The ‘spectacularly good’ Serle Court remains one of the most pre-eminent sets within the offshore world
The Caribbean rankings have been released by The Legal 500 in The English Bar, Offshore category, and we are delighted to announce that Serle Court retains its Tier 1 position.
The ‘spectacularly good' Serle Court remains one of the most pre-eminent sets within the offshore world, with a strong presence in international trusts and probate work.
A total of 20 barristers are ranked in the directory, including 8 King's Counsel; Elizabeth Jones KC, Philip Jones KC, John Machell KC, Jonathan Adkin KC, Richard Wilson KC, Dakis Hagen KC, Prof. Jonathan Harris KC (Hon.) and Giles Richardson KC, and 11 Juniors; Nicholas Harrison, James Brightwell, Ruth Jordan, Matthew Morrison, Dan McCourt Fritz, James Weale, Sophie Holcome, Adil Mohamedbhai, Emma Hargreaves and Zahler Bryan. Congratulations to Charlotte Beynon who is ranked as a Rising Star.
Members of chambers act in a full range of contentious and non-contentious trust cases, from hostile claims for breach of trust to complicated trust restructuring projects. One such example is the case of Kea v Watson, in which Elizabeth Jones KC advised on Kea v Watson, a New Zealand High Court case whereby part of the ongoing enforcement proceedings in the case obtained a sale order in respect the defendant's interests in New Zealand trust and security structures so as to enforce against the interests of the defendant's liquidated former company.
One of chambers’ standout cases of late has been its involvement in the Wong v Grand View PTC litigation, worth over $15bn, in which Dakis Hagen KC, Emma Hargreaves, Charlotte Beynon and Stephanie Thompson were instructed to represent various parties in a case concerning allegedly invalid Bermuda purpose trusts set up to benefit the heirs of the Formosa Plastics empire, which has generated several interlocutory appeals. Richard Wilson KC has a substantial offshore trust practice, being involved in major international trust cases in the BVI, Grand Court in Cayman, Guernsey, Jersey, The Bahamas and Gibraltar.
To read the full list of rankings, please click here.
Related Barristers
Elizabeth Jones KC
Call: 1984
Silk: 2000
Philip Jones KC
Call: 1985
Silk: 2006
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
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
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
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
