Nienke Lillington

COUNSEL

Cayman Islands | T + 1 345 814 7266
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Nienke Lillington is Counsel in Conyers’ Cayman Islands Litigation and Restructuring Practice.

Nienke specialises in insolvency & restructuring litigation and advice, commercial disputes, and the enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards. Her practice consists of high value and multi-party disputes and litigation. The cases she is instructed on often include cross-border and multi-jurisdictional elements. Having previously practised at the Bar of England & Wales, Nienke is an experienced advocate.

Nienke is a Fellow of INSOL International, a member of the International Insolvency Institute’s Next Gen, has been honoured in the ABI’s “40 Under 40” class of 2024, is a Board member of IWIRC’s Cayman Islands network, and a member of RISA’s Education Committee. She also regularly speaks on panels, including for INSOL, III and AIJA.

Jurisdiction

Experience

Nienke has acted for a wide variety of parties, including multi-national (investment) banks, companies, investors, creditors, debtors and insolvency practitioners. Some notable recent cases which Nienke has advised on include:

  • In re Ascentra Holdings, Inc. (in Official Liquidation), FSD 189 of 2021 – unreported judgment of 3 November 2022.Nienke successfully represented the joint official liquidators (JOLs) of Ascentra Holdings, Inc. (in Official Liquidation) (Ascentra) in respect of a contested application for directions that the JOLs be authorised to treat approximately US$11 million as unencumbered assets of Ascentra, in circumstances where a claim to beneficial ownership was alleged.
  • In relation to the same liquidation, Nienke also assisted the JOLs in obtaining a proprietary injunction in ancillary litigation in the Cayman Islands, and with obtaining recognition in the Singapore High Court and, subsequently, the Singapore Court of Appeal (In re Ascentra Holdings, Inc (in Official Liquidation) [2023] SGHC 82). She was also involved in resisting Motions (to terminate recognition and ancillary relief) in the United States, gathering information about the company and its assets, taking control of subsidiaries, and securing its assets through litigation and otherwise.
  • In re HEC International, Ltd (in Official Liquidation), FSD 318 of 2021 – unreported judgment 15 August 2023. Nienke was instructed by the official liquidator of HEC International, Ltd (in Official Liquidation), in relation to a contested proof of debt and alleged proprietary claim by Shang Peng Gao Ke, Inc. SEZC (SPGK).
  • In re Performance Insurance Company SPC (in Official Liquidation), FSD No. 70 of 2021, unreported judgments of 6 April 2022, 29 December 2022, 24 March 2023 and 4 October 2023. Nienke represented two of the solvent segregated portfolios in Performance Insurance Company SPC (in Official Liquidation) (the “Company”) in a range of conflicts with the joint official liquidators of the Company.

Qualifications

Professional Background

  • Counsel, Campbells, Cayman Islands
  • Barrister, 4 Stone Buildings, London, United Kingdom

Education

  • INSOL Global Insolvency Practice Course
  • HarvardX (online certificated course) – Information Technology for Lawyers
  • Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), London, UK
  • Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), Oxford Brookes University
  • Harvard Law School, USA, Master of Laws (LL.M.)
    • Harvard Programme on Negotiation
    • Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Programme
  • University of Oxford (New College), UK – Magister Juris (M. Jur.)
  • University of Leiden, NL – Master of Laws (LL.M.), cum laude
  • University of Leiden, NL – Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) cum laude
  • L’Institut d’Études Politiques (Sciences Po, Paris, France) – Diplôme du Programme International

Bar Admissions

  • Admitted to the Bar of the Cayman Islands, 2021
  • Admitted to the Bar of England & Wales (Lincoln’s Inn, London), 2012

Awards & Accolades

  • 40 Under 40 Honoree, 2024

Associations

  • INSOL International (INSOL Fellow)
  • Member of NextGen XIII of the International Insolvency Institute
  • Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association (RISA)
  • Member of RISA Education Committee
  • International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
  • Co-Chair of Communications (IWIRC Board 2025-for 2 years)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)
  • Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (AIJA)
  • The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
  • Chancery Bar Association (ChBA)
  • 100 Women in Finance

Publications

  • Nienke Lillington, The Singapore Court of Appeal confirms Foreign Solvent Liquidations may be Recognised; a Judgment Favouring Cooperation, INSOL i-Read Student Newsletter, February 2024.
  • Nienke Lillington & Guy Cowan, Insolvency Not Required: Recognition of Foreign Liquidations in Singapore, Chambers & Partners, 15 November 2023.
  • Nienke Lillington & Paul Kennedy, Segregation in the Liquidation of a Segregated Portfolio Company in the Cayman Islands: When Does It Matter?, Chambers & Partners, 15 June 2023.
  • Nienke Lillington & Paul Kennedy, Cayman court decision puts the ‘segregated’ back into SPC, Captive Review, 30 November 2022.
  • Nienke Lillington & Paul Kennedy, Freezing in the Caribbean, ThoughtLeaders4 FIRE Magazine, Issue 7, December 2021, p. 36-37.
  • Nienke van den Berg, Litigation in the Time of Covid-19, e-book by 4 Stone Buildings, 9th (15 February 2021), Editor and Author of Chapter 2 on “Corporate Insolvency”.