Carey Olsen recognised in 2014 FT Innovative Lawyers report

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Carey Olsen has been included in the 2014 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report for a ground breaking Jersey case involving a request for information under a tax information exchange agreement.

The report, which is based on activity in the European legal market, commended Carey Olsen as one of the “most innovative law firms in the dispute resolution category among 25 other international firms.”

The firm was selected from a high number of entries for the work of its Jersey litigation team on the tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) case, Volaw Trust & Corporate Services Limited and Berge Gerdt Larsen, v the Office of the Comptroller, where - acting on behalf of the Comptroller - it successfully defended a challenge to the sharing of information, clarifying the interpretation of inter-state tax information exchange agreements.

This was the first appeal to the Royal Court of Jersey from a decision of the Jersey Comptroller of Taxes to serve a notice in response to a request for information issued under a TIEA. It is also thought to be the first review of a decision made pursuant to a TIEA anywhere in the world. TIEAs are a recent development devised by the OECD as a means of achieving closer co-operation between jurisdictions through the exchange of information relating to tax matters.

The firm's Chairman and Head of Litigation Advocate John Kelleher, who led the Carey Olsen team, said: "This was an interesting and complex case for all concerned. Jersey has led the way in signing up to TIEAs and we anticipate that it will prove to be fertile ground for future litigation as more jurisdictions sign up to TIEAs. We are pleased to have been recognised for our innovation by the FT and congratulate the other firms included in the report.”

Carey Olsen is the only offshore law firm to be featured in this year's report, which is based on research conducted by the FT’s working partner RSG Consulting who researched 188 law firms, legal service providers and in-house legal teams and received feedback from 550 clients, lawyers and experts.

This success follows on the back of Carey Olsen being awarded The Legal 500 Offshore Law Firm as well as being named Offshore Firm of the Year by The Lawyer Magazine.