Leading Collas Crill's Caribbean Corporate team, Ellie practises British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands law (also admitted in England and Hong Kong - non-practising).
Her clients include leading onshore law firms, private equity investors, major international financial institutions, private credit lenders, listed and private companies, statutory and public bodies and UNHW individuals. While her geographical focus is the Americas and the UK, she has a global client base.
She also serves as the Group's BVI Managing Partner and is on the Collas Crill Strategy Board.
Experience
Ellie's practice is a full lifecycle offering that has evolved alongside her clients. She advises across corporate, banking and finance, capital markets, insolvency and debt restructuring, and private wealth – meaning she is often with a client from formation through financing, growth, restructuring, spin-off and succession. That breadth is not accidental, it reflects years of listening to what clients actually need and building the capability to deliver it.
Background
Ellie has been in practice for 20 years, a decade and a half of that offshore, and has lived and worked in London, Moscow, Hong Kong and the BVI – an international presence that provides her with a nuanced cultural understanding of complex, cross-border transactions with stakeholders across multiple time zones and legal traditions.
Awards
Ellie has maintained recommendations by The Legal 500 and IFLR since 2015. She is recognised by The Legal 500 as a 'Leading Partner' and ranked in Band 3 by Chambers & Partners . She was nominated by peers as Lawyer of the Year in BVI Finance's 2020 Financial Services Awards.
Memberships
BVI Bar Association
The Law Society of England and Wales
"Clients expect service, quality and value for money as a minimum - and rightly so. What I add to transactions - and what has built years-long relationships - is actual care for my clients' business. It sounds simple but it can't be faked."
Ellie is very knowledgeable and professional.
Chambers Global Guide 2025
Ellie Crespi and Greg Boyd make a serious, experienced and switched-on team that easily rivals any of the bigger offshore firms.
Legal 500 2024
Ellie Crespi does an excellent job, together with her team.
Chambers Global (2026)
Remarkable.
IFLR
She literally wrote the book on BVI Commercial Law, as contributing editor of the Company Law and Banking Law sections of the BVI Commercial Law (3rd and 4th editions).
Legal 500 2022
Extremely responsive and adaptable.
Legal 500
Ellie in particular is outstanding. She is our right-hand woman when we get into more in-depth analyses of BVI law.
Chambers Global (2026)
Ellie consistently provides an excellent level of service.
Chambers Global Guide 2025
Ellie Crespi is absolutely dedicated to her clients and a joy to work with. She has built a strong team around her, especially senior associate to watch, Annabel Bishop.
Legal 500
It is very positive for the jurisdiction (BVI) to have a lawyer who spent the best part of a decade working in Hong Kong heading up one of the big international offshore firms here.
Legal 500 2022
She has unmatched experience in corporate and finance matters.
Chambers Global 2023
A superb partner – she is commercially excellent, quick to respond and support and very approachable.
Legal 500 2024
Very dedicated and responsive to requests upon short notice, very collaborative, and flexible on issues.
Legal 500 2024
Ellie treats you as if you were the only or most important client she has.
Legal 500 2024
Very strong banking and finance lawyer, and a secured lending specialist. The time she spent onshore sets her apart from many of her competitors.
Legal 500 2024
Ellie steers things towards being more practically-oriented. She is quick to respond, helpful and switched on.
Chambers Global 2024
Ellie Crespi is very knowledgeable, kind, and helpful.
Legal 500
Professional, responsive and diligent.
Legal 500
Collas Crill’s hire of Ellie Crespi was a real coup. When it comes to structured finance and secured lending, there is simply no one else in the offshore market with greater depth and breadth of experience than Ellie.
Legal 500 2022
Ellie is well informed and talented. She is a well-rounded professional.
Chambers Global 2024
Ellie is definitely someone to watch.
Chambers Global 2023
Ellie is very knowledgeable and provides accurate and prompt responses. She understands business and industry very well.
Chambers Global 2024
Expertise
We work both lender and borrower side in funding the acquisition of aircraft, ships, containers, art and other high value assets and advise on finance and operating leases, sale and leaseback transactions, jurisdiction specific transactions such as JOLCOs and the securitisation of asset receivables.
The importance of managing risk across all types of banking and financial transactions has never been more apparent. International and multi-jurisdictional activity, particularly in new and emerging markets, is driving creativity in structuring and transactions which requires a team of lawyers who know how to get the optimal results from each deal.
In today's economic climate lawyers need to be more innovative and more efficient in navigating the increasing complexity of the regulatory environment.
Our clients choose us because of our ability to understand how to structure complex securities and how to execute complex capital raisings in challenging market conditions. We pride ourselves on being responsive and pragmatic, working closely with our clients and other advisers and drawing on our substantive securities and capital markets experience.
Our capital markets team have significant onshore as well as offshore experience, giving us an in-depth understanding of all aspects of security issues and capital markets transactions.
We advise on the structuring of securitisation vehicles, the promotion of securities and the full range of equity and debt capital markets transactions, including both public equity and debt offerings and mergers and acquisitions, including schemes or arrangement and reverse takeovers.
We can also provide listing sponsor and agent assistance for both The International Stock Exchange and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange.
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.
Successfully navigating the modern global business environment, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise while avoiding legal and regulatory pitfalls, is a challenge for any entrepreneur, business or corporation, during all phases of the corporate life cycle.
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.
When customers or clients do not pay on time, we provide timely and effective advice on recovering debts and enforcing judgments. We help businesses, service providers, lenders and borrowers – including banks, funds, directors, and insolvency practitioners – recover commercial debt swiftly and strategically.
Our services cover court proceedings, arrets, saisies, statutory demands, insolvency proceedings, désastre, realisation, dégrèvement, and enforcement of security interests. We conduct thorough security reviews and advise on pre-emptive measures, ensuring prompt, decisive action with discretion to minimise reputational risk.
Our experienced team will handle the due diligence process, from initial requests for information and documentation, transitioning to the review phase, making further requisitions as necessary and producing a comprehensive due diligence report setting out key issues and areas for risk mitigation.
We can advise in relation to the financing of investment funds in Guernsey, Jersey, BVI and Cayman, advising both borrowers and lenders. Fund financing covers a range of financing possibilities including mezzanine financing or acquisition finance, but most commonly involves capital call or subscription facilities. It is a specialist area that requires an understanding of fund structuring, the risks involved in lending to funds and specific security requirements.
Underlying relationships between investors, borrowers and lenders are key to the success of the industry. We work with lenders and borrowers to maintain these relationships at every stage of the process, with our commercial, efficient and pragmatic approach to managing transactions.
We provide expert legal support on both local and cross border amalgamations of regulated and unregulated companies and work closely with our dispute resolution team on local schemes of arrangement.
We regularly act in relation to significant mergers and acquisitions activity in our jurisdictions, whether as lead counsel for strictly local matters or as part of an international team for multi-jurisdictional transactions.
In addition to the negotiation of transaction documents, we assist clients with disclosure and due diligence exercises as well as obtaining competition authority clearances. Our focus is a practical one; looking to allow clients the certainty to conclude a deal in the knowledge that their risk has been identified and mitigated appropriately.
Our teams have been involved in some of the most innovative finance structures, including the first public-private finance initiative in Guernsey, a care home. We regularly advise housing associations on funding their projects. Internationally we work with clients on key infrastructure projects, including power stations and railway links.
Real estate continues to dominate as an asset class for many investors. We have a strong track record in financing commercial real estate acquisitions, mainly in New York and the UK and the London prime market. We act for some of the key lenders in this area. Our clients include banks, funds, alternative lenders, private equity houses, private investors, hotel consortiums and family offices. Locally, we have worked on the funding of some of the most prestigious buildings in our jurisdictions.
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.
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.
Our securities and capital markets team advise on all aspects of securitisation transactions, including the structuring of securities and securitisation vehicles, producing the prospectus, providing regulatory advice and advising on promotion restrictions and requirements. Our clients include both offshore and onshore banks as well as other financial instructions.
Offshore vehicles are used for a huge range of purposes either standing alone or as part of large multi-jurisdictional structures.
Our highly commercial team specialises in advising clients on the most effective uses of such vehicles and their on-going operation, including normal and cellular companies as well as foundations, unit trusts, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, segregated portfolio and restricted purpose companies.
We are able to advise what jurisdiction among the 'Big Four' that we advise on will best suit our client's needs and regularly advise on solvent restructuring by way of merger, consolidation, continuation or balance sheet optimisation as well as court based corporate procedures such as schemes and plans of arrangement.
With our mix of non-contentious and litigation restructuring specialists, Collas Crill offers the unique advantage of having being able to provide a team to seamlessly take a transaction from start to finish.
Demand continues to rise for legal professionals with a strong knowledge and understanding of Shariah law concepts continues, a reflection of the growth in Islamic finance products and services for institutions and private clients.
Our team of experienced finance lawyers regularly works with onshore law firms, banks, managers and service providers to assist clients in the UK, the Middle East and Asia, as well as trust and corporate service providers servicing clients in this area.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world. With diversifying markets and governments keen to enact strategies and legislation to bring further innovation, MENA is primed for further transformation and growth.
The demand for professional advisers who understand this rapidly changing environment and the opportunities and challenges it brings has never been higher or more important.
Regional clients with worldwide investments as well as international clients conducting business in the area trust Collas Crill to guide them through their business dealings and wealth planning, with expertise in Shariah-compliant products allied with decades of experience using traditional structures to meet the needs of clients wherever their focus lies.
The Middle East is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world. With diversifying markets and governments keen to enact strategies and legislation to bring further innovation, the region is primed for further transformation and growth.
The demand for professional advisers who understand this rapidly changing environment and the opportunities and challenges it brings has never been higher or more important.
Regional clients with worldwide investments as well as international clients conducting business in the area trust Collas Crill to guide them through their business dealings and wealth planning, with expertise in Shariah-compliant products allied with decades of experience using traditional structures to meet the needs of clients wherever their focus lies.
There's little doubt that for every challenge in the current market, an opportunity emerges. Having the right team to exploit these opportunities gives you a definite advantage. At Collas Crill we work with our clients to take advantage of opportunities at all stages in the investment lifecycle.
As the global legal and regulatory landscape becomes ever more complex, managing wealth across generations, succession planning and transferring control of assets has never been more challenging. That's why it's important to work with lawyers who can offer solutions that are tailored to your unique circumstances.
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.
