Carey Olsen

Managing Partner: Alex Ohlsson

Number of partners: 63

Number of lawyers: 260

Languages: The firm accommodates a range of languages 

Firm Overview: 

With a heritage that dates back to 1898, Carey Olsen is one of the most established and distinguished offshore law firms. The firm advises on the laws of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey from a network of nine international offices, including offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2015, Carey Olsen opened an office in Singapore, giving clients in the region direct access to its offshore legal services in their own time zone and in the context of their own commercial environment. This was then followed by the opening of a Hong Kong office in 2016.

The Singapore and Hong Kong offices have grown rapidly in recent years and advise clients on matters inside and outside China, offering a multi-lingual approach with English and native Mandarin speakers. Lawyers specialise in banking and finance matters, dispute resolution, restructuring and insolvency services, corporate and commercial work, including M&A and capital markets, as well as investment funds and trusts. The firm works alongside many of the major international law firms, accountancy firms and insolvency practitioners and our clients include global financial institutions, investment funds, private equity houses, corporate service providers and multinational corporations. Practice Areas

■ Banking & Finance

■ Commercial Property

■ Corporate

■ Dispute Resolution

■ Employment, Pensions & Incentives

■ Investment Funds

■ Listing Services

■ Regulatory

■ Restructuring & Insolvency

■ Taxation & Economic Substance

■ Trust & Private Wealth

Main Areas of Practice:  

Banking & Finance:  

The global finance team has an international reputation for banking and finance work, including complex cross-border financing transactions and large loan portfolio restructurings as well as establishing banks in its domestic markets. The firm is instructed by clients directly on international finance transactions and also works closely with onshore legal teams. Clients include arranging banks and lenders, investment banks, building societies, borrowers, syndicated lenders and underwriters.

Corporate:  

Corporate work is a cornerstone of Carey Olsen’s legal services and it has one of the largest teams in the offshore market, acting for a diverse range of international and regional organisations. Work includes creating new structures for commercial growth, advising on public and private mergers and acquisitions and completing exchange-based listings, as well as advising boards and shareholders. The scale of the firm’s corporate practice enables it to structure the team according to its role, whether it is providing focused advice directly to clients or acting in partnership with onshore advisers on complex international transactions. The firm matches the level of resource to a client’s requirements, expectations and deadlines, giving them the commercial agility to achieve their objectives.

Dispute Resolution:  

The dispute resolution and litigation practice represents clients across the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious work. It is widely recognised for expertise in both international and domestic cases, including investment fund, corporate, commercial and civil disputes, banking, financial services and trusts litigation, fraud and asset tracing claims, and regulatory investigations, employment disputes and advisory work.

Investment Funds: 

The active investment funds team is well regarded, advising on all fund structures, including open and closed-ended, limited partnerships, unit trusts and companies. Recognised as the leading adviser to funds in the Channel Islands, and with strong Caribbean and Asia practices, the firm represents more companies and funds listed on the LSE than any other offshore law firm, regularly advising on NYSE and HKEX, Euronext, CSX and TISE listings. Clients include fund managers, investment and private banks, institutional investors, boutique investment firms, insurance groups, pension funds, private equity houses and trust companies.

Restructuring & Insolvency: 

The team covers the full range of cross-border restructuring, recovery and insolvency matters and works in partnership with the world’s leading insolvency practitioners, onshore law firms, accountancy and forensic practices. Lawyers advise liquidators, receivers, creditors, investors, directors and professional service providers and its institutional client base includes private equity, venture capital, private trust, banking, real estate, financial services and investment management firms.

Trusts & Private Wealth:  

Carey Olsen has one of the largest trusts and private wealth teams in the offshore world with 50 partners and associates providing advice to international clients and their advisers. Its lawyers work across a range of trust and foundation structures and also advise on settlor reserved power trusts, private trust company arrangements, pension and employee benefit schemes, wills and inheritance, estate planning, regulatory advice and trust-related disputes. With a fully-integrated practice, Carey Olsen represents trustees and beneficiaries in contentious matters and administrative applications.