Abel Lyall

Overview

I am a Partner of Mourant Ozannes (Guernsey) LLP and the Practice Leader of our Guernsey Litigation team.

My practice covers all areas of private client and commercial disputes, with a focus on trusts, financial services and investment funds. I regularly appear before the Royal Court of Guernsey and the Guernsey Court of Appeal.

I advise trustees, settlors and beneficiaries on all aspects of contentious and semi-contentious trust matters including breach of trust claims, trust applications and regulatory issues. I also have extensive experience in insolvency and restructuring, and act for creditors, directors, shareholders and insolvency practitioners on all aspects of contentious insolvency and asset recovery.

My work includes acting in a number of contentious and non-contentious schemes of arrangement, including appearing in both the Royal Court and Court of Appeal for the shareholder who successfully opposed the sanction of the Puma Brandenburg Limited scheme of arrangement, the first of its kind in Guernsey. I am also experienced advising on regulatory issues and have acted for financial institutions and individual directors in a number of significant regulatory investigations and proceedings.

Professional qualifications

• Advocate of the Royal Court of Guernsey, February 2011
• Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, 2002 (currently non-practising)

Work highlights

• Acting for the liquidators of Carlyle Capital Corporation Limited in relation to claims, exceeding US$1.4bn, brought against its directors over the collapse of the fund in 2008. Appeared as Counsel (with Jeremy Wessels) in the Royal Court of Guernsey on the six-month trial of the claims in 2016. 
• Acting for the Trustees of the St John Ambulance and Rescue Service Pension Scheme on their application to sanction a substantial restructuring of the scheme – Re St John Ambulance Pension Scheme [2019] GRC 066. 
• Appeared in the Royal Court of Guernsey and the Guernsey Court of Appeal as counsel for a shareholder on its successful opposition to the sanction of a scheme of arrangement by Puma Brandenburg Limited.
• Appeared as Counsel for EFG Private Bank in proceedings regarding claims to assets held by the bank in relation to BC Capital Group Limited and the alleged fraudulent investment scheme conducted by Nikolai Battoo.
• Acting for Norway's largest bank, DnB, in relation to a contested administration application against Propinvest Group Limited, arising from circa £200 million owed under guarantees.

Memberships

• Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP)
• The Insolvency Lawyers' Association
• Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3)
• Director and Executive Committee member of ARIES (the Channel Islands member association of INSOL International)

What the directories say

In Chambers and Partners UK 2024, Abel is individually ranked in Offshore: Dispute Resolution, with a source commenting: "Abel always offers an excellent service. He has a good, sound knowledge of dispute resolution, he knows how to reach the best outcomes and he's always thinking ahead to any potential issues." Another adds: "Abel's advocacy is second to none."

In Legal 500 UK 2024, Abel is ranked as a Leading Individual and Recommended Lawyer in Dispute Resolution.

Abel Lyall is listed as a Global Elite - Lawyer in the Private Client Global Elite Directory 2023. 

In Legal 500 UK 2023, Abel is recognised as a Leading Individual in the area of Dispute Resolution and a Recommended Lawyer in Private Client, Trusts and Tax. He is described as being "a stand out practitioner who is ‘unflappable’ and extremely calm under pressure," who provides "exceptional advocacy; supported by a very strong team."

"It was great to witness Abel Lyall in the courtroom fighting our case. Abel also handled communication to our board of directors very well in a calm and consistent matter, accepting the highly distressed state of the board members and the challenges they faced in understanding the legal technicalities." Legal 500 UK, 2022.

"Abel Lyall is incredibly re-assuring and calm under pressure. He provides valuable advice in a timely manner and has the ability to assist in making complex transactions understandable by breaking down the task." Legal 500 UK, 2021.

Legal 500 UK 2021 lists Abel as a Leading Individual for Dispute Resolution. Client feedback calls him an "industry leading litigator."