 2019.Overview - New Regime now in ForceThe introduction of the Act...

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22/01/19

Secured Rights and Receiverships: Windfalls and Pitfalls

Despite the advantages of having security over a company’s assets, there are issues which a secured creditor should take note of, from the point of negotiating the terms of the security instrument through to the point of enforcement. Receiverships are a key method of...

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22/01/19

Acts of Perversity: When a Liquidator’s Decision May Be Overturned in the British Virgin Islands

The appointment of a liquidator is a significant occurrence in the life of a BVI company. Aside from the obvious implication that the life of the company will ultimately be brought to an end, a significant power shift occurs in the management of the...

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Acts of Perversity: When a Liquidator’s Decision May Be Overturned in the British Virgin Islands

The appointment of a liquidator is a significant occurrence in the life of a BVI company. Aside from the obvious implication that the life of the company will ultimately be brought to an end, a significant power shift occurs in the management of the company.

Once appointed, the liquidator assumes control and custody of the assets of the company. The directors, though they remain in office, are divested of their powers and have no powers, functions or duties other than those expressly preserved by the BVI Insolvency Act, 2003 (the ‘Act’). Creditors of the company assume primacy in place of the members and members are prohibited from exercising any of the powers granted to them under the company’s memorandum and articles of association.

In contrast to the limitations imposed on the directors and members of the company, the liquidator is granted very broad powers under schedule 2 of the Act in order to allow him to fulfil the duties imposed upon
him by the Act to take possession, protect and realise the company’s assets, to discharge the company’s liabilities and to return any surplus to members.

As would be expected, such a situation is ripe for creating dissatisfaction. In the exercise of his powers a liquidator may find himself at odds with directors, creditors, members and other stakeholders interested
in or connected to the company. From time to time, such dissatisfaction reaches a sufficient pitch to cause such aggrieved persons to invoke the assistance of the Court.

A liquidator in the BVI must be the holder of an Insolvency Practitioner’s licence. He is invested by statute with wide powers and duties and is credited with broad discretion to perform his functions. That
being so, the case law shows that the Courts are loath to interfere with a liquidator’s exercise of his powers or to act as a review panel in relation to his acts or omissions and, fraud or misconduct aside, will do so only in exceptional circumstances.

This article first appeared in Volume 16, Issue 1 of International Corporate Rescue and is reprinted with the permission of Chase Cambria Publishing - www.chasecambria.com 

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Dispute Resolution Funding In Ireland

In a recent article published by Vannin Capital, partner Gavin Smith has been interviewed by managing director Rosemary Ioannou on the topic of dispute resolution funding in Ireland.

"Dispute resolution funding has been in the spotlight in Ireland following the delivery of the Persona judgment by the Irish Supreme Court in May last year. In this edition of Vannin Capital’s In Conversation Series, Managing Director Rosemary Ioannou talks to Gavin Smith, Partner at Walkers Global on the growing demand for dispute resolution funding in Ireland with reference to the Persona judgment and other industry developments that are driving demand for change..."

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The Cayman Restructuring Toolkit: Exploring the Flexible Restructuring Options on Offer in the Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands provisional liquidation regime has proven to be an extremely useful and flexible tool to assist with complex financial restructurings. In circumstances where a Cayman Islands company is insolvent or potentially insolvent, its board of directors must have regard to creditors’ interests as a whole when discharging their fiduciary duties and ideally be engaging with the company’s creditors in order to try and agree upon a consensual restructuring solution. However, such a consensual out-of-court process would typically require unanimous support (or acquiescence) from all of the company’s creditors and therefore the company’s board of directors may wish to consider alternative options to mitigate the risk that a disgruntled creditor may seek to disrupt any restructuring process by commencing proceedings against the company. This article focuses on the provisional liquidation regime in the Cayman Islands and how it can be a useful tool for companies who are facing an imminent debt crisis.

 

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This article first appeared in Volume 15, Issue 6 of International Corporate Rescue and is reprinted with the permission of Chase Cambria Publishing - www.chasecambria.com 

Cayman Islands Guide to Arbitration - Lex Mundi

The Lex Mundi Global Arbitration Guide provides information on arbitral institution rules, costs, processes and procedures in different jurisdictions around the world. The information is contributed by Lex Mundi member firm lawyers who specialize in dispute resolution.

Partner Nick Dunne and senior counsel Andrew Gibson have provided the overview to Cayman Islands arbitration.

 

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Irish Funds: A year of change

Partner Nick Blake-Knox, of Walkers' Irish office, outlines the recent events, trends and regulatory occurrences which fund managers are dealing with in 2018 and beyond.

In terms of trends we are seeing an increasing role for ESMA. This is particularly the case with supervisory convergence, which has been identified by ESMA as an area of strategic importance and has been included in its 2019 Work Programme which sets out its priorities and areas of focus for 2019. ESMA views supervisory convergence as a necessary step in achieving its overall mission to enhance investor protection and promote stable and orderly markets.

One of the key objectives of the supervisory convergence programme is to remove regulatory arbitrage and this is particularly relevant in the context of firms seeking to relocate as a result of Brexit. A Supervisory Coordination Network (SCN) has been established by Esma at which EU national competent authorities are afforded the opportunity to share and discuss details of Brexit related relocation applications that they have received in order to allow for the adoption of a common supervisory approach across member states. The SCN process has resulted in the expectations of certain NCAs, particularly those in relation to local substance, evolving over the course of the authorisation process, which in some cases can take more than 12 months to complete.

 

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Originally published by HFM Global

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