Carey Olsen has named partner Elaine Gray as head of its dispute resolution and litigation practice in Guernsey, taking over from former head of department Karen Le Cras who has been appointed to a new role as global general counsel to the firm.
Elaine, who joined the firm as counsel in 2012 before being promoted to partner in 2015, advises local and international clients on a wide range of commercial litigation, employment, regulatory and intellectual property (IP) matters, and has acted on some of the most notable offshore litigation matters of recent years including the landmark Tchenguiz case – one of the largest and longest-running contentious trust insolvency disputes.
A regular commentator on employment, IP and data protection issues, she is also recognised as a leading practitioner by both Chambers and Legal 500 for her employment work, with market sources describing her as ‘an expert in her field’ and ‘extremely bright and effective’. Elaine originally qualified as a Scottish solicitor and notary public in 1995 before moving to the Cayman Islands in 2004 where she was admitted as an attorney-at-law. She then qualified as a solicitor in England in 2008 before being admitted as an advocate of the Royal Court of Guernsey in 2009.
Commenting on her appointment, Elaine said: “I am delighted and privileged to be named head of the Guernsey dispute resolution and litigation practice and to work alongside such an impressive and dynamic group of lawyers. We continue to see an increased volume of instructions in this practice area and it’s my goal to ensure we remain committed to delivering the strongest offshore, cross-border dispute resolution, litigation and insolvency offering we can.”
As the firm’s first global general counsel, Karen’s role is to provide legal and regulatory advice to the firm, covering a wide range of risk management, regulatory and compliance issues. Karen will also remain a partner in the dispute resolution and litigation team.
Karen said: “I am excited to take on the challenge of the new role as global general counsel to the firm, the creation of the role reflecting Carey Olsen’s position as a leading global offshore law firm and demonstrating its commitment to maintaining the highest standards when it comes to legal, risk and compliance issues. I am very much looking forward to working with my fellow partners on a global basis to drive forward new initiatives to ensure that we always deliver the highest standards to our clients.”
