• Very experienced and extremely capable; my go-to advocate on the island.
    Legal 500
  • Michael is a dynamic litigator with a strong presence in the regulatory space.
    Chambers UK 2023
  • Michael has a strong presence in the regulatory and director advisory space. He’s a skilled operator with a loyal client list.
  • A very experienced and commercial lawyer.
  • Michael Adkins is a fighter who knows his stuff on insolvency matters.
    Legal 500
  • Michael is very sensible, pragmatic, knowledgeable and approachable. He is great on regulatory and financial services matters in particular.
    Chambers UK 2024
  • Michael provides good commercial advice and is clear in his thinking.
    Chambers UK 2023
  • Technically very good and a useful lead into the Guernsey insolvency market.
    Legal 500
  • Michael Adkins: exceptional lawyer; commercially focused and technically excellent.
    Legal 500 2022

Michael is a litigation lawyer, specialising in insolvency, regulatory/ public law, trust and other financial services disputes.

He is a qualified Guernsey Advocate and BVI Attorney and maintains an active litigation practice in both jurisdictions, having previously acted as head of litigation and managing partner of the firm's BVI office.

Experience

Michael qualified in 2004 with ASIC, Australia's financial services and corporate regulator. Since joining Collas Crill in 2009, Michael has taken a leading role in a number of significant and high profile matters, including advising the liquidators of Landsbanki Guernsey Limited in relation to all aspects of the liquidation of the £120 million Guernsey subsidiary of the failed Icelandic Bank, and Sark Electricity Limited in its challenge to the implementation of pricing regulation. Michael is frequently instructed for individuals and companies in disputes with regulatory bodies and state agencies.

"I genuinely love what I do. On every matter I look to take the time to really understand a client's situation, so I can give them the legal and strategic advice they need to best achieve their goals. There is no better outcome for me than being able to help a client see through the fog of a complex dispute and help deliver clear and effective solutions."

In 2019, Michael was appointed to a four year term as Chairman of the Complaints Panel of the Administrative Decision Review Board.

Background

Michael commenced with ASIC as a Graduate Trainee in 2002, before qualifying as a Barrister and Solicitor in Victoria in 2004. During his seven years in ASIC's Enforcement Directorate, Michael advised on and led a number of nationally significant investigations.

Joining Collas Day (as it then was) in 2009, Michael qualified as a Guernsey Advocate and became a Partner of Collas Crill in 2014.

Qualification: Victoria/Australia (2004); England & Wales (2014) (Higher Rights (Civil) - 2019); Guernsey (2014);
BVI (2020)

Education: BA/LLB (Deakin, 2003); LLM (Melbourne, 2007); Certificat d’Etudes Juridiques Françaises et Normandes (Caen, 2011)

Awards/directories

Ranked as a Leading Partner in Legal 500 and in band 2 in Chambers and Partners UK Guide.

Memberships

  • ARIES
  • Insol
  • R3
  • IBA (Insolvency)
  • RISA BVI (Associate)
  • The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators

 

 

Legal 500: UK Leading Partner
Chambers Ranking In UK
*Business Assistant
Samantha Davison

Samantha Davison

 
My services
Banking regulation
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In the current climate of increasing regulation we understand the pressures on our clients, both from local regulators as well as international organisations. Our team of dedicated risk and regulatory professionals are on hand to assist. We act for a number of leading clearing and private banks located in our jurisdictions.

Competition and regulatory pricing
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It is important for businesses to understand what constitutes a dominant market position in order to avoid becoming involved in anti-competitive practices, especially during mergers and acquisitions. Penalties can be significant and directors may be disqualified, or worse. In addition to regularly gaining merger approvals, our commercial team also advises a number of major businesses on the practical effect of the competition regimes on their businesses.

Contentious banking and finance
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Our dispute resolution specialists collaborate seamlessly with our corporate, banking and finance teams across jurisdictions to advise on litigation, restructuring and risk and regulatory matters. 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.

Contentious regulatoryegulatory
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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.

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.

Corporate governance
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Good corporate governance and a sound understanding of directors duties is critical. Regardless of size, establishing a best practice approach should be fundamental to all boards.

The board of directors are responsible for ensuring the company achieves its objectives and the corporate governance framework they adhere to should underpin their accountability to the company and its members. We advise company boards at all stages in the corporate lifecycle, in solvent and insolvent scenarios.

We have also acted on some of the largest pieces of litigation brought against directors offshore. For more on our dispute resolution services, click here.

Data protection
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Data is the most valuable asset for many of our clients and data protection is a growing facet of offshore business. We have advised a number of institutional clients on their commercial obligations in terms of data security and data protection and regularly provide advice on contract terms in this difficult area. We also have significant experience in using the full range of legal remedies available to obtain access to data and information held, and so are ideally placed to advise clients on either side of the data protection equation.

Debt recovery and enforcement
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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.

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. 

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.

Regulatory
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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 more
Restructuring
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Restructuring takes many forms, and we have broad experience in reshaping businesses to the changing needs and demands of the market. The team possesses a hands-on and comprehensive grasp of the intricate challenges that may emerge in restructuring scenarios, whether involving mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations or recapitalisation activities.

Utility licensing and regulation
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We work with a number of local utilities assisting them with their work with regulators and pricing control commissioners as well as advising on the effects of proposed changes in legislation, commercial contracts and corporate governance.

8 Apr 2025

The Guernsey anti-money laundering regime through the lens of human rights caselaw

Background The starting point, in Guernsey, is that every person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their property[1]. This right is not absolute but any infringement by the State must be proportionate and for a lawful reason. The Disclosure Law[2]...

9 Jan 2025

Financial crime suspicions in Guernsey: A real bat-tle of wits

Collas Crill's Financial Services and Regulatory team assisted its clients in securing the release of over GBP 100 million, informally held at financial institutions as a result of Guernsey's anti-money laundering regime, in 2024 alone. The regime is pla...

18 Oct 2024

Collas Crill builds on strong rankings in 2025 Chambers UK Guide

Collas Crill's Guernsey and Jersey teams have upheld the firm's rankings across all practice areas in the 2025 Chambers UK Guide, with a notable promotion to Band 3 for Jersey's corporate and finance team. There were some firsts for individuals with Davi...

8 Oct 2024

Sanctions reporting: Episode I - The phantom menace

The Sanctions (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2018 (the Sanctions Law) and the Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2011 (the Laws) have been around for some time, so most of us are aware of our obligation to make a report to the Policy and ...

4 Oct 2024

Collas Crill maintains strong rankings in Legal 500 UK 2025 Guide

Collas Crill's Guernsey and Jersey teams have maintained a strong set of rankings in this year's Legal 500 UK directory. The firm is consistently listed in Tier 1 or 2 across its key practice areas and has received a plethora of industry endorsements on ...

30 Jul 2024

Jakob International Inc v HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA, Guernsey Branch

Partner Michael Adkins and Senior Associates Quentin Bregg and Amy Davies recently acted in the long-running dispute of Jakob International Inc v HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA, Guernsey Branch and in doing so, were able to successfully prove to the satis...

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