Serle Court has 8 barristers appearing in the JCPC in one of the most important trust cases in recent years
The matter of Grand View Private Trust Company and another v Wong and others (Bermuda) No 1 and No 2 will be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council today, Tuesday 8th March 2022 . The committee will consider the following contentious trust issues:
Was the amendment of a Bermudan trust’s beneficiaries and the transfer of the trust’s assets to another entity by its trustee
- beyond the scope of the trustee’s powers, a fraud on the trustees’ powers or otherwise invalid, or
- in violation of the terms of the trust deed, so as to render the purported amendment and transfer void?
The case, which involves assets worth around $500 million, appeared in The Lawyer yesterday. To read the article which sit behind a subscription paywall, please click here.
A total of 8 Serle Court barristers stand on both sides of the case:
- The First Appellant is represented by Elspeth Talbot Rice QC (XXIV Old Buildings); Dakis Hagen QC, Emma Hargreaves, Stephanie Thompson, instructed by Baker McKenzie and ASW Law.
- The Second Appellant is represented by Richard Wilson QC, James Weale and Charlotte Beynon, instructed by Stewarts, MJM Ltd and Baker McKenzie (Taipei).
- The Respondent is represented by Mark Howard QC (Brick Court), Jonathan Adkin QC, Adil Mohamedbhai and Niranjan Venkatesan (One Essex Court) instructed by Skadden Arps and Conyers.
To watch the JCPC hearing live from 8-10 March 2022, please click here.
Related Barristers
Jonathan Adkin KC
Call: 1997
Silk: 2013
Described by The Legal 500 as “one of the stars of his generation”, Richard Wilson KC specialises in litigation, drafting and advisory work across traditional and commercial chancery. His practice focuses on trusts and probate, both contentious and non-contentious, related company and partnership law, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, tax, professional negligence and civil fraud.
Richard has acted in many of the most significant and high-value cases in these areas in recent years. He is currently involved in several disputes concerning the estates of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) in England and overseas.
His practice frequently involves offshore matters and private international law. He has appeared before the Privy Council, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Gibraltar, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Bermuda, the Supreme Court of The Bahamas, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. He has also provided expert evidence on English law before the Royal Courts of Jersey and Guernsey.
Richard regularly acts in disputes across all the principal offshore jurisdictions. A significant proportion of his practice involves international clients, particularly those based in Asia, including Hong Kong.
Richard Wilson KC
Call: 1996
Silk: 2016
Dakis Hagen KC
Call: 2002
Silk: 2017
James Weale KC has a very busy commercial chancery practice with a focus on domestic and international commercial and trusts disputes.
He is recognised as a leading practitioner in those fields by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Chambers Global, Chambers High Net Worth, and Who’s Who Legal, where they describe him as a “brilliant lawyer” and a “Superstar”. He was Chambers & Partners’ Chancery Junior of the Year in 2023.
He regularly appears (both as sole and junior counsel) in the English High Court and has appeared several times in the Court of Appeal. He also has considerable experience in overseas jurisdictions (including as sole counsel), including Bermuda, the DIFC, the BVI, Cayman, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and Panama.
James Weale KC
Call: 2007
Silk: 2026
Adil Mohamedbhai
Call: 2010
Emma Hargreaves
Call: 2012
Charlotte Beynon has a commercial chancery practice encompassing contentious trusts, civil fraud, insolvency and commercial litigation.
Her clients say, “Charlotte is brilliant. A superstar in the making”, and they also commend her as “pragmatic, responsive and commercial.”
She frequently handles complex, high-value cases, onshore and offshore, often with international elements. She is particularly experienced in acting in high-value offshore trusts disputes and complex fraud claims – often raising issues of private international law.
Charlotte regularly appears in the High Court and County Court both led and as sole counsel. She also appears as specialist chancery counsel in matrimonial proceedings in the Family Division. Her legal writing has been published in Trusts & Trustees.
Charlotte Beynon
Call: 2015
Stephanie Thompson
Call: 2017
