Appleby and Conyers top insurance lawyer rankings

Six Bermuda law firms have been ranked in the latest Chambers and Partners law firm rankings, along with 12 lawyers. 

Big Two law firms Appleby and Conyers were again named as Band 1 law firms, while ASW Law was ranked as Band 2 along with Carey Olsen  and Walkers Bermuda. 

While Appleby, Conyers and ASW are all celebrating 14 years of being ranked by Chambers, Carey Olsen and Walkers have been ranked for five and four years respectively. Kennedys was ranked as Band 3. 

Appleby chief executive officer of global services Tim Faries was again named as an eminent practitioner. 

Chambers said of the former managing partner of the Bermuda office: “He has longstanding experience assisting clients with non-contentious insurance mandates, including advising on corporate transactions involving insurance companies.” 

Named as Band 1 lawyers were Brad Adderley of Appleby, Charles Collis of Conyers and Neil Horner of ASW Law. 

Adderley was described by Chambers as demonstrating “extensive experience in the insurance regulatory space” and for his expertise in insurance company formation and licensing work. He was praised by clients for his knowledge and work ethic. 

Collis, who recently stepped down as head of insurance at Conyers, was described by a client as: "His impact is major. He is brought in for big questions and mission-critical issues that need dialogue with the most senior people at the BMA. 

“His years of experience come in during questions that have a strong regulatory component. Nobody can match his experience."

Horner was “frequently commended for his deep experience advising on high-value M&A transactions, especially those occurring in the insurance sector”. 

A client described him as “a remarkable lawyer”. 

“He is incredibly knowledgeable about corporate governance in Bermuda, as well as about transactional and regulatory work,” the client said. 

Ranked as Band 2 lawyers were Alan Bossin of Appleby and Gavin Woods of Carey Olsen. 

Christopher Garrod of Conyers, Hanno Tolhurst of ASW Law and Peter Dunlop and Sarah Demerling of Walkers  were all named as Band 3 lawyers while Sophia Greaves, who has recently been named as head of Insurance at Conyers, was named as an Up and Coming lawyer.