Phillip Kite

Phillip Kite is global head of our Litigation, Insolvency and Restructuring group and managing partner of our London office. He helps clients win complex, high-profile and high-value cross-border commercial litigation and contentious insolvency matters.

He is an experienced BVI litigator with significant offshore insight and is able to advise clients from all angles, having been involved in most of the largest litigation and insolvency cases in the BVI for over 20 years. He regularly acts on matters before the BVI Court of Appeal and Privy Council.

He specialises in fraud and shareholder disputes and contentious trusts and probate. An expert in enforcement, he provides advice on all aspects of obtaining interim relief in aid of foreign arbitrations, asset-tracing and preservation and foreign judgments.

Phillip’s approach makes him very easy to work with as he is confident, calm and straight to the point

Creating value beyond legal solutions is also key to the relationships he builds with clients and, where appropriate and beneficial, he will often connect them with other key contacts.

Phillip is able to assist law firms in pitching for BVI work with insight into the latest trends and decisions in the BVI Court system.

His opinions and comments on related offshore news, legislation and cases can be found on the Offshore Litigation Blog and he is also a contributing editor to British Virgin Islands Commercial Law, Sweet & Maxwell. He is a solicitor advocate and a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners, the Chancery Bar Association and the Commercial Bar Association.

Experience includes:

• Defending a number of institutional defendant banks, including Lloyds, Deutsche Bank and ABN Bank, against multi-billion dollar clawback claims brought by the liquidators of Fairfield Sentry Limited which went to the Privy Council leading to the withdrawal of claims worth approximately US$4 billion.
• Achieving a successful result for a client in the longest unfair prejudice trial in BVI Court history which is now the leading authority on the definition of unfair prejudice.
• Representing Swiss trustees in major trial proceedings in the BVI, giving the trustees real time advice and working in partnership with onshore lawyers in multiple jurisdictions.