Nuno  Santos-Costa

Nuno Santos-Costa 

Partner | Jersey

Financial Services and Regulatory | Private Client and Trusts

  • Nuno is an experienced Jersey advocate who knows the courts very well.
    Chambers UK 2024
  • His reputation as one of Jersey's most respected and accomplished lawyers is fully deserved.
    Legal 500
  • Nuno Santos-Costa has almost legendary status. He is a superb advocate.
    Legal 500 (UK) 2024
  • Nuno Santos-Costa is a very smart lawyer. He understands issues quickly and is a great strategist. He is excellent with clients, has a pragmatic approach and is much sought after. Nuno has a pleasant, knowledgeable demeanour which commands respect.
    Legal 500 2022
  • Nuno gave a master class in cross-examination. He's fantastic.
    Chambers UK 2024
  • He has an outstanding reputation for handling contentious trust work.
    Chambers & Partners
  • He is a force of nature. He is one of the most experienced trial lawyers on the island.
    Chambers & Partners
  • Nuno Santos-Costa has a reputation that proceeds him in court and is brilliant on his feet.
  • Excellent at putting complicated matters into plain English – he takes a concrete approach, focusing on the important aspects and not wasting time
    Legal 500
  • Clients highlight his "incisive" handling of matters, and characterise him as "a big hitter" in litigation.
    Chambers & Partners
  • In Jersey Nuno Santos Costa is a superb advocate, his cross examination is excellent and he is a keen tactician.
    Legal 500 (UK) 2023
  • Nuno Santos-Costa is fantastic, a great advocate with a stellar track record.
  • Named in Legal 500's inaugral Hall of Fame UK lawyers list.
    Legal 500
  • Nuno is a first class litigator.
    Legal 500 (UK) 2023
  • Nuno is thorough, balanced and gives excellent advice.
  • Nuno is very commercial, a great litigator and a pleasure to work with. He is brilliant with clients.
  • Nuno Santos-Costa is an astute, practical lawyer, who provides excellent wise counsel. He really gets to the nub of a case quickly, and easily grasps the technical, commercial matters.
    Legal 500 (UK) 2023
  • Nuno Santos-Costa is extremely experienced. he has excellent client-handling skills and is very practical in seeking a solution for his client.
    Legal 500 2022
  • He's very good and very charismatic. He is certainly an advocate you would want representing you.
    Chambers & Partners

Overview

Nuno is one of the most highly regarded Jersey advocates. He has over 30 years' experience and his profile has resulted in Collas Crill attracting some of the island's best known and most complex, top-flight litigation work.

Experience

Nuno's experience, at the highest level, is extensive and he has been instructed by a wide variety of clients, ranging from international financial institutions to countries.

He specialises in commercial litigation and regularly represents clients in highly complex and important trust, contract and fraud cases many of which are now leading cases in their areas of law. The favoured advisor for many of Jersey's wealthiest families on their private, property and trust disputes, he has appeared in many substantial Jersey cases including acting for the first defendant in the Alhamrani trusts litigation, Jersey's biggest ever litigation dispute.

Background

Nuno is a Crown Advocate and has prosecuted a number of particularly high profile criminal cases; he regularly advises various departments of the Island's government (the States); and undertakes investigations arising out of complaints of discipline or misconduct against members of the Jersey Law Society. Few Advocates, whether in Jersey or in England, are able to work at the highest level of their profession in such a wide variety of areas.

Nuno was appointed Relief Magistrate in 2009 and continues to undertake that role and is one of the founding members of the International Fraud Group (IFG), a co-ordinated team of expert fraud lawyers (including Mishcon de Reya). The IFG enables multi-jurisdictional matters to be managed centrally, and his membership has led to his being instructed on several substantial international matters over the years.

Nuno is named in Legal 500's Hall of Fame UK lawyers list which identifies exceptional legal talent at the pinnacle of their profession. He is also ranked in band 2 in Chambers & Partners UK Guide 2024.

Licensed Paralegal
Karen  Benest  
My services
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.

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.

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.

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. 

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 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.

Real estate disputes
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Our experienced team represent clients in a range of private, contractual and commercial real estate disputes. 

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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.

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Specific regulatory compliance
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Regulation proliferates in all aspects of corporate life these days. We have proven subject matter expertise in specific regulatory fields.

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Wills and estate disputes
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We provide fast, cost-effective and sensitive advice on all types of will-related disputes during what is often an extremely upsetting and distressing time for those concerned. We regularly act on multi-party actions for both plaintiffs and defendants.

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...

11 Dec 2023

Les Sablons regeneration project planning appeal

Collas Crill has played an integral part in an appeal to the Royal Court to overturn the decision of the Assistant Minister for the Environment, who refused a planning application appeal which was previously recommended for approval by an Independent Pla...

15 Mar 2023

Pamela Doherty Jsy Managing Partner

Collas Crill is delighted to announce the appointment of Pamela Doherty as Jersey Managing Partner.Pamela is an Advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey and a Partner in the Property team at Collas Crill with extensive experience in all aspects of residenti...

20 Oct 2022

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...

29 Sep 2022

Collas Crill UK Legal 500 2023

Collas Crill has maintained its strong position in the Legal 500 United Kingdom directory this year, upholding its rankings across all practice areas. Described as one of the 'offshore Magic Circle', the firm is Tier 1 or 2 in all but two practice areas...

15 Jul 2022

Sustainability and technology

Collas Crill was delighted to sponsor the IoD Jersey's Responsible Business Horizons breakfast panel discussion where the topic was "where sustainability and technology meet". Senior Partner Nuno Santos-Costa welcomed the attendees and set the tone for w...

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