Mark Phillips KC, a London insolvency barrister, will join the Grand Court as a judge of its Financial Services Division on 2 November, the Governor's Office said in a release dated 25 September that was prepared by the Commissions Secretariat. The division hears the complex commercial, insolvency and fund disputes that arise from the islands' financial industry.

Mr Phillips fills the vacancy created by Justice Nicholas Segal, whose retirement takes effect on 20 October 2026, leaving 13 days between the two dates. Asked which judges would hear the division's cases in that period, the Law Courts told The Caymanian Journal (TCJ) in an emailed reply on 29 September: "There has always been a complement of Judges who hear matters in the Financial Services Division (FSD) of the Law Courts", and that Justice Segal was therefore not the only such judge.

The Law Courts listed six judges who hear the division's cases. Four sit full-time: Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale, Justice Cheryll Richards KC, Justice David Doyle and Justice Jalil Asif KC. Two sit part-time: Justice Segal and Justice Raj Parker. The Judiciary's Annual Report 2024 counted seven, the sixth specialist being Justice Ian Kawaley, whose profile on the Law Courts' website records that he served as a judge of the Grand Court from 13 April 2017 until 19 August 2025. The report describes the Chief Justice and Justice Richards as generalist judges who serve in all divisions of the court.

A division built for complex cases

The division was created in 2009 so that the more complex civil disputes generated by the financial sector could be handled with special procedures and specialised skills, according to the Judiciary's Annual Report 2024. The report says those procedures allow for urgent action in some cases and for balancing open justice against the harm that can be done to businesses if sensitive information becomes public too early. They also allow judicial resources to be adjusted as workload in the field changes.

Because much of the financial business done in Cayman is conducted from overseas, the report says, interlocutory hearings, the procedural hearings that take place before a case is finally decided, are routinely held by video link or as hybrid hearings to save costs where counsel or the judge is abroad. The report says a number of applications are decided on the papers, meaning on the written filings without a hearing. The division is supported by a Registrar, a Listing Officer and a dedicated unit of the Civil Registry, and its procedures are set out in the FSD Users' Guide, according to the report. In 2024 the courts' case management system was brought fully online for electronic filing in all courts except for criminal matters, it says, and fees for applications filed in the division can now be paid through an online portal.

Governor Jane Owen said in the 25 September release that the division "plays a vital role in supporting the administration of justice and Cayman's position as a leading international financial centre." The Judiciary's report describes the division as a major contributor to the economy and crucial to the health of the financial services industry.

What the division handles

Of the 393 new matters filed in the division in 2024, 202 were applications to restore companies to the register, which are made to the court but dealt with administratively by the Clerk of Court, who is also the Registrar of the Grand Court. All of the restoration applications were disposed of, the report says. The remaining 191 were assigned to a judge. The report records 414 filings in 2023 and 389 in 2022, and describes the difference between 2023 and 2024 as not statistically significant.

The 191 assigned cases included 115 petitions to wind up companies, place voluntary liquidations under court supervision or sanction schemes of arrangement and capital restructurings. There were also 37 originating summonses, the procedure used to seek a ruling on a point of law or on the terms of a trust, including applications for relief under the Trusts Act, and 22 writ actions, the procedure used for contested claims that will need evidence. The report describes most of the division's work as complex, high-value and cross-jurisdictional.

Judges in the division delivered 146 written judgments in 2024 and made 1,075 interlocutory and final orders. In her overview of the year, the Chief Justice wrote that the courts had been busy at every level, but exceptionally so in the Court of Appeal and the Financial Services Division, where many complex multi-jurisdictional commercial matters were argued. The senior courts handed down 271 judgments in 2024, up from 259 the year before. The Court of Appeal delivered 16 judgments in civil appeals, and seven cases were filed with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, all in the civil division.

The report says the Judiciary cannot report more fully on the division's work because the court's case management system does not currently require users to enter the data that would allow detailed reporting of case activity, duration and disposal rates. It says the division maintains the regard for the quality of Cayman's justice that foreign investors need in order to keep seeing the islands as the first stop for company and fund incorporations.

The report cites evidence given by Lord Reed, President of the UK Supreme Court, to the Constitution Committee of the House of Lords on 4 July 2023, in which he said the Cayman economy "is based on international legal and financial services. The prosperity and way of life of the people there depend on their success in attracting enterprises from … all over the world to set up their businesses there. For that to be a feasible operation, they have to have high-quality courts to deal with disputes, because colossal amounts of money are being invested." He also said the Cayman Islands "has very good first instance judges", the report records.

All unreported judgments are posted on the Law Courts' website and are freely available to the public, according to the report, and a practice direction introducing neutral citations to make them easier to trace and cite was issued in November 2024.

Mr Phillips's record in Cayman

Mr Phillips was called to the Bar in 1984, joined South Square chambers in London in 1986 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1999. A notice published by the Law Courts on 25 September describes a practice in insolvency, restructuring and commercial law, with appearances in the courts of the UK, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. It says he first appeared before the Grand Court in 1999 and has since acted in a number of significant matters before it.

His chambers profile says he defended the Grant Thornton liquidators in what it calls the Saad fraud trial, which it describes as the longest trial in Cayman history, running for 129 days in court over 12 months. The profile lists the case as Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi et al v Saad Investments Company Limited et al, cause number FSD 54 of 2009, reported at [2018] (3) CILR 1, and says the claim against his clients was dismissed. The profile also records that he defended the Bank of England in a two-year trial of a claim arising from its regulation of BCCI, which was dismissed with indemnity costs, and that he appeared in the UK Supreme Court for the successful appellant in Drelle v Servis-Terminal LLC. It says he was named Chancery Silk of the Year by the Legal 500 directory in 2023 and Company/Insolvency Silk of the Year by Chambers and Partners in 2018.

According to the profile, his first appearance in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales was in 1986, in West Mercia Safetywear v Dodd, and he has since led or appeared in cases before the House of Lords and the UK Supreme Court including the Lehman pensions appeal and Three Rivers District Council v the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The profile lists his admission to the Hong Kong Bar to appear before the Hong Kong Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal, and work for joint liquidators in the British Virgin Islands. His chambers profile records that he sat as a Recorder, a part-time judge in the courts of England and Wales, from 2000 to 2008, and was called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands in 2000. The Law Courts' notice says he was President of the Insolvency Lawyers Association in 2002, is a founder member of the International Insolvency Institute and is a former council member of R3, the Association of Business Recovery Professionals.

"I am looking forward to working with my fellow judges and with the professionals local and worldwide who have matters that will come before me," Mr Phillips said in the Law Courts' notice. "Cayman is a leading jurisdiction in the Restructuring and Insolvency world and I am excited to be joining the FSD."

The Governor said in the release that she looked forward to appointing Mr Phillips and welcoming him to the Cayman Islands. "His extensive experience will further strengthen the high calibre of the Financial Services Division of the Courts," she said.

The Chief Justice also welcomed the appointment in the release. "It will be a pleasure to have Mr Phillips KC join the team of judges in the Financial Services Division and the wider Cayman Islands Judiciary. His strong background in commercial law will be a valuable asset, and I look forward to working with him," she said.

How the appointment was made

The Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) ran the recruitment exercise. The release said the commission recommended Mr Phillips "following the standard application and interview process" and that the Governor accepted the recommendation.

The Constitution sets out that process. Section 95(3) of the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 provides that Grand Court judges are appointed by the Governor "in accordance with section 106", and section 106 vests that power in the Governor "acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission." The Governor may depart from that advice only if she determines that following it would prejudice the Crown's service.

Under section 105(1) of the Constitution, as set out in the commission's 2024 Annual Report, the JLSC has a chairman and one other member, neither of whom may be a lawyer, appointed by the Governor after consultation with the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition. Its other members are the President of the Court of Appeal, a person who holds or has held high judicial office in the Cayman Islands, two people who hold or have held high judicial office elsewhere in the Commonwealth or in Ireland, and two Cayman attorneys, one with experience in Government service and one from private practice. A member's seat becomes vacant after five years, or earlier if the instrument of appointment says so, and if he or she becomes a member of or a candidate for election to Parliament.

The JLSC's 2024 Annual Report describes how its most recent reported Grand Court judge recruitment was run. Interviews were held on 30 September 2024 at the Commissions Secretariat offices in George Town, in person and by Zoom, before a panel chaired by the commission's chairman, Nick Freeland, and including the Chief Justice. The President of the Court of Appeal, Sir John Goldring, Dame Janice Pereira and Justice Adrian Saunders also sat on the panel, each joining by Zoom. Each candidate answered a structured set of 15 questions designed to assess legal knowledge, judicial temperament and suitability, with further questions where clarification was needed. Candidates were able to ask questions of their own and were briefed on the next steps. The report says the panel unanimously identified Emma Peters as the preferred candidate, citing her experience with complex criminal matters. The report therefore describes a Criminal Division exercise, not the one that produced Mr Phillips.

The same report records that the 2024 exercise drew 36 applicants, five of whom were shortlisted and interviewed. Across 2024, the commission's advice resulted in seven Grand Court judge appointments, six acting and one permanent, three acting Magistrate appointments, and the reappointment of two Court of Appeal judges. The Governor's Office release announcing Justice Segal's appointment on 16 December 2014 said four people were interviewed for two part-time posts, while a release of 10 March 2021 said three were interviewed before Justice Doyle was appointed full-time. In that release, the then Governor, Martyn Roper, described the division as providing "an extremely high level of expertise in the complex litigation" arising from Cayman's standing in the financial industry. It said Justice Doyle had served as First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls in the Isle of Man from 2010 to 2018, where he focused on financial sector work. Both releases said the posts had been advertised locally and overseas.

In an emailed reply to TCJ on 25 September, the JLSC said the 2026 recruitment exercise drew 36 completed applications and six interviewees. Its reply did not say which of its 2026 exercises the figures relate to. It said it carried out no recruitment exercises in 2025 and that statistics for its 2026 exercises will be published in its 2026 Annual Report. The commission advertised the Financial Services Division post on behalf of the Governor with an application deadline of 10 April 2026. The advertisement, published on the JLSC's website, stated a salary of CI$279,298.31 a year and said the successful applicant would primarily sit in the division but might be required by the Chief Justice to sit in other divisions from time to time, depending on operational need, would receive an appointment to the age of 70, and would have salary and benefits determined under what the advertisement calls the Judges Allowances and Emoluments Act (2018 Revision). The commission's advertisement for a Grand Court judge post with a closing date of 26 March 2023 stated CI$242,700, so the advertised salary for the office has risen by 15% in three years. The commission also advertised a Grand Court judge post in the Civil and Family Division in 2026, at the same salary and with the same deadline.

Once appointed, Grand Court judges other than the Chief Justice are subject to the Chief Justice's disciplinary control under section 106(1B) of the Constitution, as quoted in the JLSC's report. The commission is also responsible for the Judicial Code of Conduct, which it revised in 2024 for the first time since 2012, drawing on developments in the UK's code. The commission's report says the code now includes up-to-date provisions on matters such as the use of social media by judicial officers.

Justice Segal's tenure

Justice Segal was appointed to the division from 1 January 2015, when the Governor's Office announced his appointment alongside Nigel Clifford QC to what the 16 December 2014 release called part-time posts. The then Governor, Helen Kilpatrick, said the appointments "will continue to ensure the Cayman Islands have the ability to adjudicate the complex civil cases that arise out of the financial sector in the Cayman Islands". She described the division as "an integral part of the Grand Court and the judicial system as a whole", and the release said the then Chief Justice, Anthony Smellie, was represented on the interview panel. It said Justice Segal was then a partner in the finance department at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, had been in private practice for more than 30 years in London and New York, and lectured from time to time at Oxford University.

His judicial profile, viewed on the Law Courts' website on 25 September, recorded that he had earlier been a partner at Allen & Overy in London and Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. The same profile describes his January 2015 appointment to the division as "Full-Time". The Law Courts told TCJ on 29 September that he sits in the division part-time. His appointment ran from 1 January 2015, 11 years and nine months before his retirement date.

Acting judges

Asked whether Justice Segal will join the panel of acting Grand Court judges after 20 October, the JLSC said it holds periodic open calls for expressions of interest from those wishing to be considered for ad hoc appointment. Section 97(2) of the Constitution provides for acting appointments, and the JLSC's 2024 Annual Report says the commission keeps a list of approved individuals who may be invited to sit as acting Grand Court judges.

Under the policy set out in that report, the Chief Justice may recommend acting judges from the approved list, and the JLSC then assesses each recommendation before advising the Governor on suitability. The report says a pre-approved list allows a more efficient recommendation process in what is often a short time frame. Where no listed judge is available or has the necessary expertise, an alternative appointment process applies. The report records six recommendations for acting Grand Court appointments during 2024, the last of them in December 2024 for an appointment effective January 2025. The Judiciary's Annual Report 2024 records six acting appointments to the Criminal Division for discrete periods that year, to add capacity and to hear matters in which judges were recused, and a further acting appointment to add capacity in the Family Division.

What remains to be answered

The Constitution provides that a Grand Court judge vacates office at 70 unless appointed for a fixed term. Section 96(1), substituted by the Cayman Islands Constitution (Amendment) Order 2016, sets that age limit subject to section 95(4), which allows a judge to be appointed for a term specified in the instrument of appointment. A judge who reaches 70 may remain in office for as long as needed to deliver judgment in proceedings begun before that birthday. Section 95(5) provides that judges' emoluments and allowances are prescribed by law, are charged on the revenues of the Cayman Islands and cannot be reduced during a judge's term without consent.

The JLSC referred TCJ's remaining questions to the Courts. In their 29 September reply, the Law Courts said they would respond later that day to the questions on whether Mr Phillips will sit full-time or part-time, whether he will be resident in the Cayman Islands and the length of his term, and noted that the Courts were hosting a two-day criminal law conference that day. The question on his salary carried a deadline of 1 October. No further reply had been received by 1 October. The Courts have not said whether the CI$279,298.31 stated in the advertisement is the salary attached to Mr Phillips's appointment.