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.
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.
*admitted in Scotland
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.
Read moreOur 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.
Read moreFor 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.
Read moreWe 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.
Read moreOur 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.
Read moreWe 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.
Read moreWe advise both plaintiffs and defendants on personal injury and clinical negligence claims on and have represented some of the largest insurers in the UK.
Our multi-disciplinary approach to providing risk and regulatory consultancy services ensures that every aspect of our clients' business is covered. By drawing on the skills and experience of a highly experienced team of lawyers with expertise from across the firm, we are able to deal with all legal compliance issues that could affect your business, whether contentious or non-contentious. The assistance we are able to provide ranges from strategic matters to specific operational issues.
Collas Crill's market-leading fraud, financial and white collar crime practice sits within our regulatory practice. Uniquely offering a mix of both civil and criminal fraud litigation experience, from internal investigations, to injunctions, to defence and enforcement, the team can lead clients through the most challenging of circumstances.
Read moreRegulation 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.
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.
Read moreAs 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.
Collas Crill explains… Enforcing foreign judgments in Jersey
This guide gives a brief overview to enforcing foreign judgments in Jersey. Words in bold are defined at the end of this guide. We refer to the person or entity seeking to enforce a foreign judgment as the Creditor and the person or entity being enforced...
Collas Crill explains … Enforcing foreign arbitral awards in Jersey
This guide looks at how you can enforce foreign arbitral awards in Jersey. Words in bold are defined at the end of this guide. We refer to the person or entity seeking to enforce the arbitral award as the creditor and the person being enforced agai...
60 seconds with Karen Stachura
This article was first published in issue 20 of ThoughtLeaders4 FIRE Magazine. What would you be doing if you weren’t in this profession? What I would like to be doing and what I may have ended up doing may not be the same thing!After I graduated I was n...
Collas Crill announces round of promotions in the Channel Islands
Collas Crill has made a number of promotions across its Channel Islands offices. In Jersey, Karen Stachura has been promoted to Of Counsel, Anna Carter has been promoted to Conveyancing Manager and Barney Orr to Senior Conveyancer. In Guernsey, Kat...
Unilateral Option Clauses Survey 2024
Collas Crill has contributed to the Clifford Chance Unilateral Option Clauses Survey 2024. Guernsey Managing Partner Gareth Bell and Professional Support Lawyer Jack Crisp authored the Guernsey response, while Partner Simon Hurry and Senior Associate Kar...
Court-ordered creditors' winding up of a Jersey company
Jersey is a popular place to establish an asset-holding company. It is well-regulated, creditor-friendly, and the Companies Law is modern, flexible and modelled on English companies legislation. But what happens when things go wrong and a company b...
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