Conyers hosts Trusts Forum in London
Conyers Dill & Pearman hosted its 2nd annual Trusts & Trust Litigation Forum at the Coq d’Argent in London, showcasing its newly launched Trust & Private Client practices in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.
Launched in April 2010, Conyers’ Trust & Private Client practice in BVI is headed by Raymond Davern, who has more than 10 years’ experience of Chancery litigation and advisory work and another 10 as Lecturer in Law at King’s College in London.
Conyers’ Trust & Private Client practice in Cayman launched in September 2009 and is headed by Sara Collins, previously Managing Partner of Maitland Cayman office and Head of Walkers’ Trusts Disputes Group.
Chaired by Edward Stone, London Head of Trust & Private Client, the forum featured David Pytches, representing the Cayman Islands, and Raymond Davern, head of the practice in the BVI. The panel addressed a large audience drawn from London’s private wealth industry including contentious and non-contentious lawyers, bankers and other financial advisers, accountants, family office advisers and professional and institutional trustees.
The panel examined current issues trustees face in each of these jurisdictions as well in Bermuda, where Conyers has long had a market-leading Trust & Private Client practice. Topics ranged from the effects the current political situation in both the UK and EU may have on offshore jurisdictions, the impact of the many Tax Information Exchange Agreements signed by the offshore jurisdictions on offshore wealth management, a review of VISTA trusts and how these have been used in practice, and the recent abolition in Bermuda of the rule against perpetuities.
With an experienced complement of trust litigators in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, the panel also looked at substantial trust litigation over the past year where Conyers has been involved either in acting for trustees, protectors and beneficiaries.
Alec Anderson, Global Head of Trust & Private Client, commented:
Increasingly, leaders in the private client planning sphere are concerned about options for wealth protection and this event provides a forum where issues arising in the major jurisdictions can be examined. We are happy to provide an interactive forum to exchange ideas and discuss practical issues arising in the international trust and private client practice
Conyers has grown its Trust & Private Client group 40% over the last year and now has dedicated teams across three jurisdictions. With one of the largest and most experienced offshore trust & private client practices worldwide, Conyers specialises in both contentious and non-contentious work across the jurisdictions of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.
