Fraser Mitchell joined Appleby in June 2018 from the fraud and asset tracing team at Mischcon de Reya. Fraser studied at Fettes College, Edinburgh, and graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA in History. He joined K2 Intelligence, a multidisciplinary practice with a focus on fraud investigations and litigation, upon qualification and then practised at Mishcon de Reya, where he developed a particular focus on high stakes international litigation and pre-emptive remedies.
Laure-Astrid Wigglesworth joined Appleby in February 2018. She is an attorney of the Turks & Caicos Islands that was called to the Bar of England & Wales in December 2014. She completed her pupillage at Henderson Chambers and has considerable advocacy experience both in England and Wales.
They join a team led by Andrew Willins, ranked by Chambers & Partners as a Band 1 litigator in the British Virgin Islands, and by the Legal 500 as a Leading Individual in the British Virgin Islands. He is supported by Justin Davis, an experienced barrister, who joined the firm in March 2017 from Crown Office Chambers.
Andrew Willins said, “We are delighted to have lawyers of the calibre of Fraser and Laure-Astrid join the team. We have a strong bench of advocates, and Laure-Astrid’s qualification as a Barrister ensures that we have a full spread of advocacy capabilities. We have seen particular growth in fraud and asset tracing cases over the past couple of years and the quality of Fraser’s training and experience in that area will be invaluable to clients that need to obtain injunctive relief. It was also gratifying to see that Fraser and Laure-Astrid’s enthusiasm for moving to the island was undiminished by the effects of Hurricane Irma.”
For some years, offshore firms have provided BVI Dispute Resolution capabilities in Asia, given the time zone differentials between Asia and the Caribbean. Andrew Willins explained, “The same time zone imperatives do not exist between BVI and Europe. The secondment of Olwyn to Jersey supports a strategic need to investigate the extent to which our European based clients welcome access to timely assistance from an experienced BVI lawyer in their own time zone.”
The BVI Dispute Resolution team now consists of six fee-earners. In addition, the team is supported by three lawyers in Hong Kong, including partner Eliot Simpson, as well as a bench of BVI qualified lawyers across the other jurisdictions in which Appleby operates, which includes Peter McMaster QC formerly of Serle Court Chambers.
