Barnaby Gowrie
Partner
Cayman Islands
As part of our Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Group, Barnaby specialises in the complex international contentious and non-contentious restructuring of Cayman Islands companies and partnerships.
Given his onshore background in structured finance, his particular area of expertise is restructuring distressed structured-finance vehicles. Here he has helped a range of clients (issuers, noteholders, managers and service providers) with value-adding, innovative solutions.
Barnaby is also part of our Restructured Products Group, where he regularly advises stakeholders and creditors, debtors, private equity and hedge funds, insolvency practitioners (including Court appointed liquidators) and other advisors on insolvent or distressed situations.
He also has extensive experience of multi-jurisdictional and cross-border transactions dealing with different asset and security types.
Barnaby has helped clients with several contentious insurance matters, and regulator-appointed clients with selling insurance assets based in the Caymans.
Barnaby is also part of our Restructured Products Group, where he regularly advises stakeholders and creditors, debtors, private equity and hedge funds, insolvency practitioners (including Court appointed liquidators) and other advisors on insolvent or distressed situations.
He also has extensive experience of multi-jurisdictional and cross-border transactions dealing with different asset and security types.
Barnaby has helped clients with several contentious insurance matters, and regulator-appointed clients with selling insurance assets based in the Caymans.
One of the brightest minds in Cayman Islands’ law.
Experience and recent work
Barnaby previously worked in the Structured and Asset Finance Group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. Here he advised major investment banks, corporates and trust corporations on residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, collateralised debt obligations, derivative transactions and whole business securitisations.
Qualifications
Admitted in:
- Cayman Islands
- England and Wales (not practising)
Education:
- First Class Law Degree with Honours, Magdalene College, Cambridge University
- Commendation in the Legal Practice Course, Nottingham Law School
Barnaby is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the Cayman Islands Law Society.
2023 Chambers Global - Notable Practitioner - Dispute Resolution
2022 Who's Who Legal - Recommended - Asset Recovery
2022 Who's Who Legal - Recommended - Restructuring & Insolvency - "Barnaby Gowrie comes highly recommended by peers for his first-rate handling of contentious and non-contentious restructurings, at both an international and domestic level."
2022 Who's Who Legal - Thought Leader - Commercial Litigation
2022 Chambers Global - Notable Practitioner - Dispute Resolution - "He is an extremely commercial lawyer. He is someone who considers a position from the client's perspective and is very good at lateral thinking in terms of trying to bring a solution to any problem."
2021 Who's Who Legal - Recommended - Asset Recovery
2021 Who's Who Legal - Thought Leaders - Restructuring & Insolvency
2021 Who's Who Legal - Thought Leaders - Litigation
2021 Chambers Global Guide - Notable Practitioner - Dispute Resolution - Sources describe him as "a strong lawyer" who is "very adaptable."
2021 Who's Who Legal - Recommended - Restructuring & Insolvency
2021 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer - ‘One of the brightest minds in Cayman Islands’ law. Barnaby is generally the smartest person in the room but is very approachable and a first choice for liquidators in Cayman.’
2020 Who's Who Legal - Thought Leader - Restructuring & Insolvency
2020 Chambers Global Guide - Notable Practitioner - Offshore
2019 Who's Who Legal - Global Leader - Asset Recovery
2019 Who's Who Legal - Global Leader - Litigation
2019 Who's Who Legal - Global Leader - Restructuring
2019 Chambers Global Guide - Notable Practitioner - Dispute Resolution
2018 Who's Who Legal - Litigation
2018 Chambers Global Guide - Notable Practitioner - Dispute Resolution - "Various sources highlight Barnaby Gowrie as "an outstanding lawyer" and "one of the most user-friendly practitioners in Cayman."
2018 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer - Dispute Resolution - "Barnaby Gowrie ‘has an impressive practice’."
2018 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer - Insurance & Reinsurance
2017 Who's Who Legal - Litigation
2017 Who's Who Legal - Restructuring & Insolvency
2017 Chambers Global Guide - (Dispute Resolution) A Notable Practitioner - "Barnaby Gowrie is 'excellent in all respects – in terms of his written product, advice and analysis'. Interviewees describe him as 'a very clever guy' and note that his background as a structured finance lawyer often proves advantageous."
2017 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer (Dispute Resolution) - "Barnaby Gowrie is a 'very good operator'."
2016 Chambers Global Guide – (Dispute Resolution) A Notable Practitioner
2016 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer (Dispute Resolution) - "The ‘highly experienced and user-friendly’ Barnaby Gowrie specialises in complex international restructurings of Cayman Islands companies and partnerships,"
2015 Chambers Global Guide – (Dispute Resolution) A Notable Practitioner - 'Barnaby Gowrie is establishing a robust reputation for his focus on insolvency and restructuring litigation. "Barnaby is able to find commercial solutions for niche and complicated structured finance product matters and is also an extremely astute insolvency attorney," said one source.'
2014 Legal 500 - Recommended Lawyer (Dispute Resolution)
Team Members
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