Karen specialises in high-value, cross-border insolvency and commercial litigation.
She routinely advises on issues concerning insolvency, shareholder disputes, and directors' duties. Her expertise includes asset recovery and enforcement; corporate and partnership disputes; and insolvency applications.
Karen regularly advises directors, limited partners and insolvency practitioners. She also advises on professional negligence claims involving directors; trustees; solicitors; and construction professionals.
Karen has significant experience in advising and representing clients in litigation proceedings in the Scottish courts, including Scotland's highest civil court. She has advised on a broad range of commercial litigation matters including professional negligence, product liability and construction disputes.
Background
Karen obtained an LLB with Honours from Aberdeen University, and a Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Edinburgh. She was admitted as a solicitor in Scotland in 2000, and as a solicitor advocate in 2014, giving her higher rights of audience in the Supreme Court and Privy Council.
Prior to moving to Jersey, Karen was a solicitor advocate with Tier 1 Scottish firms based in Edinburgh.
She joined Collas Crill in 2022.
Memberships
INSOL International Channel Islands
Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts (ARIES)
International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
Karen is a Scottish Notary Public
*admitted in Scotland
"I have a sharp analytical legal mind and an ability to see the wider picture to be in a position to offer clients the best possible advice in a prepared and helpful manner. I have a commercial approach to matters, offering creative solutions to meet clients' needs. I enjoy and pride myself on building strong relationships with clients"
Services
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 in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey we frequently act on contentious matters and can leverage our experience to help clients achieve the highest regulatory standards and avoid common pitfalls.
We combine pragmatic risk assessment with rigorous legal advice and compliance guidance to reduce exposure and protect reputation, while drawing on our cross-jurisdictional knowledge to design remediation strategies, negotiate with regulators and, where necessary, litigate effectively.
Our collaborative approach ensures clients receive clear, actionable legal advice that balances regulatory obligations with commercial realities, delivers timely, proportionate solutions and supports remediation plans, helping prevent escalation into more serious enforcement action and preserve business continuity.
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.
Thanks to the depth of our experience and the resources of our team, we've acted on some of the largest pieces of litigation brought against directors offshore.
We're well placed to deal with the 'bet the farm' proceedings that can occur in these type of disputes and have represented parties involved in intra-company disputes, including executive, non-executive and independent directors, majority and minority shareholders, companies and liquidators. We understand that shareholder disputes are often not black and white and our team finds innovative and commercial alternatives to those which the Court may offer – taking a collaborative approach with our clients to ensure that the right result is achieved.
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.
At whatever stage we are engaged, our involvement will assist in identifying the ongoing 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.
We live in an increasingly contentious world. When your business is involved in any kind of legal dispute it's crucial to work with lawyers who are hands-on, cost-effective and flexible enough to respond quickly and intuitively to your unique situation and needs.
Our multi-jurisdictional team brings a wealth of experience from a range of diverse backgrounds to give quick, accurate, commercial advice. We work across dispute resolution, restructuring, recovery and insolvency matters to ensure that clients get the full benefit of our know-how and experience across the world.
We are 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 the Channel Islands 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.
With specialists across not only Guernsey and Jersey but also in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, services provided by our fraud and asset tracing lawyers include:
Immediate applications for freezing and search orders
Expedited Norwich Pharmacal order and disclosure proceedings
Asset-tracing across trust structures and corporate vehicles
Coordination with criminal and regulatory investigations where overlap exists.
Our international footprint lets us deliver prompt, all‑round legal support precisely when clients need it most.
We advise both plaintiffs and defendants on personal injury and clinical negligence claims on and have represented some of the largest insurers in the UK.
It is a fact of life that all regulated businesses today face ever increasing pressure in the areas of compliance, regulation and risk management. Not only are our businesses required to comply with regulations and laws imposed within each jurisdiction, we need to be alert to impending changes in the UK, EU and elsewhere which could have an impact on the way we operate.
Regulation and legal risk management are placing increasing burdens on companies and businesses in terms of time, costs and resources, and the consequences of getting this wrong can be severe.
We can assist with all regulatory and compliance issues in Jersey, Guernsey, BVI and Cayman including:
anti-money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation
FATCA and CRS reporting
licensing
economic substance
beneficial ownership
sanctions
tax information exchange requests
AIFMD
Additionally we can help with regulator investigations and visits, enforcement and remediation including representation before regulators, tribunals committees and courts. We have an excellent record in defending corporates and their directors and officers in regulatory proceedings.
Please view our Regulatory page for more information.
As part of our debt recovery and insolvency services, we assist clients in issuing or responding to statutory demands. Whether enforcing payment or defending against genuinely disputed claims, our involvement helps clarify the legal and financial risks, enabling clients to make informed decisions.
We support effective creditor engagement and help manage escalating disputes, preserving options for resolution or further action.
When debt recovery and demands are ineffective, we assist in preparing and lodging creditors' winding-up applications to achieve an orderly conclusion. We have strong relationships with insolvency practitioners in our offshore jurisdictions and beyond.
We also assist shareholders and directors of companies facing cashflow difficulties. Through early engagement with our network of insolvency professionals, we help to find solutions to minimise risks and maximise returns.
Our approach ensures that the process is conducted efficiently and with minimal disruption, helping clients navigate the legal and commercial risks involved. By intervening early, we support clients in managing stakeholder relationships and fulfilling their obligations with clarity and confidence.
We advise officeholders of overseas companies with assets or operations in our offshore jurisdictions on seeking recognition locally. For offshore companies with foreign operations or assets, we advise officeholders in our offshore jurisdictions on applications to issue letters of request for assistance from foreign courts and for recognition in foreign jurisdictions.
Acting in complex cross-border matters, we help navigate foreign legal systems to protect and recover value. Our experience ensures continued stakeholder confidence and compliance with local obligations, while aligning with the broader restructuring or insolvency strategy.
When acting alongside insolvency officeholders, we pursue claims that maximise recoveries for creditors. Our work supports efforts to investigate, assess and, where appropriate, litigate claims against directors, third parties or others connected with the company.
Whether addressing preferences, transactions at an undervalue or transactions defrauding creditors, misfeasance, wrongful trading or fraudulent trading, unlawful distributions or other breaches of duty, our involvement aims to protect the interests of stakeholders and secure the best possible return in complex, high-stakes scenarios.
For directors facing the risk of disqualification in the context of insolvency, we provide clear, strategic advice to manage exposure and regulatory scrutiny. Whether disqualification proceedings are anticipated or already underway, our involvement supports clients in understanding their position, engaging with authorities and pursuing the most favourable resolution.
