Leading offshore law firm Appleby has received top rankings in the 2023 Legal 500 Caribbean. Legal 500, one of the leading international legal directories, has been analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world for over 30 years based on feedback from 300,000 in-house peers, client feedback and independent assessment of law firms’ deals and cases.
Appleby’s Bermuda office earned a Tier 1 ranking in all six practice categories: Banking, Finance & Capital Markets; Corporate & Commercial; Dispute Resolution; Insurance/Reinsurance; Regulatory & Compliance; Trusts/Private Client. Appleby is the only firm in Bermuda ranked in Tier 1 in all of these categories.
Legal 500 has recognised 31 lawyers across the six categories, with 15 lawyers specifically ranked in the ‘Leading Individuals’, ‘Next Generation Partners’ or ‘Rising Stars’ categories.
Brad Adderley, Bermuda Managing Partner said, “We are very pleased with our continued top-tier rankings across all six practice areas. We have an exceptional team of lawyers who are highly-skilled, client-focused and have a solution-centric mindset. These rankings reflect our leading position in the market across all practice areas and specialisms. Thank you to our world-class team for their continued dedication and hard work.”
Highlights from Legal 500, clients and referrers:
Banking, Finance & Capital Markets:
Appleby employs deep bench strength to advise a roster of blue-chip international banks and financial services corporations on a wide range of banking and finance matters.
Clive Langley, a seasoned international finance lawyer, serves as the key relationship partner for some of the firm’s most high-profile asset manager clients.
Tammy Richardson-Augustus focuses on the energy, shipping and natural resources sectors, while dual-qualified (Bermuda and BVI) David Clark specialises in project finance and cross-border financing structures.
Jerome Wilson brings expertise in digital assets and ship financing – an area in which counsel Tiffany Boys is also well-versed.
Fellow counsel Andrew Kuzma assists with capital markets, public offerings and private placements.
The highly experienced Canadian commercial lawyer, Bermudian Duncan Card, joined the practice in April 2022.
Corporate & Commercial:
FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies turn to Appleby for its capabilities in big-ticket, multi-jurisdictional transactions.
The team – steered by managing partner Brad Adderley – is routinely engaged on cross-border M&A deals, restructurings and other corporate deals for clients from the worlds of professional services, IT, insurance and energy and natural resources, among others.
Tim Faries is particularly well-versed in the public and private insurance space, while dual-qualified (Bermuda and BVI) David Clark regularly handles cross-border matters for a range of international banking clients.
Funds and investments head Matthew Ebbs-Brewer is an experienced international M&A lawyer, advising on high-value deals across a number of industries.
Also noted for his capabilities in telecoms matters, Jerome Wilson anchors the team’s digital assets practice, handling a significant volume of license applications.
Counsel Josephine Noddings’ broad corporate and commercial focus includes insurance law and investment fund structuring.
Dispute Resolution:
Appleby is a market leader for dispute resolution in Bermuda. It easily outclasses most other firms in terms of the quality of its attorneys and the resources it can muster to support big-ticket offshore litigation.
Praised by clients for possessing ‘a strength and depth few other Bermuda firms can match’, Appleby’s sizeable disputes practice acts for blue-chip entities in big-budget, multi-jurisdictional contentious proceedings, ranging from multi-billion-dollar trust claims to fair value appraisal actions.
Singled out as the ‘weapon of choice for bet-the-farm issues’, the ‘encyclopaedic’ John Wasty has noteworthy expertise in regulatory enforcement work, advising a strong mix of insurers, captives, hedge funds and financial institutions on investigations and enforcement actions.
Clients say John Wasty is a superb litigator and tactician with a keen sense of what will and won’t work. His knack of combining strong leadership, assiduous client care and a supportive approach to colleagues, often under considerable pressure, is truly impressive.
‘Intellectual powerhouse’ Hannah Tildesley specialises in trust disputes and restructurings, acting on behalf of a range of stakeholders in high-value, cross-border court cases, while ‘wise and experienced’ senior counsel John Riihiluoma brings experience to reinsurance disputes, shareholder disputes and liability actions.
Hannah Tildesley is a stand-out performer. Always across the detail, full of ideas and one step ahead of the opposition.
Counsels Lalita Vaswani and Sam Riihiluoma are noted for their capabilities in high-value insolvencies and winding-up proceedings, respectively.
Insurance/Reinsurance:
Recognised for its ‘excellent quality of advice for Bermuda law questions’, ‘quick response time and extremely pragmatic approach’, Appleby is routinely engaged by market-leading insurers and reinsurers, which turn to the team for its extensive capabilities in big-ticket capital raisings, hybrid transactions, insurtech implementation and new registrations.
The practice is headed up by Brad Adderley, a highly experienced adviser who displays expertise in ILS, alternative and collateralised reinsurance investment transactions.
Alan Bossin advises on insurance sector M&A, new company establishments and regulatory requirements, while Tim Faries is noted for his abilities in public and private insurance company capital raising and public listings.
Matthew Carr’s recent highlights include multi-billion-dollar acquisitions and reinsurer licensures.
Another key figure is counsel Josephine Noddings, who is also a member of the firm’s global technology and innovation team.
Regulatory and Compliance:
Appleby’s highly capable team remains a key port of call for high-profile corporate clients, which turn to the firm for its expertise in the full scope of contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters.
Advising clients across a broad range of sectors, the team brings significant experience to matters involving anti-money laundering and ATF compliance, sanctions regimes and license approvals.
The practice is jointly headed up by Sally Penrose, an expert in the field of economic substance issues, and John Wasty, who works with various insurers, captives, hedge funds and financial institutions on investigations and enforcement actions.
Trusts/Private Client:
Appleby’s cross-practice trusts and dispute resolution team is well-placed to handle the full gamut of contentious and non-contentious matters, regularly advising on high-value trust formations, claims, structuring issues, and asset transfers.
Vanessa Schrum routinely works with a diverse roster of ultra-high-net-worth clients on the full scope of non-contentious trusts matters, while Hannah Tildesley’s contentious expertise ranges from cross-border trusts disputes to restructurings.
Senior associate Caljonah Smith, an experienced estates adviser who regularly handles probate and reseal applications to the Supreme Court, is increasingly noted for her expertise in the commercial trusts arena.
Recognised lawyers include:
Banking, Finance & Capital Markets:
- Leading Individual: Clive Langley, Partner; Tammy Richardson-Augustus, Partner
- Next Generation Partner: Jerome Wilson, Partner
- Rising Star: Tiffany Boys, Partner
- Recommended: Brad Adderley, Bermuda Managing Partner; Tiffany Boys, Partner; Duncan Card, Partner; David Clark, Partner; Clive Langley, Partner; Tammy Richardson-Augustus, Partner; Jerome Wilson, Partner; Andrew Kuzma, Counsel
- Other Key Lawyer: Tim Faries, Partner
Corporate & Commercial:
- Leading Individual: Tim Faries, Partner
- Next Generation Partner: Matthew Ebbs-Brewer, Partner
- Rising Star: Josephine Noddings, Counsel
- Recommended: Brad Adderley, Bermuda Managing Partner; David Clark, Partner; Matthew Ebbs-Brewer, Partner; Tim Faries, Partner; Jerome Wilson, Partner; Josephine Noddings, Counsel
Dispute Resolution:
- Leading Individual: John Wasty, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution
- Next Generation Partner: Hannah Tildesley, Partner
- Recommended: John Wasty, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution; Hannah Tildesley, Partner; John Riihiluoma, Senior Counsel; Sam Riihiluoma, Counsel; Lalita Vaswani, Counsel
Insurance/Reinsurance:
- Leading Individual: Brad Adderley, Bermuda Managing Partner; Tim Faries, Partner
- Rising Star: Matthew Carr, Partner
- Recommended: Brad Adderley, Bermuda Managing Partner; Alan Bossin, Partner; Matthew Carr, Partner; Tim Faries, Partner; Josephine Noddings, Counsel
- Other Key Lawyer: John Wasty, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution
Regulatory and Compliance:
- Leading Individual: Sally Penrose, Partner
- Recommended: John Wasty, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution; Sally Penrose, Partner
Trusts/Private Client:
- Leading Individual: Vanessa Schrum, Partner and Head of Private Client & Trusts
- Rising Star: Caljonah Smith, Senior Associate
- Recommended: Vanessa Schrum, Partner and Head of Private Client & Trusts; Hannah Tildesley, Partner; Caljonah Smith, Senior Associate
