Jennifer  Colegate

Jennifer Colegate 

Partner | Cayman

Insolvency and Corporate Disputes

  • I find Jennifer calm and reassuring, and she gets it all under control. She is very responsive and for her ability to provide succinct and clear legal advice she is first class.
    Client feedback
  • Jen is super-smart and able to cut to the chase to get what you need. I find her calm and reassuring, and she gets all under control.
    Chambers Global 2023
  • Jennifer Colegate is a standout practitioner.
    Chambers Global 2024
  • Jen provides sterling legal advice supported by many innovative solutions.
    Client feedback
  • Whip-smart and super-responsive; she is a major asset to the team.
    Chambers Global 2024
  • Jen met all expectations by providing sterling legal advice supported by many innovative solutions. I would also appraise Jen for being very responsive and for her ability to provide succinct and clear legal advice.
    Chambers Global 2023
  • I find Jennifer to be clear-talking. She is super smart and able to cut to the chase to get what you need. She picks up the phone after any call to debrief.
    Client feedback

Overview

Jennifer is a Partner in the Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team and is based in Cayman. She is a commercial litigator specialising in cross-border insolvency and restructuring.

"I take great pleasure from building a connection with a client and working alongside them to achieve their objectives."

Experience

Jennifer has extensive experience advising on various issues arising in complex cross-border insolvencies, most notably arising from her engagement by the provisional liquidators to a number of Lehman Brothers entities in the Asia-Pacific region, and more recently in connection with the liquidation of Caledonian Bank Limited.

She has assisted in advising on restructurings of SIVs, RMBS vehicles and other structured products adversely affected by the financial and liquidity crises touching on a range of jurisdictions. Related to her insolvency work, Jennifer has regularly advised on matters concerning asset-tracing and recovery.

In addition to her time in private practice, Jennifer has spent extended periods of time on secondment to banking clients in both London and Hong Kong.

Notable engagements:

  • Advising the liquidators of nine Lehman Brothers Hong Kong entities on a range of issues and reported cases arising (2009-2016)
  • Advising the Vietnamese ship building corporation, Vinashin, on issues concerning an English law scheme of arrangement
  • Advising the receivers in restructuring the Golden Key. SIV
  • Advising the liquidity providers of the Cheyne Finance SIV
  • Advising the liquidator of New Cap Reinsurance on an application under s426 Insolvency Act 1986 for the purpose of instigating clawback actions

Background

Prior to moving to Cayman, Jennifer worked at Mayer Brown JSM, Hong Kong in their Asian restructuring team. Before moving to Hong Kong in 2012, Jennifer was a Senior Associate in London specialising in contentious insolvency matters, having joined Mayer Brown International LLP in 2007 following completion of pupillage at South Square Chambers.

She is listed in Legal 500 2024 as a Next Generation Partner and in Band 5 in Chambers & Partners.

My services
International arbitration and mediation
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With offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and London, we can advise you on every aspect of international arbitration. Our dedicated arbitration specialists will work alongside you to quickly determine the best approach for a successful conclusion.

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Debt collection
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Knowing what to do and when to act when things go wrong is a key part of our service to our clients on both lender and borrower side. Our clients include banks, funds, directors, shareholders and insolvency practitioners. We undertake security reviews and advise on pre-emptive measures. We appreciate the need to act promptly and decisively, and at the same time are sensitive to potential negative publicity for our clients.

Fraud, asset tracing, freezing, recovery and enforcement
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We're used to working as part of a multi-jurisdictional team, capable of reacting and responding quickly to urgent requests for assistance with locating and freezing assets. As sophisticated defendants become more adept at dissipating assets, we've been involved in cases that created new law in relation to a party's ability to trace assets and recover their losses. With their ability to deal with complex issues the team deliver clear, commercial advice on the availability and likely success of recovery methods.

Corporate disputes
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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.

Insolvency
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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.

Contentious risk and regulatory
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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.

19 Mar 2024

Changes to the Cayman share capital reduction regime

Having exited the consultation stage and been heard and passed by the Cayman Islands' parliament on 23 February 2024, legislative changes to streamline the process by which Cayman companies can effect a reduction in their share capital will be brought in...

8 Mar 2024

Jennifer Colegate appointed Co-Chair of IWIRC Cayman network

Collas Crill is proud to partner with IWIRC as a gold sponsor of the Cayman Islands network. Over the years the firm has supported the various initiatives that the network has organised and experienced first-hand the opportunities it provides for th...

19 Feb 2024

Chambers Global 2024 Guide: Collas Crill's growing reputation the Caribbean is recognised

Collas Crill's rankings in the Chambers & Partners Global 2024 Guide underpin its focus on client service.The directory and client testimonials highlight the firm's growing reputation in in the Caribbean.In the Chambers dispute resolution category, t...

31 Jan 2024

Holt: The first appointment of restructuring officers to an SPC in Cayman

Collas Crill acted as Cayman Islands legal counsel to Holt Fund SPC (Company) in respect of its successful application for the appointment of restructuring officers. This was the first time that the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (Court) was called on...

14 Nov 2023

Legal 500 Caribbean 2024 guide

Collas Crill's teams in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands have received a solid set of results in the latest Legal 500 directory. In the BVI the dispute resolution team has moved up to tier 3, with the Cayman corporate team being listed by Le...

3 Oct 2023

The principle of incumbency and conflicts of interest

This article first appeared in issue 14 of Thought Leaders 4 FIRE Magazine: Contentious Insolvency Edition 2023 The circumstances leading to the liquidation of a company are often contentious. One bone of contention which often arises is who should be a...

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