Band 1 rankings for Appleby’s work in the fintech sector were achieved in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, while the Group’s Bermuda and Jersey offices were both ranked in Band 2. The four top tier rankings are tied for the most among offshore law firms.
In addition, Appleby has seven lawyers ranked individually with four of these achieving Band 1 status – again the most for any offshore law firm. Partners Peter Colegate (Cayman Islands), Richard Field (Guernsey), Andrew Jowett (BVI) and Claire Milne WS (Isle of Man) were ranked in Band 1, with Partner Jerome Wilson (Bermuda) in Band 2, Partner Dean Bennett (Cayman Islands) ranked as ‘Up and Coming’ and Counsel Katherine Garrood (Isle of Man) as an Associate-to-Watch.
Appleby Group Managing Partner Malcolm Moller said: “To continue being recognised as the leading offshore firm in the fintech space by Chambers and Partners is extremely pleasing. This is yet another incredibly strong set of rankings and one that supports the hard work and depth of expertise that is present in our technology and innovation legal offering across Bermuda, BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey. Once again, we appreciate the feedback shared by our clients and counterparts during the legal directory’s research process.”
Feedback within the directory saw Appleby’s Bermuda office noted for its advice on digital assets regulatory matters and transactions and how the team “provides great follow-up and genuinely expresses a desire to be helpful. It is a really customer-centric team”.
The BVI team is recognised for being “able to reason to convincing results from diverse and sometimes limited precedent”, while another industry source highlighted how “in smaller markets such as the BVI, you don’t always get counsel that meets international expectations and standards. With Appleby, we absolutely do”.
In the Cayman Islands, Appleby’s “ability to deliver creative solutions is a key distinguishing factor”, while the team is also recognised for having a “deep knowledge of the fledgling digital assets space, and related activities within the context of meeting regulatory requirements, as well as industry best practices”.
In the Crown Dependencies, Appleby’s Guernsey office remains the only recognised firm in the island and is considered to have “engaged and capable senior lawyers that one can entrust with nearly anything Guernsey related”. The Guernsey team is also noted for its developing expertise on AI-related matters.
The Isle of Man team, which is also the only recognised firm in the island, is recognised for its significant caseload of cross-border payments law and regulatory work for the eGaming sector as well as its advice to crypto exchanges, digital banks and other online payments platforms.
In Jersey, the Group is described as being particularly strong on data protection and information security, while also handling a number of high-value transactional and financial regulation matters for payments businesses, neobanks, crypto companies and investment funds.
A leading directory for the legal industry, Chambers ranks law firms and their lawyers across 200 jurisdictions worldwide based on independent research and analysis, including client feedback.
