Ogier's dispute resolution team in Guernsey is celebrating the ten years since Advocate Simon Davies set up the department to complement Ogier's already well-established business and trusts law group in October 2004.
Today the Guernsey office firm comprises six partners and a senior consultant together with approximately 45 staff and exclusively provides legal services to the financial services industry.
The dispute resolution team in Guernsey is now 14 strong, which includes Advocate Mathew Newman who became a partner in the team in 2013, one managing associate, three senior associates, three associates, a trainee solicitor and a paralegal together with three PAs.
Ogier is one of only two local Guernsey firms accredited by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to offer training contracts for aspiring lawyers and during the last ten years has helped eight young people towards achieving their ambition of qualifying as a solicitor. The firm currently has three trainee solicitors, each of whom will sit in the dispute resolution team for a six month period.
The growth of Ogier's dispute resolution team has mirrored the huge growth in contentious business seen in Guernsey over the past ten years, but especially since the financial crisis of 2007/2008. This resulted in an unprecedented increase in litigation taking place in the Royal Court of Guernsey, particularly in the field of trust litigation, insolvency and restructuring, disputes involving investment schemes and professional negligence claims.