Gareth Bell
Managing Partner | Guernsey
Insolvency and Corporate Disputes
-
Knowledgeable regarding the issues and local procedure.
Chambers & Partners -
Collas Crill‘s disputes practice is praised for the ‘energy and focus‘ it displays across a broad range of Guernsey litigation. Gareth Bell continues to be involved in significant fund disputes such as the Carlyle and Highland CLO cases.
Legal 500 -
A top-notch litigator - good at strategy and client relations.
Legal 500 -
Gareth Bell is sought after for his expertise in financial services disputes. He regularly represents clients in matters relating to trusts and breach of fiduciary duty.
Chambers -
Gareth Bell has provided exceptional legal representation in our case. He provided honest and realistic expectations throughout and has been extremely helpful and very responsive during the process. As well as brilliant contacts in UK counsel.
Client feedback -
Gareth Bell is knowledgeable with the ability to strategically think about the situation and how to deal with complicated and difficult events and give appropriate advice and how to deal with difficult people.
Legal 500 -
Gareth Bell is a very experienced and steady hand on the tiller. Knowledgeable and able to provide comfort when the going gets tough.
Legal 500 2022 -
A pleasure to deal with in every respect.
Client feedback -
The partner involved in our case was Gareth Bell. Whilst the case was long and drawn out Gareth kept us in focus at all times. Whilst not wishing to go through a similar process Gareth made the process come to a conclusion quickly and efficiently.
Legal 500 (UK) 2023 -
Compelling and clear advocate both in court and in advising clients.
-
The expertise of Gareth Bell in dispute resolution is excellent.
Legal 500 2024 (UK) -
He is technically knowledgeable and gave strategic advice.
Chambers and Partners 2022 -
Gareth Bell is sought after for his expertise in financial services disputes.
Chambers UK 2023 -
Gareth listened carefully throughout an arbitration process and presented the facts to the arbitrator in an undisputable manner.
Overview
Gareth is a litigation lawyer who specialises in trust, company (including directors' duties), insolvency, professional negligence and other financial services disputes. He also has an active practice in semi-contentious trust matters.
A qualified Guernsey Advocate, Gareth is the firm's Guernsey Managing Partner and leads its Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team on the island.
Experience
Gareth has been involved in a number of trials in the Royal Court of Guernsey and several appeals to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council. He acted for the successful non-executive director defendants in the long running, multi-billion dollar Carlyle litigation that eventually concluded in 2020. He also recently acted for the Registrar of the Chambre de Discipline (the disciplinary body for Advocates) on the first ever appeal of a disciplinary matter to the Court of Appeal, where he was successful.
Background
Gareth qualified as solicitor of England and Wales in 2001 with Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in London and joined Collas Crill in 2005. He qualified as a Guernsey Advocate in 2008 and became a partner of Collas Crill in 2010.
Education: LLB (2.1) (University of Liverpool, 1998); LPC (Distinction) (College of Law, Chester 1999); Certificat d’Etudes Juridiques Françaises et Normandes (Caen, 2006)
Awards/Directories
- Chambers UK Guide 2024 – Band 3
- Legal 500 (Guernsey) 2021
Memberships
- ARIES (Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts)
- Chancery Bar Association
- ACTAPS (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists)
Gareth is a keen distance runner and is kept extremely busy by his four children and dog.
In regulatory disputes there are often fine lines between the usual wrangling with the regulator and something more serious – by matching our mix of experienced contentious and non-contentious lawyers to the particular problem at hand, we achieve better and more efficient outcomes. As regulatory experts, we frequently act on contentious matters and can leverage our experience to help clients achieve the highest regulatory standards and avoid common pitfalls.
Our dispute resolution specialists collaborate seamlessly with our corporate advisory and banking teams across jurisdictions to advise multinational corporations, trust companies, banks, funds, insurers, governments and directors. We provide a global perspective, working closely with our clients to ensure that they are best placed to respond to customer issues, fraud risks, rapidly changing market conditions and regulatory demands.
For financially distressed companies in need of restructuring and reorganisation, or for those where the opportunity to do so has passed or failed, we work to achieve the most beneficial outcome in these difficult situations.
Our team brings a wealth of experience from a range of diverse backgrounds to give quick, accurate, commercial advice, primarily across the financial services sector.
Currently working on some of the largest and most complex cross-border insolvencies in the jurisdiction, we frequently advise top law firms from the People’s Republic of China, the US, the UK and other jurisdictions. We are regularly briefed by Sovereign Wealth Funds and Fortune 500 Companies to advise on particular restructurings, as well as investment managers from Europe and the US.
At whatever stage we are engaged, our involvement will assist in identifying the on-going risks facing a client and to enable that client to continue to identify and effectively manage deteriorating relationships with creditors, financiers, investors or other interested parties.
Our experienced team represent clients in a range of private, contractual and commercial real estate disputes.
Read moreCollas Crill once again keeps the spirit of Liberation Day alive in Guernsey
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL 500 HAMPERS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED In commemoration of Liberation Day Collas Crill will once again be supporting the States of Guernsey's Committee for Education Sport and Culture in gifting individual hampers to those islanders who rem...
'NextGens' share how to not (oops) do it again…
More than 40 'NextGens' from local financial services businesses attended a Collas Crill breakfast seminar on 22 March to hear how to avoid the pitfalls of not planning for death – or mental incapacity – during your lifetime. Associate Jessica Burgess an...
Collas Crill appoints Gareth Bell as Guernsey Managing Partner
Collas Crill has appointed Gareth Bell as Managing Partner of its Guernsey office. Gareth joined Collas Crill in 2005 and became a partner at the firm five years later. He is a litigation lawyer, specialising in trust, company, insolvency, professional n...
Collas Crill: Chambers 2022 UK
Collas Crill has maintained its strong position in the Chambers & Partners United Kingdom 2022 directory, upholding its rankings across all practice areas, with the addition of a number of individual awards. The directory demonstrates the firm's mar...
Collas Crill explains… Prescription
This is part of a series of guides in which we examine areas of Guernsey law that frequently arise in practice. Click here to subscribe to receive Collas Crill news and insights by email. When we talk about prescription in Guernsey in the litigation cont...
On 5 October 2022, the Supreme Court handed down their landmark judgment in the long-running case of BTI v Sequana[1]. It is "a momentous decision for company law" (in the words of Lady Arden who gave one of the leading judgments) that addresses fundamen...
Showing 6 of 33 Results
Load more