Our Expertise > Dispute Resolution > Commercial Litigation
Commercial Litigation
Campbells has the largest and most experienced specialist litigation team in the Cayman Islands and one of the strongest in the British Virgin Islands. We field the deepest disputes bench in Cayman and BVI law, with more trial and appellate experience than any competitor.
We routinely act in the most significant, highest-value and most complex disputes in both jurisdictions, providing the full spectrum of dispute resolution services – including complex litigation, international arbitration and mediation – to a diverse, global client base from our offices in the Cayman Islands, the BVI and Hong Kong.
Our experience spans the full breadth of contentious work, with particular depth in investment fund disputes, fraud and asset recovery, trust litigation, asset tracing, shareholder disputes, professional liability actions and dissenting shareholder fair value petitions.
Our clients include major international financial institutions and trading organisations, private equity firms, investment funds, liquidators, receivers, directors, trustees in bankruptcy, participants in investment and trust structures, sovereign entities and government agencies.
We are known for providing clear, practical and commercially astute advice combined with formidable courtroom advocacy. We work closely with our clients to achieve their strategic objectives and prioritise resolving disputes as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, drawing on considerable experience of mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution where appropriate. Clients choose us for depth of expertise, incisive commercial judgement and decisive, partner-led advice – delivered by teams that stay closely involved from instruction to resolution.
Members of the team appear frequently before first instance and appellate courts in both jurisdictions and have been involved in many of the leading reported decisions. Our litigators regularly appear before the Grand Court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council, with one of the strongest records of reported decisions of any firm in either jurisdiction. We are recognised as a leader in advising financial service providers and other clients in connection with local and overseas regulatory investigations. The team also provides Cayman and BVI law expert evidence to courts and arbitral tribunals.
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Representative Experience
- Acting for two limited partners who hold 98% of the economic interest in a venture capital investment fund focused on biotechnology and life sciences, with US$6 billion of assets under management, in a dispute with the general partner.
- Defending HSBC Group entities acting as administrator and custodian in a US$2 billion claim against them in the Cayman Islands by the liquidators of a Madoff feeder fund, Primeo.
- Defending a private equity fund in respect of claims by a high net worth individual asserting a beneficial interest in certain assets of the fund valued in excess of US$1 billion.
- Acting for defendants in an appeal to the Privy Council by the former investment manager of three Cayman funds, with a matter value in excess of US$700 million.
- Acting in numerous proceedings under s. 238 of the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands, including (a) for shareholders with in excess of US$800m of dissenter debt in the statutory merger of a global education provider and (b) for a dissenting shareholder in a US$171m statutory merger of a Chinese car services provider.
- Acting for the trustees of a high-value family trust in defence of US$300 million claims by discretionary beneficiaries.
- Acting for trustees and a high net worth individual in respect of claims in excess of US$300 million following the collapse of a major bank.
- Acting for a bank and trust company in relation to a £55 million class action suit filed in the Cayman Islands.
- Representing a group of dissenters in the largest appraisal rights litigation under section 238 of the Companies Act – the largest by value to date in the Cayman Islands, with aggregate debt owing to the dissenters at the merger price in the region of US$2 billion.
- Acting for a prominent fiduciary services provider in the Cayman Islands in claims for US$150m concerning alleged breaches of directors’ duties.
- Acting for a Singapore company regarding claims in excess of US$100m brought against it in the BVI which resulted in a successful settlement after the Claimant appealed to Privy Council.
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Industry Recognition
Chambers and Partners — Dispute Resolution, Band 1 (Cayman Islands, 2026)
“Campbells is a market-leading Cayman law firm whose disputes team is renowned for its expertise in high-value restructuring and insolvency matters, offering high-level capability in complex, cross-border disputes. It also assists with a range of general commercial disputes such as those arising out of allegations of fraudulent activity as well as contentious M&A transactions. The department represents major financial institutions, private equity houses and investment funds.”
“The Campbells partners’ ability to combine rigorous legal analysis with practical foresight makes them invaluable in shaping case strategy, particularly in complex insolvency and commercial disputes.” — Chambers and Partners, 2026
“Campbells is my go-to law firm; every time you get the team on a call you feel comfortable.” — Chambers and Partners, 2026
“The Campbells team is very user-friendly. Established and respected in the market, the team presents pragmatic solutions.” — Chambers and Partners, 2026
Our key contacts
Guy Manning
Grant Carroll
