Andrew’s expertise in trusts and the rules of equitable tracing mean that he is ideally placed to advise on matters involving asset tracing and recovery.  He has experience of:

• Proprietary injunctions: Andrew has acted in several matters involving equitable proprietary claims.  He is familiar with the tracing process, and is able to conduct the tracing exercise identifying the claimant’s property in the hands of another;
• Freezing injunctions: Andrew has acted for both claimants and defendants in litigation involving non-proprietary freezing injunctions, including worldwide freezing injunctions affecting property in several jurisdictions; 
• Other forms of relief: Andrew has acted on claims involving interim applications for the preservation of documents, and on claims against innocent third parties (claims under the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act 1879 or for a Bankers’ Trust order).

Recent interesting cases in this area include:

• Re F Management Services GmbH (2011-ongoing): With David Brownbill QC and Michael Gadd, Andrew acts for a defendant to a fraudulent conspiracy claim.  The case involved an application to vary a worldwide freezing and disclosure order that had the potential to cause irreparable damage to the client’s business.
• C v M (2011-ongoing): Andrew advises a US governmental authority on enforcement of a series of judgments, including applications for foreign judicial assistance.
• Re Wimborne deceased (2011): Andrew advised on a claim to trace into the proceeds of a life assurance policy taken out by the deceased.
• Premier Business Audio Ltd v Best Audio Company Ltd (2010): Andrew acted for the claimant in a successful application for a proprietary injunction and an ancillary disclosure order.  The matter involved allegations of breach of copyright and passing off.

Andrew's practice runs the full gamut of breach of contract disputes, tortious claims (such as for inducing a breach of contract or conspiracy), and claims involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty / misfeasance by company directors or other fiduciaries.  His experience extends to cross-border commercial litigation, involving advice on the application of conflict of laws rules to commercial disputes.

Andrew works with his instructing solicitors to negotiate the whole litigation process.  He accepts instructions to settle pleadings; he frequently appears on interim applications, such as contested strike-out / summary judgment hearings, applications to contest jurisdiction under Part 11, and applications for disclosure or for further information; and he appears at trial.  He has also acted for clients at the arbitration and mediation of business disputes.

Recent cases of note in this area include:

• Booth v Templeton Insurance Ltd (2011-ongoing): Andrew acts as English counsel in ongoing litigation in the Isle of Man concerning unpaid insurance commissions.  The UK element of the claim involves the application of FSMA, the Insurance Mediation Directive, and the Proceeds of Crime Act.
• R Ltd v S Ltd and others (2010-ongoing): With David Brownbill QC and Steven Thompson, Andrew acts for the majority shareholder in ongoing proceedings in the Commercial Court over the exercisability of a put option over a minority shareholder’s interest in an AIM-listed company.  The claim was served out of the jurisdiction, and Andrew advised on a successful Part 11 challenge to contest jurisdiction on the basis of defective service.
• Re APEX Petroleum (2009): With Martin Mann QC and Tom Montagu Smith, Andrew acted for the defendant to a multi-million dollar claim involving the operation of a jack-up oil rig.  Among others, the matter involved courts and arbitral panels in England, New York, Texas and Cameroon.

Andrew has experience of a broad array of company-related matters, many of which have involved an international or cross-border element.  His experience includes:

• Acting on claims for breach of fiduciary duty against company directors; 
• Acting on shareholder disputes under s.994 of the Companies Act 2006; 
• Acting on claims between the company and its shareholders: for example, Andrew recently acted for the defendant shareholder in a claim by the company for the enforcement of an alleged lien over shares; 
• Advising on company procedure generally: for example, Andrew recently advised on the duties of a Chairman at a highly contentious EGM. 

Recent cases engaging company law principles include:

• Re M (Cayman) Inc (2011-ongoing): Andrew has advised a managing director / minority shareholder in the holding company of a multinational private equity business.  The matter involves allegations of fraudulent conspiracy and a deadlock in management.
• R Ltd v S Ltd and others (2010-ongoing): With David Brownbill QC and Steven Thompson, Andrew acts for the majority shareholder in ongoing litigation between the shareholders of an AIM-listed company.  As well as proceedings in London, the matter involved defending an unfair prejudice petition before the Royal Court of Guernsey.  The Guernsey proceedings have now been successfully struck out with costs.
• Re Alexander Road Management Company Ltd (2010): Andrew advised on a dispute in relation to the ownership and control of a residential property management company, including construction of shareholder voting rights in the company’s Articles of Association.

Andrew has acted on multiple civil matters involving an element of financial services law, and is familiar with cases engaging the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (‘FSMA’) and derivative secondary legislation.  From his work in jurisdictions such as Guernsey and the Cayman Islands, Andrew is also developing an expertise in banking litigation with a cross-border element.

Recent cases involving elements of banking and financial services law include:

• Re D Capital (2011-ongoing): Andrew has provided advice to an Islamic Bank involved in a dispute over the ongoing management of a mudaraba arrangement.  The matter involves New York law and an English arbitration agreement.
• S Ltd v W Ltd (2010): Andrew acted for the claimant in a claim pursuant to s.150 FSMA for breach of the Conduct of Business rules.  The matter was successfully settled before going to trial.

Andrew has a busy insolvency practice, dealing with both company insolvency and bankruptcy work, and encompassing both traditional insolvency procedures and alternative mechanisms such as company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) and administrations.  As well as his domestic insolvency work, Andrew’s experience of major multi-jurisdictional corporate insolvency has been strengthened by his recent secondment in the Cayman Islands.

Bankruptcy

Andrew is very familiar with personal insolvency work, and has appeared numerous times in bankruptcy proceedings for both creditor and debtor.  He has experience of proceedings leading up to the hearing of the bankruptcy petition: applications to set aside statutory demands, for substituted service, and so forth; and also of post-order proceedings: for example, appeals, annulment applications, and actions by the trustee in bankruptcy to set aside transactions at an undervalue pursuant to s.339 of the Insolvency Act.  He has also advised in relation to individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).

Andrew’s recent bankruptcy work includes:

• Re Martinez (a bankrupt) (2011): Andrew successfully opposed an application to set aside a statutory demand.  While Andrew regularly appears on such applications, this matter also engaged the court’s jurisdiction to set aside a notice discontinuing a previous claim under Part 38 of the CPR.
• Re Ludi (a bankrupt) (2011): Andrew acted for the claimant bankrupt on a successful application to annul a bankruptcy order pursuant to s.282(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (that the order ought not to have been made).

Company insolvency

Andrew has a strong corporate insolvency and restructuring practice.  In the domestic context he has experience across the full spectrum of traditional company liquidation work, including: applications to restrain the presentation or advertisement of a winding up petition; contested winding up petitions; contested applications to rescind winding up orders; and post-order proceedings both by and against the liquidator.

As well as liquidations, Andrew has acted in alternative insolvency proceedings.  He has acted in relation to multiple administrations, including: appearing on contested administration applications; advising creditors on the appointment of an administrator; appearing on applications for extensions of time; appearing on applications to end administrations; and advising on the administration of a limited partnership.

International restructuring work represents a growing component of Andrew’s practice, where his expertise in private international law is put to good practical use.

Recent corporate insolvency / restructuring cases include:

• Re Eircom (2011-ongoing): Andrew assists in the restructuring of this major Irish telecommunications company, having advised in particular in relation to disputes with the holders of subordinated debt.
• Re J LP (in liquidation) (2011): Andrew recently assisted in proceedings on behalf of the joint official liquidators of a Cayman limited partnership.  The case involved the negotiation of an assignment of claims to the principal unsecured creditor.
• Obertor Ltd v Gaetano Ltd (2011): Andrew acted as English counsel in Isle of Man proceedings involving a claim to strike out a winding up petition, on the ground that the petition was a form of proceeding for the recovery of a sum payable under a foreign judgment and so prohibited by s.6 of the Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) (Isle of Man) Act 1968.  The application was eventually settled pending an appeal to the Privy Council.
• Re J N Realisations Ltd (in administration) (2011): Andrew advised a creditor on the enforceability of a Romalpa clause in relation to the administration of Jane Norman.

Andrew has an active interest in pension litigation, where his trust law expertise can be put to good effect.  His recent work in this area includes Misys plc v HSE (2010), in which he acted with Alan Steinfeld QC in a claim involving the construction of a pension deed.

Private client work is at the core of Andrew’s practice.  Andrew has spent time on secondment to leading firms in both Guernsey and the Cayman Islands, giving him invaluable experience of international trust litigation.  He was also recently retained by the Contentious Trusts and Succession Group of one of the country’s foremost private client firms, where he assisted on both international and domestic trust litigation, contentious probate work, and work involving charities.  Andrew is also happy to accept instructions for cases before the Court of Protection.

Offshore trusts

Andrew is the author of Trust Protectors, a practitioners’ guide to the law relating to the protectors of trusts, which is published by Jordans.  This work is the first of its kind on the subject of the trust protector, and complements Andrew’s rapidly-developing international trusts practice.

His recent offshore / cross-border experience includes:

• Re M Trust Company Ltd (2011-ongoing): Andrew assists an Isle of Man trust company in relation to a request for disclosure by a potential discretionary object of a fiduciary power.  The request is particularly interesting as it comes from a person who has been revocably excluded from receiving benefit from the trusts.  The matter also involves the potential appointment of a trust protector pursuant to the court’s inherent jurisdiction to do so.
• Re S Trust (2011-ongoing): Andrew acts for the principal beneficiary in continuing negotiations with the trustee of a Jersey discretionary trust over the application of trust property.
• Re M Ltd (2009-ongoing): Andrew acts for the English trustee of a series of Isle of Man trusts, which have become embroiled in divorce litigation in the Isle of Man involving one of the potential discretionary objects of the trusts.  The claim involved an initial application to vary the terms of a freezing injunction and ancillary disclosure order, and has since involved several Beddoe applications before the English High Court.
• Re T Trust (2011): With David Brownbill QC, Andrew advised the beneficiaries of a Unit Trust with a BVI private trust company and with substantial underlying property in Canada.  The case involved a contested application by the surviving executor of the sole shareholder of the trust company for registration of the deceased’s share.
• Re JACB International Trust (2010): Andrew advised the discretionary objects of an Isle of Man trust established by a Zimbabwean settlor.  The advice concerned a potential claim against the trustee for gross negligence arising out of the provision of collateral for a speculative investment in South African real property.
• Gresh v RBC Trust Company (Guernsey) Ltd (HM Revenue & Customs intervening) (2010): Andrew assisted in drafting submissions in this matter involving the application of the Rule in Re Hastings-Bass.  The case involved an unprecedented application by HMRC to intervene in the claim.
• Re O Trust (2009): Andrew organised the documentary evidence pertaining to this multi-million dollar trust dispute in the Cayman Islands, including physically organising and arranging for the digitisation of several hundred lever-arch files’ worth of evidence.

Domestic Trusts

Andrew has a thriving domestic trusts practice.  Most of his work involves the provision of discrete advice on the construction and administration of inter vivos settlements – often in a contentious context – but he is also happy to accept instructions to draft trusts or ancillary documentation.

Recent cases include:

• Re W Settlement (2011): Andrew provided advice on the construction of an English settlement.  The case required an evaluation of the effects of the invalidity of a power to benefit a trustee, with consequences for trust administration over a 20-year period.
• Lott v Procter (2010): Andrew advised on the establishment of a trust for the ownership of a family home following a divorce.  The case was of interest as it involved the conferral of a power on a third party to direct the trustees in the sale and purchase of property.

Wills and Probate

Andrew has a busy practice advising in relation to wills and will trusts and acting in contentious probate matters.  He has provided numerous opinions on the construction of wills; he has acted for both claimant and defendant in contentious probate proceedings and related litigation (for example, the replacement of personal representatives pursuant to s.50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985); and has appeared on claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975.

Recent cases in this area include:

• Re Semmens deceased (2011-ongoing): In this matter, the deceased committed suicide at the Dignitas facility in Zurich, Switzerland.  Andrew acts for the beneficiary of an estate on a potential application of the ‘forfeiture rule’ and an application for relief from forfeiture.
• Re Newsome deceased (2011): Andrew assisted the children of the testator, who were the objects of a discretionary will trust governed by a highly complex letter of wishes.  In the context of a claim by the testator’s widow under the Inheritance Act, Andrew’s clients achieved a successful global settlement crystallizing their entitlement to share in their late father’s estate.
• B v B (2011): Andrew acted for the widow who was the sole beneficiary on intestacy.  The matter involved a claim by an adult beneficiary– a child of an earlier marriage – to provision out of her late father’s estate pursuant to the Inheritance Act.  The case was an early chance to test the effects of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Ilott v Mitson on claims by adult beneficiaries.
• Re Watkins deceased (2009-11): Andrew acted for the claimant – a widower of the deceased – in his claim under the Inheritance Act.  The matter culminated in a trial in the Central London County Court, where Andrew successfully represented the claimant, obtaining an award and indemnity costs.

Charities

Andrew was recently seconded to one of the country’s leading firms engaged in contentious probate work, where he gained invaluable experience of contentious legacy cases involving charities.  He is also familiar with ‘pure’ charity work, having provided advice both on contentious intra-charity disputes and on matters involving the Charity Commission.

Recent work includes:

• Attorney General’s Reference (No 1 of 2011) (2011): Andrew assisted in representing charities which are potentially affected by this reference to the Charity Tribunal.  The reference involves the question whether a charity existing for the benefit of relations, the employees of a company or the members of an unincorporated association pass the ‘public benefit’ test established by the Charities Act 2006.
• Re the Forest Gate Mosque (2010): Andrew advised the elders of a North London mosque in this contentious dispute over the ownership and management of a charitable association.

Andrew regularly provides advice and acts in relation to professional negligence matters – particularly those involving professional trustees and investment advisors.

His recent work includes:

• Re C Trust (2011-ongoing): Andrew is currently assisting in the first stages of a claim against a trust company for negligent investment of the trust fund.
• Martin v Durham and another (2009-11): Andrew acted as English counsel for the plaintiff in this long-running professional negligence dispute in Guernsey.  The claim was against a trust advisor, and involved an allegation that a negligent recommendation to amend a series of Gibraltar trusts had caused the plaintiff to lose the opportunity to settle divorce proceedings on more favourable terms.  The matter was particularly interesting for a novel application of the loss of a chance doctrine described by the Court of Appeal in Allied Maples v Simmons & Simmons.  The matter settled following mediation.
• Facilities Management Ltd v Burton (2010): Andrew acted for the claimant in a claim against an electrician for negligent wiring to a commercial property.
• Kaushik v NSB Construction (2009-10): Andrew acted for the claimant in a claim against a builder for negligent construction work in renovating a house.