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- 1 of the leading commercial law firms in Bermuda
- 4 partners
- 20+ years team experience
The Hamilton office of the global firm Kennedys is one of the leading commercial law firms in Bermuda. With our deep sector knowledge, we offer a thorough understanding of the challenges you face, both locally and globally.
Our insurance and dispute resolution partners bring extensive experience handling some of the largest and most complex legal issues for insurers, reinsurers, banks, investment funds, trustees, companies, shareholders, and financial service providers.
Involved in some of the most complex and ground-breaking transactions in Bermuda, our corporate and finance partners regularly advise banks, insurers, other financial institutions, borrowers and overseas and domestic investors on all aspects of their businesses.
In addition, our insolvency and regulatory teams provide expert guidance on domestic and cross-border insolvency procedures, restructurings, and corporate reorganisations.
Extensive experience advising and representing on contentious and non-contentious matters affecting:
- insurers and reinsurers
- banks
- trustees and beneficiaries
- insolvency practitioners and creditors
- investment funds
- financial and professional service providers; and
- regulated and unregulated companies and their investors and lenders.
This is a full service Bermuda law firm that handles the most complex and high-value civil litigation, and it also has an equally impressive insurance and reinsurance practice. It also provides fantastic regulatory counsel, all at reasonable rates. They have great attorneys who are passionate about their work, bring good energy and care about their clients.
Insurance and Reinsurance
Our insurance and reinsurance practice in Bermuda offers expert advice on both contentious and non-contentious matters across various product lines and business structures.
Non-Contentious Matters
Our corporate insurance team supports insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, owners, and lenders with licensing, M&A, re-domestications, business transfers, and capital raising. We also assist with collateralised insurance structures for Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) transactions and complex deal structures in both long-term and general business sectors. Our team is skilled in navigating Bermuda’s insurance regulations, including capital treatment, acquisitions, investments, and compliance with AML/ATF, CRS, economic substance, and data protection. We also represent entities in regulatory investigations.
Claims and Contentious Matters
We handle coverage, litigation, and arbitration across various business classes, including general liability, professional liability, D&O, financial institutions, ILS, captive insurance, property, life insurance, and more. We provide a comprehensive service for insurance and reinsurance arbitration in Bermuda, London, Toronto, the US, and beyond, leveraging our global network at Kennedys.
Offshore Professional Risks
Our team specializes in Offshore Professional Risks, managing claims in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands for professionals like directors, trustees, corporate service providers, lawyers, accountants, and others.
Dispute Resolution and Restructuring
We have represented clients in some of the largest and most complex commercial disputes before the Supreme Court of Bermuda, as well as in appeals to the Court of Appeal for Bermuda and the Privy Council in London.
Our team acts for both plaintiffs and defendants across a wide range of commercial disputes, handling matters in the Bermuda courts and through arbitration. This includes corporate disputes (such as shareholder conflicts, director claims, and partnership disputes), beneficiary claims and trustee disputes, insolvency matters (representing insolvency practitioners and creditors), breach of confidence cases, and professional negligence claims.
We are experienced in handling urgent applications for injunctive relief, including freezing injunctions, anti-suit injunctions, and provisional liquidation appointments. Our practice also encompasses asset tracing and recovery, contested winding-up petitions, minority shareholder petitions, merger appraisal litigation, and corporate governance disputes. We regularly assist with the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards, as well as requests to produce evidence for use in foreign proceedings.
Additionally, we provide advice and representation to creditors, liquidators, debtor companies, and contributories on a broad range of insolvency and restructuring matters.
Corporate, Finance and Real Estate
We advise clients on a wide range of corporate, commercial, and banking transactions, including:
- mergers and amalgamations
- re-domestications
- public and private securities offerings
- lending and security arrangements
- shareholders agreements
- amendments and restatements of bye-laws
- partnership agreements; and
- acquisitions and disposals of shares and businesses.
Our lawyers have been involved in landmark matters, such as Bermuda's first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project and its first industrial-scale solar project. Our clients include banks, insurers, developers, trading companies, professional services firms, unregulated companies, and their investors and lenders.
Real Estate and Trusts
We also provide expert advice on real estate and trusts matters. Our team regularly assists developers, investors, and funders with all aspects of project finance, real estate development, and infrastructure projects, with particular experience in the hospitality and leisure sectors.
Bermuda Form
Our impressive team – based in London, Bermuda and the United States – have been instructed on Bermuda Form matters since the policy was introduced in 1985.
Latest news, insights and events
Available white papers
This paper describes the process under Bermuda law by which an insurance company may transfer its corporate domicile to or from Bermuda.
Bermuda, as a British Overseas Territory, is a party to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the United Kingdom being the relevant contracting state on behalf of Bermuda, having ratified the Convention on Bermuda’s behalf).
By its terms, the Convention is mandatory and must be followed by foreign entities seeking to serve process in Bermuda.
The ISAC Act provides an alternative model for corporate structures, offering promoters of, and investors, in Bermuda entities an even greater choice in individualized corporate structuring. This paper looks into the benefits of incorporated status of an ISA over an SA, the benefits of an ISA compared with a company, registration of an ISAC and ISA, on-going requirements and more.
This paper provides an overview of the licensing requirements and process, the prudential and conduct standards that a Bermuda insurer carrying on special purpose business will need to meet and the on-going filing and other requirements that it will need to comply with. It is not, however, a substitute for legal advice.
Given the considerable overlap in the process of effecting an amalgamation or a merger, this memorandum addresses both procedures. The key difference between an amalgamation and a merger is that in an amalgamation two or more companies amalgamate and continue as one company, whereas in a merger two or more companies merge and their undertaking, property and liabilities vest in one of the companies as the surviving company.
For anyone considering registering a captive insurer in Bermuda, this paper provides an overview of the licensing requirements and process, the prudential and conduct standards that a captive insurer will need to meet and the on-going filing and other requirements that it will need to comply with. It is not, however, a substitute for legal advice.
