Preliminary conference programme - Day One: Thursday 1 March 2012

View the Legal Week Trust & Estates Litigation Forum 2012 brochure (pdf)

13.30 Opening remarks from the chair
Shân Warnock-Smith QC, 5 Stone Buildings, UK and ICT Chambers, Cayman Islands

13.45 Get it off your chest!
Making a comeback, this cathartic and therapeutic opening session will get to the very core of those issues which trust litigators find most troubling. Come ready to share your day to day grumbles and gripes with all.
Anthony Poulton, Baker & McKenzie, UK
Shân Warnock-Smith QC, 5 Stone Buildings, UK and ICT Chambers, Cayman Islands

14.35 Panel discussion: Trusts and trends
With the Arab Spring providing an additional spur for asset protection, this session will look at the future of trust structuring and will predict resulting litigation trends. Where is the line drawn when it comes to advising clients during desperate times of political and economic turbulence? What are the structures that look most attractive to those trying to protect their assets from the winds of change?
Nicholas Holland, Bircham Dyson Bell, UK
Matthew Thompson, Ogier, Channel Islands
Joshua S Rubenstein, Katten Muchin Rosenmann, USA
Basil P Zirinis III, Sullivan & Cromwell, USA

15.30 Coffee break

16.00 Practical session: Getting to grips with Hastings-Bass
Almost a year on, this session will look at practical ways to make a successful application. We may find that we are constrained by the Court of Appeal decision: if so, how do we marshal our teams accordingly? With Jersey failing to follow, this session will debate the reasons why... and why other jurisdictions might be temped to tag along.
Fraser Robertson, Appleby, Channel Islands
Ziva Robertson, Withers, UK

16.45 Interactive focus groups

A. Bust beneficiaries!
How do trustees find out whether a beneficiary is bankrupt? What if the trustee makes a distribution to a bust beneficiary? How vulnerable to attack are trusts with reserved powers? These are some of the issues that will be explored in this insolvency focused session. It will also include discussion on the rights of trustees in bankruptcy to information.
Alasdair Davidson, Bedell Group, Channel Islands
Stephen Moverley Smith QC, XXIV Old Buildings, UK

B. Trustee removal: trends and tactics
How and when do you try to remove a trustee whilst staying focused on the underlying issues? Are beneficiaries becoming more aggressive or are trustees no longer equipped to deal with the challenges of the modern world? Come ready to share your thoughts on what the pitfalls are in bringing a removal application today.
Paul Buckle, AO Hall, Channel Islands
Rupert Ticehurst, Berwin Leighton Paisner, UK
Andrea Zavos, Speechly Bircham, UK

C. Investment performance: Advisors in the firing line
Bad investment decisions can be catastrophic for a trust. What if the trustee or the trustee advisor took bad advice from a third party? This session will explore whether claims can be made against trustee advisors even at a time where market force and external circumstances are actually to blame. This will also cover aspects of Madoff-related Ponzi scheme losses.
Malcolm Fitzsimons, Commercial & Trust Dispute Consultant Services, UK
Nicholas Holland, Bircham Dyson Bell, UK
Richard Wilson, 3 Stone Buildings, UK

18.00 Close of day one

19.30 Welcome dinner