Walkers Legal Internship Programme nurtures future talent

Walkers is delighted to announce that its Legal Internship Programme ran for three weeks, from 17 July to 4 August.  Hosting 10 students this summer, the programme was designed to provide these aspiring legal professionals with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a leading global law firm.

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Jan Golaszewski joins Walkers team in London as Insolvency & Dispute Resolution partner

Leading offshore Insolvency & Dispute Resolution lawyer Jan Golaszewski has joined Walkers team in London in a lateral partner hire from another offshore law firm in the City.

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What can we learn from recent enforcement actions in the Cayman Islands?

Walkers' regulatory partners Lucy Frew and Ian Mason consider the learning points for financial services providers (FSPs) from recent enforcement actions by Cayman regulatory bodies.

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Walkers announces 29 senior legal and professional services promotions

Walkers, the international financial services firm, is boosting its legal and professional services teams with 28 senior promotions effective from 1 July.

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Because we’re passionate about understanding the world of financial services inside out, we always deliver the responsive service, clear commercial advice, and jurisdiction-relevant solutions that make deals happen, markets move, and businesses thrive.

We advise on the laws of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Ireland and Jersey.

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At Walkers we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can feel comfortable, happy and confident in an inclusive environment.

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10/08/23

Jonathan Betts

We are deeply saddened to share that our partner, colleague and friend Jonathan (Jonnie) Betts has died following serious illness. Jonnie was head of our Corporate, Finance, Funds & Insurance group in Bermuda and a hugely popular and highly regarded member of the local...

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07/08/23

Enforcement of arbitral awards: Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Irish and Jersey law

As the use of arbitration as a means of dispute resolution has grown in popularity, there has been a marked increase in the need for arbitral awards to be recognised and enforced in offshore jurisdictions. The international legal regime for the recognition and enforcement...

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09/05/23

Creditflux CLO Symposium 2023

Our dedicated CLO team in Ireland continues to grow in response to demand for legal, tax, listing and professional services for CLO clients. A number of our CLO team headed to London to Creditflux’s CLO Symposium 2023. In 2022 Walkers was, for the fifth...

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20/02/23

Central Bank of Ireland publishes details of streamlined filing process for SFDR updates to UCITS and AIF pre-contractual documents

The Central Bank of Ireland (the "Central Bank") has issued its latest markets update which includes a revised Process Clarification for updates to UCITS and AIF pre-contractual documents to ensure consistency with the disclosures included in the annexes laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation...

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21/12/22

Walkers ranked Top 10 global law firm for restructuring and insolvency work for second year in a row

Walkers, the international law firm, has retained its Top 10 position in the GRR 30 2022, Global Restructuring Review's authoritative annual ranking of the world's leading law firms for cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters.Walkers is the highest ranked firm advising on offshore jurisdictions and...

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20/12/22

Cayman Inspectorship Under the Microscope

In the matter of Avivo Group (Cause No. FSD 145 of 2022 (RPJ)), Walkers, instructing Ms Clare Stanley KC of Wilberforce Chambers, acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Avivo Group (the "Company") in respect of its successful opposition to Agricultural Development Fund's ("ADF") motion...

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15/12/22

Tales from the Oriente: the first appointment of restructuring officers in the Cayman Islands

Walkers acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Oriente Group Limited (the "Company”) in respect of its successful petition for the appointment of Mr Kenneth Fung of FTI Consulting (Hong Kong) Limited, Mr Andrew Morrison and Mr David Griffin of FTI Consulting (Cayman) Ltd as...

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05/12/22

Walkers Global Fintech Group Attains Chambers Band 1 Rankings Again

The Cayman Islands and Bermuda offices of international law firm Walkers have received Band 1 rankings in the third annual Chambers and Partners fintech directory.With Chambers changing its "Offshore Fintech" section into standalone jurisdictions this year, Walkers' Cayman Islands, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Ireland,...

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Walkers Advises Maker Foundation on Dissolution, Achieving Full Decentralization

Walkers has advised longstanding client Maker, the leading software development team that bootstrapped the well-known Ethereum-based decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol, on a restructure which resulted in operations being fully turned over to the Maker Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO).

DeFi allows financial products to become available on a public decentralized blockchain network. That makes them open for anyone to use, rather than relying on financial intermediaries, like banks. In addition, the MakerDAO protocol allows users the ability to execute the kind of complex functionality required by modern finance applications.

The MakerDAO protocol was initially fully decentralised. In 2018, members of MakerDAO decided to house some protocol development within the Maker Ecosystem Growth Foundation (MEGF), one of the first Foundation Companies to be incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Now coming full circle, the road back to decentralisation has been completed, the operation of the protocol has been entirely turned over to the DAO, which already managed the protocol by vote, and MEGF has been dissolved.

International law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as lead counsel to Maker, with Walkers acting as Cayman Islands counsel. The Walkers team, led by Cayman Islands Partner Melissa Lim and Dubai Senior Associate Tom Hagger, with assistance from Cayman Islands Partners Lucy Frew, Monique Bhullar and Peter Kendall and Cayman Islands Associate Christian Bourke, have been advising Maker since 2017.

The Maker Foundation's former General Counsel, Brian C. Avello commented: "Since its founding, Maker has always navigated uncharted waters. Establishing MEGF, completing its limited development mission, dissolving the foundation company, and leaving the protocol fully in the hands of the MakerDAO community has been a challenging experience to say the least. None of it would have been possible without the insights and guidance from Melissa, Tom, and the rest of the Walkers team."

Melissa Lim commented: "This is a truly ground-breaking transaction and one which we believe sets a precedent in the market for other similar protocols seeking to work towards a fully decentralised model. MakerDAO is at the cutting edge of what can be achieved with blockchain technology and we fully expect to see other projects follow the same route to decentralisation."

"We are delighted to have worked with the teams at Maker and Skadden over the years to reach this conclusion."

Walkers Bermuda acts for Athene Holding Ltd. on Apollo Global Management Merger

Walkers Bermuda is pleased to have assisted Athene Holding Ltd. on the Bermuda law aspects of its merger under Apollo Global Management, Inc., which closed on 1 January 2022.

As a result of the merger, the combined entity, Apollo Global Management, Inc., has two principal subsidiaries: Apollo Asset Management (formerly Apollo Global Management, Inc.), its alternative asset management business, and Athene, its retirement services business.  Following the transaction, Apollo Global Management, Inc. is now the publicly traded combined entity. The last trading day closing prices of both Apollo and Athene stock implies a market capitalization of $43 billion for Apollo Global Management, Inc..

The Walkers team was led by managing partner, Kevin Taylor and corporate partner, Natalie Neto, assisted by senior counsel, Rachel Nightingale, senior associate, Tom Toriola and associate, Nick Howard. Natalie Neto said "We are delighted to have assisted Athene and to have worked with such experienced leadership team on this important and strategic transaction. We wish the combined business every success."

Walkers London acts on Inchcape's Acquisitions from Simpson Group

Walkers' London office is pleased to have acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Inchcape plc ("Inchcape") in relation to its acquisition of Interamericana Trading Corp. and Simpson Motors Limited from the Simpson Group.

Interamericana Trading Corp. is an independent automotive distributor in the Caribbean, where it currently distributes vehicles to over 30 territories, and Simpson Motors Limited is a full-service automotive retailer operating in Barbados.

Inchcape's entry into the Caribbean market pursuant to this transaction expands its distribution footprint in the Americas, and the acquired businesses are expected to add approximately £120 million of annualised revenue and be accretive to the Inchcape group's margins. The transaction remains subject to customary conditions and is anticipated to complete in the first half of 2022.

London-based partner, Neil McDonald, led the Walkers team advising Inchcape on Cayman Islands law with assistance from associates, Tom Esler and Catherine Outerbridge.

Mr. McDonald commented: "We are delighted to have assisted Inchcape in relation to this acquisition, which represents an exciting expansion of its geographic reach in the Americas region. Congratulations to Inchcape and everyone involved."

Walkers worked alongside Herbert Smith Freehills LLP on the transaction.

Walkers acts on Final Airbus A380 Delivery

Walkers and Walkers Professional Services ("WPS") are pleased to have acted on the last ever delivery of an Airbus A380 superjumbo. The A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft with capacity to fly over 500 passengers, was launched by Airbus in the early 2000s to connect hubs across the globe.

In 2019, it was announced that production of the A380 would end in 2021, marking the end of a 14-year production run. The final aircraft off of the production line has been leased to Dubai's Emirates, who were also the first airline to place an order for the A380. The final A380 is the 123rd to join Emirates and the 251st delivered by Airbus. The A380, although no longer in production, will continue to operate in the skies for the foreseeable future with Emirates and other carriers, including British Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Walkers' aviation legal team acting on the transaction, was led by Cayman Islands aviation expert Sarah Humpleby with assistance from Dubai senior counsel Terry-Ann Arch and Cayman Islands associate Alexandra Franklin. The WPS team on the matter included Cayman Islands senior vice president Elaine Anderson, Dubai senior vice president Aaron Bennett and Cayman Islands vice president Jacobus Pietersen.

Walkers London acts on Argo Real Estate Acquisition

Walkers' London office is pleased to have acted as counsel to The Blackstone Group Inc. (through an affiliate) ("Blackstone") in relation to its acquisition of a significant property portfolio from Argo Real Estate ("Argo").

The Argo property portfolio was acquired by Blackstone for circa £180m and includes seven units in London and one in Manchester, totalling 717,000 sq. ft. of last mile logistics space.

London-based partner, Neil McDonald, led the Walkers team with assistance from senior counsel James Denham, senior associate Thomas Mawson, and associates Tom Esler and Catherine Outerbridge.

Mr. McDonald commented: "We are delighted to have assisted Blackstone in the acquisition of this strategic property portfolio. Changing customer demands, coupled with the ongoing growth in e-commerce, are shaping the way logistics are fulfilled and we expect to see continued investment activity in the logistics and industrial sectors for the foreseeable future."

Walkers worked alongside Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP on the transaction.

More Articles ...

  1. Walkers Advises Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II on US$2.25 billion Business Combination with Alvotech
  2. Walkers Advises on MENA Region's First Fintech Fund
  3. Walkers Advises Apollo Strategic Growth Capital on US$5.3 billion business combination with AmEx Global Business Travel
  4. Walkers Advises KKR and Atlantic Aviation on Establishment of Aviation Infrastructure Platform