Serle Court Recognised in The Legal 500 Caribbean 2026: The English Bar Offshore
Serle Court is pleased to have once again been recognised among the leading offshore sets in The Legal 500 Caribbean 2026: The English Bar Offshore, achieving 42 rankings across two practice areas and 27 individually ranked barristers. The set is ranked in Tier 1 for Trusts & Private Wealth and Tier 2 for Commercial Disputes, confirming its depth of expertise across the Caribbean’s principal offshore jurisdictions.
“Serle Court is the market leader, and is always present in the big cases. Omnipresent and omnipotent in the sector.”
Highlights
- 14 Tier 1 rankings overall, across both set and barrister recommendations; with eight individuals recognised at Tier 1.
- Dakis Hagen KC is newly ranked in Tier 1 for Commercial Disputes.
- Dan McCourt Fritz KC is newly ranked for both Commercial Disputes and Trusts & Private Wealth.
- Emma Hargreaves moves up to Tier 1 in both Commercial Disputes and Trusts & Private Wealth.
- James Weale moves up to Tier 1 in Trusts & Private Wealth.
- Sophie Holcombe and Oliver Jones move up in Trusts & Private Wealth.
- Stephanie Thompson, previously recognised as a Rising Star, is now recommended in Trusts & Private Wealth and Commercial Disputes.
Serle Court continues to be recognised for its strength in both commercial and chancery work, and for its depth of offshore experience across the BVI, Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Referees described Serle Court as “outstanding in commercial litigation” and “a leading set for trusts and private wealth mandates, with a deep bench of talented barristers.” The set’s “blend of intellectual firepower, strategic thinking and offshore expertise” was once again acknowledged across both contentious commercial and private client disciplines.
The clerking team was again highly praised for its service and professionalism, described as “incredibly responsive and proactive, commercially minded and always finding practical solutions.” Nicholas Hockney and Dan Wheeler were highlighted for their responsiveness and support, reflecting Chambers’ commitment to exceptional client care.
Serle Court thanks its clients and referees for their continued support and feedback, and The Legal 500 for its detailed research and recognition of our work across the Caribbean.
To view Serle Court’s full rankings and testimonials, click here.
Related Barristers
Elizabeth Jones KC
Call: 1984
Silk: 2000
Paul Chaisty KC
Call: 1982
Silk: 2001
John Machell KC has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular experience in large-scale litigation involving trusts, fiduciary/director duties, and fraud, particularly with an international dimension.
John is regarded as one of the leading partnership and LLP silks and has experience of a wide range of both contentious and non-contentious matters across the whole range of business sectors. A large part of his work involves issues arising from the use of partnerships and LLPs in hedge fund and private equity structures; in international commercial group structures; and as part of wealth planning strategies.
A substantial part of John’s practice is offshore, and he has appeared in the courts of Grand Cayman, the British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda on several occasions in recent years.
John Machell KC
Call: 1993
Silk: 2012
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
Constance McDonnell KC
Call: 2000
Silk: 2019
Timothy Collingwood KC has a broad commercial and chancery practice, with a particular emphasis on litigation concerning commercial agreements, company, insolvency, and international trust matters.
Described in Legal 500 (2025) as “a truly gifted advocate who is totally committed to the case”. The directories recognise him as a leading practitioner in these fields. He has extensive experience of claims concerning breaches of duty, in particular in respect of directors or trustees and frequently involving allegations of fraud, and of shareholder disputes.
Prior to commencing practice in this jurisdiction, Tim was called to the bar in the Cayman Islands and practised as an attorney-at-law. He continues to undertake work in respect of a number of offshore jurisdictions. He is called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands.
Timothy Collingwood KC
Call: 1996
Silk: 2020
Giles Richardson KC
Call: 1997
Silk: 2022
Dan McCourt Fritz KC
Call: 2007
Silk: 2023
Matthew Morrison KC has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular expertise in civil fraud, company and partnership disputes, and insolvency litigation.
Described by Chambers UK 2027 as an “outstanding barrister” who is “technically brilliant, fantastic with clients and someone whose cross-examination is exceptional”, Matthew regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal and has acted in proceedings before the Grand Court and Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI), the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man High Court of Justice and the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. He also has significant experience assisting advocates before the Royal Courts of Jersey and Guernsey. He is generally admitted to the BVI Bar and is currently admitted ad hoc on a number of matters in the Cayman Islands.
Matthew is an established legal author. He has written widely read PLC practice notes on minority shareholder remedies and edits chapters on directors’ duties and disqualification, and insolvency, in Gore-Browne, Butterworths Corporate Law Service, Tolley’s Company Law Service and Tolley’s Company Law Handbook; and on unfair prejudice, misfeasance and disqualification in the Law of Limited Liability Partnerships (Whittaker and Machell (6th ed.), 2026).
Matthew Morrison KC
Call: 2004
Silk: 2025
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
Ruth Jordan
Call: 2001
Sophie Holcombe
Call: 2009
Thomas Fletcher
Call: 2009
Adil Mohamedbhai
Call: 2010
Emma Hargreaves
Call: 2012
Zahler Bryan has a broad commercial chancery practice, with a particular emphasis on contentious trusts, civil fraud and financial disputes.
She regularly advises on a wide range of matters, with considerable experience in large-scale commercial and trust disputes spanning an extensive range of jurisdictions.
Zahler also has a particular interest in appellate work and has appeared in the Supreme Court and the Privy Council.
Described as “razor smart and a great asset to any team“, Zahler was awarded ‘Chancery Junior of the Year’ at the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023.
Zahler Bryan
Call: 2012
Oliver Jones is a senior junior with a broad commercial and chancery practice, and particular expertise in private wealth and civil fraud disputes. He is recognised by the directories as a leading junior in these areas.
In addition to his busy practice in England, he regularly works in major offshore jurisdictions, including the Channel Islands, BVI and Bermuda. Ollie was called to the BVI bar in 2019.
In addition to noting his “incredible intellect” and “engaging and persuasive” advocacy, the directories note Ollie’s ability to “roll up his sleeves”, “get on top of huge volumes of work and detail quickly” and build a “great rapport with clients”. In addition to acting unled, Ollie also enjoys working as part of larger teams on large-scale litigation, in which he “consistently delivers impressive results”. Ollie takes pride in his reputation for being “user-friendly” and “great to work with”.
Before coming to the Bar, Ollie spent several years as a management consultant in the financial services, energy, and public sectors. He brings this commercial experience and perspective to bear in his cases.
Oliver Jones
Call: 2014
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
Sparsh Garg is a chancery and commercial barrister specialising in contentious trusts and estates matters and company disputes. He has acted in complex, high-value trusts and company cases.
Sparsh is recognised in the legal directories for offshore private client and commercial work. He regularly receives instructions in The Bahamas, Gibraltar and Jersey, is called to the BVI Bar, and acts in BVI matters independently and as part of counsel teams.
In England, Sparsh is recognised as a “rising star” and “up and coming” barrister in traditional chancery and private client work. Clients describe him as “intelligent, hard-working, an innovative thinker”, as well as personable and a good team player.
In 2019, Sparsh was seconded to the dispute resolution team of a leading Gibraltar law firm, working on contentious trusts and commercial disputes. He has since continued to develop his offshore practice, acting as sole counsel and alongside other barristers.
His offshore experience includes three Privy Council appeals: Chu v Lau [2020], concerning just and equitable winding-up on grounds of shareholder deadlock; Perry v Lopag [2023], concerning appellate intervention in findings of foreign law; and Dawson-Damer v Grampian Trust Company Ltd, concerning a trustee’s duty of adequate deliberation.
Sparsh Garg
Call: 2017
Stephanie Thompson
Call: 2017
