Erik Bodden

Partner, Co-Head of Cayman Islands Litigation & Restructuring

Erik Bodden is a Partner and Co-Head of the Cayman Islands Litigation and Restructuring practice. Prior to joining Conyers, Erik qualified and practiced as a Barrister in England.

Erik’s practice covers all areas of international commercial & insolvency litigation, as well as distressed debt and restructuring engagements.

He regularly advises banks, investment funds, fund managers and administrators, public and private companies, shareholders, directors, insolvency practitioners, and various professional service providers. He frequently appears before the Grand Court both on his own and as part of a large team, including in the course of large-scale cross-border and multi-party disputes. Additionally, he acts in various winding up proceedings and other disputes involving the Cayman Islands financial services sector.

Erik has co-authored a number of articles on developments in companies law and trust law in the Cayman Islands. He is a visiting lecturer at the Cayman Islands Law School, a Consultant Editor of the Cayman Islands Law Reports, a contributor to the Cayman Islands Law Review, a contributor to the text book Civil Litigation in the Cayman Islands (3rd Edition), and a contributor to the text book Insolvency Litigation: A Practical Guide (3rd Edition).

Erik is the president of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association, a member of the Cayman Islands Legal Advisory Council, a member of the Grand Court Financial Services Division User’s Committee, and was also a member of the RISA (INSOL International) education subcommittee from 2014 to 2019.

He has been ranked in Legal 500 Caribbean since 2017 and Chambers Global since 2022, and has been described by clients as an “outstanding lawyer” that is “easy to deal with, practical and measured”.

Experience

  • Acted for Ernst & Young in relation to claims of auditor negligence and fraud brought against them by the liquidators of Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited.
  • Acted for RMF Market Neutral Strategies (Master) Limited against a clawback claim by the liquidators of DD Growth Premium 2X Fund for redemption payments made to RMF at a time when it subsequently shown the fund was insolvent.
  • Acting for the Joint Official Liquidators, Grant Thornton Specialist Services (Cayman) Limited, in the ICP master and feeder funds liquidation proceedings.
  • Acting and appearing for Torchlight Fund LP in its successful defence against a just and equitable winding up petition.
  • Acting and appearing for various officeholders, shareholders, creditors and companies on cross-border insolvency, restructuring and distressed debt matters.
  • Acting and appearing for companies and dissenters in various s.238 merger appraisal proceedings in Cayman.

Qualifications

Professional Background

  • Visiting Lecturer, Conflict of Laws, Cayman Islands Law School
  • Secondment, Disputes Team, Farrer & Co., London
  • Pupillage, Ten Old Square and Serle Court, London
  • UBS Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd.

Education

  • BPP Law School, BPTC, 2012
  • University of Liverpool, LLB, 2011 (First Class – ranking 1st overall)
  • Wilfrid Laurier University, BA, 2006

Bar Admissions

  • British Virgin Islands, Barrister, 2018
  • Cayman Islands, Attorney, 2013
  • England & Wales, Barrister, 2012

Awards & Accolades

  • Recognised in the 2023 edition (and since 2022) of Chambers Global (dispute resolution)
  • Recognised as a “Next Generation Partner” since the 2023 edition (and generally since 2017) of The Legal 500 Caribbean (dispute resolution)
  • Recognised in the Global Restructuring Review 100 (since 2019)
  • Recipient of the Rising Star Award from Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association (RISA)

Associations

  • Cayman Islands Legal Practitioner’s Association (President)
  • Cayman Islands Legal Advisory Council (member)
  • FSD User’s Committee (member)
  • Former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Appeals Tribunal
  • Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator (ADR Group, UK)
  • RISA (INSOL International)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • International Bar Association
  • STEP

Publications

STEP Journal: Principle Progressions and Getting the Deal Through – Cayman jurisdiction analysis (November 2018)

Offshore Cases

In the matter of Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd: Cayman Islands Appraisal Actions – Moving Towards Standard Directions?, International Corporate Rescue, Vol 15 (2018) Issue 1

Contributor – Cayman Islands Law Review, 2016-2017 (various case summaries)

Contributor – Civil Litigation in the Cayman Islands, 3rd edn, 2016 (chapter on Mareva Injunctions)

Divide and Conquer: A New Chapter in the History of the Cayman Islands Judicial System, IFC Caribbean Review, 2011