Rhys Williams is a Director in the Bermuda Dispute Resolution practice. Rhys qualified and practiced as a barrister in London before moving to Bermuda in 2015.
Rhys specialises in insolvency and restructuring, both domestic and cross-border, contentious and non-contentious. Rhys has been involved in major restructurings including Noble, Weatherford, Digicel, Markel CATCo and Seadrill. Rhys has also appeared in many of the major winding up cases including Northstar, Omnia, PB Life & Annuity Co, PDV Insurance Co, Titan Petrochemicals, and Skyfame. Rhys acts for companies, creditors, contributories and insolvency practitioners.
Rhys’ practice more generally covers all areas of corporate litigation and he regularly advises on directors’ duties, shareholder disputes, minority prejudice claims, takeovers and contractual disputes.
Rhys also has experience in other areas of civil litigation including property, employment and personal injury claims.
Rhys has appeared in the Bermuda Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council. He acts for local and international companies, banks and other financial institutions, liquidators and receivers, corporate service providers, regulatory authorities, trust funds, and high net worth individuals.
Rhys is a Fellow of INSOL and regularly gives talks on insolvency and restructuring.
Jurisdiction
Experience
Experience Highlights:
- Acting as Bermuda Counsel in the restructuring of Weatherford, Digicel, Seadrill, Markel CATCo, and Noble Group
- Acting as Bermuda Counsel in the winding up petitions of Northstar, Omnia, PB Life & Annuity Co, PDV Insurance Co, Titan, Skyfame and China Oceanwide
- Advising a major international insurance company on its merger by way of scheme of arrangement
- Regularly acting both for and against the Bermuda Monetary Authority in its capacity as insurance regulator
- Appearing in the Privy Council (led by Mark Howard KC) in East Asia Co Ltd v PT Satria Tirtatama Energindo [2019] UKPC 30
- Special advisor to the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission
Qualifications
Professional Background:
- Mourant Ozannes, Guernsey
- Five Paper, Temple, London
Education:
- BPP Law School, London, 2006
- London School of Economics, LLM, 2005
Bar Admissions:
- Bermuda, 2016
- England and Wales, Middle Temple, 2007
Awards & Associations:
- Recognised in the 2023 edition (and since 2010) of Chambers Global
- Recognised in the 2024 edition (and since 2017) of Legal 500 Caribbean (dispute resolution)
- Recognised in the 2020 edition (and 2019) of Global Restructuring Review 100
Associations:
- Member of INSOL, INSOL Fellow
- Member of the Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators