Business Continuity and Jersey Litigation Update

• March 18, 2020

Dickinson Gleeson has put its business continuity plan into effect, with most colleagues working from home except where necessary. However, we are operating as usual and providing a normal service to our valued clients.

One of the most frequent questions we are being asked is “How will litigation progress in the short to medium term in the Royal Court of Jersey?”

Here, Robert Christie, Partner at Dickinson Gleeson, sets out the measures to be put into practice by the Royal Court of Jersey in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

For those of our clients in Jersey and abroad who may be wondering how the Covid-19 outbreak might affect new and ongoing court matters in Jersey, the Royal Court appears to be taking active and sensible steps in response to the outbreak and has announced a series of measures to minimise unnecessary personal interaction while maintaining the ability to deal with cases, and prioritising the most urgent and critical.

The measures are as follows, in summary.

 1.           The Bailiff has written to all parties involved in civil cases listed between now and the end of April 2020, to ask whether or not those cases are amenable to adjournment or to be dealt with electronically, and reserves the ability to defer cases in any event.

We would observe that the commencement of new proceedings is able to continue in the meantime where appropriate.

2.           With regard to Samedi Court, the Court has asked that members of the public who are passing contracts for e.g. the sale of land do not attend, and pass their contract by Attorney.

3.           To enable the safer handling of bundles including for onward delivery, the Court has announced a “zero tolerance” policy for bundles filed late.

4.           The Court is taking steps to create appropriate segregation between its personnel, so that in the event of one or more members of the Court becoming unwell with the Coronavirus, there will be other members of staff of the Court who can continue to work.

5.           To enable procedural matters to be dealt with, the Court is in the process of appointing two additional Greffiers Substitute to act as alternates to the Master and to give directions.

Please contact us via +44 (0) 1534 737 757 if you have any queries.

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Dickinson Gleeson named Boutique Law Firm of the Year – for third year in a row

JERSEY law firm Dickinson Gleeson has been recognised as Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the Citywealth International Finance Centre Awards 2020. This is the third year in a row that the firm has won this award.

The prestigious accolade follows a period of significant growth for the firm in terms of staff acquisition and revenue increase.

The award was collected by James Dickinson, one of the founding partners of Dickinson Gleeson, at a ceremony that took place on Thursday 27 January in London.

Of the award, he said: “This marks an excellent start to what is now our tenth year in operation. Our decade in practice proves that Dickinson Gleeson competes successfully with the major offshore law firms in terms of both quality of work and client service, as judged by an independent panel.”

The awards, now in their ninth year, were established to highlight the excellence of the advisers and managers in the private wealth sector in major international financial centres.