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Biography

Nicola Roberts
Nicola Roberts Harneys front portrait image

Nicola is commended by clients as a “switched on, pragmatic and a great co-counsel – always a pleasure to be in the trenches together”.

Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2023

Nicola Roberts

Partner | Singapore
+65 6800 9846 nicola.roberts@harneys.com
Biography

Nicola is a partner and the Head of our Litigation & Insolvency and Restructuring team in Singapore, as well as the leader of the Firm’s Trust and Private Client Advisory Group in Asia. With nearly 25 years of experience in international dispute resolution and a stellar track record of successfully leading large cross-border teams and providing expert advice on complex multi-jurisdictional contentious matters, Nicola’s reputation as one of the most highly sought-after offshore lawyers in Singapore and the region is well-deserved. She is a formidable senior disputes partner and courtroom advocate. Clients rely on her unwavering commitmen ...

Nicola is a partner and the Head of our Litigation & Insolvency and Restructuring team in Singapore, as well as the leader of the Firm’s Trust and Private Client Advisory Group in Asia.

With nearly 25 years of experience in international dispute resolution and a stellar track record of successfully leading large cross-border teams and providing expert advice on complex multi-jurisdictional contentious matters, Nicola’s reputation as one of the most highly sought-after offshore lawyers in Singapore and the region is well-deserved. She is a formidable senior disputes partner and courtroom advocate. Clients rely on her unwavering commitment and consider her a trusted adviser.

Nicola’s practice encompasses a wide range of commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring matters, regularly handling complex cross-border cases in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Jersey and Bermuda. Her expertise extends to shareholder disputes, fraud investigations and asset tracing, contentious trusts, as well as insolvency and workouts of distressed companies, restructuring and contentious regulatory advisory work.

Nicola’s experience in contentious trust is noteworthy, as she has been involved in handling many of the firm’s most complex and high value cases in recent years. Her extensive experience in contentious trust matters has established her as a respected thought leader in this field.

Nicola is also one of our specialist digital asset dispute experts, with proven success in handling all kinds of disputes relating to cryptocurrencies, NFTs, digital assets investments, artificial intelligence, decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and blockchain technology. She acts in crypto cases in relation to the theft, hacking and recovery of digital and crypto assets through forensic analysis of blockchain records of various crypto assets, fraud and asset tracing, covering multiple injunctions, as well as complex arbitration proceedings and investigations spanning a number of jurisdictions. Nicola’s experience in successfully handling frozen stable coins was the first of its kind case dealing with cryptocurrencies in both Cayman Islands and the BVI.

As a qualified practising Jersey Advocate, Nicola also offers Jersey legal advice to our clients through Harneys (Jersey), an independently owned and controlled Jersey law firm. For Jersey related matters, Nicola can be contacted at nicola.roberts@harneys.je.

Nicola qualified in England and Wales in 2001, was admitted in the BVI in 2008 and qualified as an Advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey in December 2014.

Nicola is recommended by Legal 500 and is a member of the Law Society in England and Wales, the Jersey Law Society, the Hong Kong Law Society and an overseas member of the Chancery Bar Association of England and Wales. She is also a member of the International Bar Association, INSOL International and IWIRC International. Nicola is a regular contributor to the Offshore Litigation Blog.

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Recommendations

Nicola is recognised as a Leading Individual for Singapore, and commended by clients as a “switched on, pragmatic and a great co-counsel when dealing with difficult clients – always a pleasure to be in the trenches together”.

Nicola is recognised as a Leading Individual for Singapore, and commended by clients as a “switched on, pragmatic and a great co-counsel when dealing with difficult clients – always a pleasure to be in the trenches together”.

Nicola has been recognised by Asian Legal Business in its annual list of Asia’s Top Offshore Litigators.

Nicola is recognised as a leading Estates, Probate & Succession Litigation lawyer in Hong Kong.

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Jersey
2014

British Virgin Islands
2008

England and Wales
2001

Manchester Metropolitan University (BA)
1991

Nicola is commended by clients as a “switched on, pragmatic and a great co-counsel – always a pleasure to be in the trenches together”.
Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2023

Authored by Nicola

Regulatory Blog
UK Crown Dependencies unite in joint commitment to enhance beneficial ownership transparency
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Harneys Singapore recognised by Legal 500 with Partners Lishi Fong and Nicola Roberts highlighted as Leading Individuals
Offshore Litigation Blog
The Privy Council revisits illegal and ultra vires corporate transactions
Offshore Litigation Blog
Unfair family fights? Legitimate expectation and proper purpose in family businesses
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Harneys (Jersey) legal services
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Harneys Singapore commended as “progressive, reliable and responsive” in Legal 500 rankings
Offshore Litigation Blog
Searching for trust in a trustless system: latest crypto case explores the limits of proprietary rights
Article
Harneys partners named Asia’s Top Offshore Litigators by Asian Legal Business
Offshore Litigation Blog
Trustees be warned - think before you exclude!
Offshore Litigation Blog
Position Paper on Parallel Schemes of Arrangement: the Harneys “Schemario Rules”
Offshore Litigation Blog
The Wrecking Ball vs the Crystal Ball – planning a parallel scheme of arrangement
Offshore Litigation Blog
Access to data: A beneficiary’s privilege
Offshore Litigation Blog
Brace for impact: Commercial Court gives judgment on Norwegian helicopter crash
Offshore Litigation Blog
With and (then) without: “cum-ex” trading scandal dismissed by English Commercial Court in landmark case for lack of jurisdiction
Article
Established Tools for New Assets: Decrypting the problem of Asset Tracing in Cryptocurrencies
Offshore Litigation Blog
Scheme sanction and uncompromised creditors
Offshore Litigation Blog
Dissenters from short form mergers are entitled to fair value appraisal of shares
Offshore Litigation Blog
Black Swan 2.0
Offshore Litigation Blog
Black Swan resurrected
Offshore Litigation Blog
The value of finality: BVI Court deals robustly with attempt to introduce evidence after judgment
Offshore Litigation Blog
BVI Court grapples with principles of foreign law in enforcing multiparty arbitral award
Offshore Litigation Blog
Internal affairs: the New York Supreme Court applies Cayman Islands law on derivative actions
Article
Harneys partners recognised in Doyle's Leading Estates, Probate & Succession Litigation Lawyers 2020 list
Offshore Litigation Blog
Bermuda Courts join the move to virtual hearings during COVID-19 pandemic
Offshore Litigation Blog
Just & equitable winding up – a higher threshold than unfair prejudice
Offshore Litigation Blog
Revisiting Fairfield Sentry and the clawback of redemption proceeds
Offshore Litigation Blog
The Arkin cap re-visited: How much should a litigation funder of unsuccessful litigation pay towards costs?
Article
Trusts and Private Client Advisory Group - March Trusts Update
Offshore Litigation Blog
Default judgments – Why a trial on the merits can be more beneficial
Offshore Litigation Blog
Where should Ponzi scheme losses fall? Privy Council opts for certainty of legal rights
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“I would have acted lawfully, had I not acted unlawfully” – a means to escape equitable compensation?
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Harneys appoints new managing partner in Singapore and introduces new Litigation team
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English Court of Appeal defines the limits of a trustee’s indemnity
Article
Changes to the Trusts Law of the Cayman Islands
Offshore Litigation Blog
Trustees of Cayman Islands trusts now required to maintain trust records
Legal update
Trustees of Cayman Islands trusts now required to maintain trust records
Article
Harneys launches Asia Trusts & Private Client Advisory Group
Offshore Litigation Blog
All about the Benjamin orders – international diplomacy in private trust matters
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Harneys begins 2019 with new partner hire