Skip to content

Emma Taylor

Of Counsel

Legal

Guernsey

Emma  Taylor

Emma advises on all aspects of commercial dispute resolution with a particular focus on contentious and semi-contentious trust matters. She regularly advises corporate trustees and beneficiaries alike on the full spectrum of trust disputes from breach of trust claims to information requests.

In addition to trust matters, Emma regularly assists clients in respect of commercial disputes and contentious risk and regulatory matters, including enforcement action. Emma also has considerable experience acting for Insured parties.

Experience

  • Mr C v The Trustee of the VT Trust (Approved Judgment 2 October 2020) - successfully acting for a settlor in applying to set aside a Guernsey discretionary trust on the grounds of mistake and thereby avoiding £1.2m in the UK inheritance taxes. The settlor had received incorrect advice as to the IHT consequences at the time of settlement.
  • Successfully opposing a blessing application on behalf of the settlor and principal beneficiary where the trustee was going to pay away 80% of the trust fund in settlement of litigation against the trust to the exclusion of the principal beneficiary.
  • Representing a regulated individual director and company in relation to an extended regulatory investigation conducted by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
  • Acting for a shareholder of a multinational infrastructure building company in successfully obtaining permission to bring a derivative action against another shareholder in England & Wales for the recovery of a £23m debt. This is understood to be the only time that the Royal Court of Guernsey has granted permission for a derivative action.

Background

Emma first joined Collas Crill as a bursary student while studying at university and went on to train with Collas Crill, qualifying as a Solicitor of England and Wales in September 2017.

During her training contract Emma undertook a one month secondment in our Cayman Dispute Resolution Team working on the liquidation of Platinum Partners and a three month secondment to Berwin Leighton Paisner in London in their corporate dispute resolution team.

Emma read Law at the University of Bristol and went on to complete her Legal Practice Course at City Law School, City University London.

In 2020, Emma completed the STEP Advanced Certificate in Trusts Dispute achieving a Distinction. She was called as Guernsey Advocate in 2022.

Emma is also admitted as solicitor of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the territory of the Virgin Islands.

Awards

  • Shortlisted for the STEP Private Client Awards, Young Practitioner of the Year 2020/21
  • Recognised as an Associate to Watch in Chambers and Partners UK 2022
  • Listed by eprivateclient in the 2024 Crown Dependencies NextGen Leaders list

Memberships

  • Affiliate member of STEP
  • Contentious Trust Association (ConTrA)

"I am a commercially minded dispute resolution lawyer. My aim is to find a solution to a client's issue in as quick and cost-effective way as possible whilst not compromising on what it is the client wants to achieve. "

Services

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

We represent beneficiaries, high-net-worth individuals, trustees, protectors and other power holders in a range of contentious and semi-contentious situations. Our lawyers have been at the forefront of the most complex, high-value private wealth litigation offshore. 

We often deal with novel points of law, creating new and innovative solutions to meet the needs of our clients.

Given the international nature of private wealth, with clients and their assets spread across the world, we work as a joined-up global team so that our clients can benefit from the knowledge and experience wherever they may need it.

With offices in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey, our contentious private wealth lawyers combine courtroom skill with discreet client care, advising on jurisdictional strategy, interim relief and complex equitable claims.

Read more

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.

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.

Read more

Developments, consolidations and regulation mean that effective risk management and mitigation has never been more important. Our advice is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution, but rather based on an individual company’s specific business model. By building a partnership with you we can provide trustees with a range of regulatory advice, administration support, products and services within a dedicated team approach, precedent development and on-going education and industry updates.

Together with our multi-disciplinary risk and regulatory team, we advise on anti-money laundering laws and the regulation of trust companies and can assist in the creation and improvement of straightforward operating procedures, including checklists, designed in conjunction with the needs of a trustee to ensure that all members of staff, no matter what their experience, can provide consistent and accurate back office services.

News and insights

Collas Crill announces 18 promotions across its offices

Collas Crill has made a number of promotions across its Channel Islands and Cayman offices. The firm has promoted Alex Price to Group Partner and Ben Le P...

Life and careers 16/01/2026
Read now

Offshore trust disputes 2024: The year that was

This article was first published in issue 18 of ThoughtLeaders4's Private Client magazine. 2024 was another lively year for offshore and onshore contentio...

Insight 26/03/2025
  • Jersey
  • Guernsey
  • Cayman
Read now

Offshore trusts, onshore divorces

We have all seen the newspaper articles where a divorcing spouse (or in some cases a willing family member ) is accused of 'hiding' money in an offshore t...

Insight 09/10/2024
  • Guernsey
Read now

Eprivateclient recognises top talent

Eprivateclient has recognised some of Collas Crill's top talent in its Crown Dependencies NextGen Leaders 2024 list. Ben Havard, James Sheedy and Emma Tay...

Life and careers 29/06/2024
  • Guernsey
  • Jersey
Read now

Vacation Scheme: A student's perspective

In August 2023 we ran our annual Vacation Scheme in Guernsey - aimed at A-Level students, the scheme is a fantastic opportunity to gain work experience an...

Life and careers 11/12/2023
  • Guernsey
Read now

Inaugural Vacation Scheme a success

In August 2023 we ran our inaugural Collas Crill Vacation Scheme in Guernsey. Aimed at A-Level and university students the week-long programme is a fantas...

Life and careers 16/08/2023
  • Guernsey
Read now

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 a...

News 20/10/2022
  • Guernsey
  • Jersey
Read now

Collas Crill explains… Prescription

When we talk about prescription in Guernsey in the litigation context we’re not referring to anything medical, but rather the period of time in which a pl...

Guide 18/10/2022
  • Guernsey
Read now

Promotion for Emma Taylor

Collas Crill has promoted Emma Taylor to Senior Associate in its dispute resolution team in Guernsey. Emma joined Collas Crill as a bursary student and w...

Life and careers 25/07/2022
  • Guernsey
Read now

Emma Taylor and Craig Dinnett

In August 2021 Collas Crill Associates Emma Taylor and Craig Dinnett attended the ThoughtLeaders4 Summer School. It was a chance for the next generation o...

Life and careers 07/01/2022
  • Guernsey
  • Jersey
Read now

STEP Private Client Awards finalist

Collas Crill has been named finalist in two categories at the 15th Annual STEP Private Client Awards. The offshore law firm has been shortlisted for Priv...

News 26/08/2020
Read now

Trustees' disclosure obligations

All trustees will have had some experience of dealing with requests for trust information from beneficiaries. While more often than not these will be rout...

Insight 19/06/2020
  • Guernsey
Read now

Guide to trustees' disclosure obligations in Guernsey: Requests from beneficiaries

Introduction All trustees will have had some experience of dealing with requests for trust information from beneficiaries. While more often than not these...

Guide 19/06/2020
  • Guernsey
Read now

Termination of Guernsey Discretionary Trusts

A recent Royal Court decision has considered when beneficiaries of a discretionary trust are able to require the trustee to terminate the trust and distri...

Insight 29/05/2019
  • Guernsey
Read now

Enforcing foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Guernsey

Foreign Judgments There are two routes to enforcement of foreign judgments in Guernsey: (i) pursuant to statute, by reliance on the Judgments (Reciprocal ...

Guide 30/04/2019
  • Guernsey
Read now

Substance requirements

On 1 January 2019, the Income Tax (Substance Requirements) (Implementation) Regulations, 2018 and the Income Tax (Substance Requirements) (Implementation)...

Insight 08/02/2019
  • Guernsey
Read now

Security for costs

A recent English Court of Appeal decision has clarified the principles applicable to security for costs applications, where a party is not resident in the...

Insight 17/12/2018
  • Guernsey
Read now

Investec v Glenalla

On Monday (23 April 2018), the Privy Council (on appeal from the Guernsey Court of Appeal) handed down its much anticipated judgment in Investec v Glenall...

Insight 27/04/2018
  • Guernsey
Read now

The Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust

In February, the Royal Court of Guernsey provided its latest written judgment in the ongoing litigation surrounding the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust (the...

Insight 26/04/2018
  • Guernsey
Read now

Illusory trusts and sham trusts

Last week the English High Court handed down a significant judgment in which it found that five discretionary trusts settled by Russian oligarch, Sergei P...

Insight 19/10/2017
  • Guernsey
Read now