Collas Crill has received a string of accolades for its Private Client and Trusts (PCT) team this year, reinforcing its position as a leader in the offshore private client space.
The firm entered 2024 with a restructure of its legal teams, designed to bring together the firm's global expertise for the benefit of clients, as well as to drive collaboration, best practice and professional development across the firm.
The restructure has reaped benefits, not only in terms of providing clients with the best possible team for each matter but also partner-led and seamless support across time zones.
The PCT team has received a raft of industry recognition throughout 2024, including multiple listings in the Chambers High Net Worth guide, the annual directories Legal 500 UK guide and Chambers UK Guide, the peer-nominated Private Client Global Elite Directory and eprivateclient's top offshore law firms 2024 list and Crown Dependencies NextGen Leaders, as well as winning Private Client Legal Team of the Year (midsize firm) at the STEP Awards in September.
The team has further strengthened its expertise with key appointments in Jersey this year, as well as a number of team promotions.
In January, the firm joined forces with Ward Yates, welcoming Partner Victoria Yates and Senior Associate Laura Le Meur to the PCT practice. Victoria leads the non-contentious team in Jersey, with Damian James remaining at the forefront of the team as overall local practice head.
The team also welcomed Jersey-based Partner James Sheedy, and Fritha Ford was promoted to Partner, at the start of the year. Bonnie McPartland rejoined the team as Of Counsel in April, after a two-year stint in the firm's business development team, and there were further promotions for Sally Peedom to Counsel (Cayman) and Arcadius Gregory to Senior Associate (Jersey). We also formally welcomed three newly qualified lawyers to the PCT team in Guernsey – Oceane Chandler, Jessica Bell and Charlie Brewin.
Christian Hay, global practice head of PCT, said: 'I'm incredibly proud to lead such a talented team. It's been brilliant to work together more closely this year – as a global collective of 26 private client lawyers, we're really beginning to harness the benefits of our combined expertise, experience and perspectives. This is evident from the feedback our clients are giving us, as well as the industry and peer recognition this year. We look forward to building on these successes in 2025 and beyond.'
