Ewelina Clyde-Smith

Ewelina is a commercial litigator with a broad range of domestic and international experience. Her focus is on financial disputes, civil and commercial fraud, contentious trust disputes and cross-border insolvency.

Background and experience

Ewelina is a solicitor advocate and advises on complex, high-value commercial/financial disputes and insolvency cases including:

• acting for receivers appointed and successfully obtaining orders for sale over a structured investment vehicle in respect of disputes with other shareholders;
• bringing as well as defending proceedings in respect of obtaining leave to commence derivative actions;
• providing tactical advice on interim measures including injunctions and enforcement of worldwide freezing orders in foreign jurisdictions;
• acting successfully on jurisdictional challenges as well as on various other interim applications;
• as a solicitor advocate, presenting applications for company restorations, appointments of liquidators and terminations of company liquidations; and
• acting for a high net worth individual involved in dispute relating to the corporate vehicles through which assets were held and managed, asset tracing and obtaining protective measures.

Some of Ewelina's key clients include multi-nationals, law firms, members/partners and high net worth individuals based in Asia, Europe, CIS and the US.

Ewelina is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Restructuring & Insolvency team. Ewelina advises in relation to all aspects of contentious insolvency, acting for creditors, members, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in an insolvency and restructuring process. She also advises on all aspects of liquidations, schemes of arrangement, company restorations and company insolvency generally. Ewelina is often instructed on debt recovery matters which involve drafting demand letters, issuing debt proceedings and registration of the judgment debts. She also advises on applications where recognition of the foreign insolvency practitioners is sought. Ewelina's most recent work involved working on the restructuring and debt refinancing of 11 BVI companies, including a ground-breaking "soft touch" provisional liquidation in the BVI. 

Previous to working in the British Virgin Islands, Ewelina worked for Ogier in Jersey where in addition to commercial and insolvency cases she also advised in relation to all disputes involving trust structures (both commercial and private wealth).

Prior to joining Ogier, Ewelina spent two years with a boutique firm based in the City of London, specialising in complex and high-value commercial, banking and financial dispute resolution. Through working in commercial litigation, Ewelina assisted in High Court cases arising from contractual disputes and gained invaluable experience in all stages of litigation. She assisted in banking litigation as well as cases involving financial assistance, share sales, the dissolution of companies, shareholder and partnership disputes, commercial insurance policies, breach of trust and professional negligence. She also gained an insight into insolvency procedure and the governing statutory regime. Ewelina's work also included international arbitration (particularly in the LCIA) and mediation.

Professional Memberships include: Bar of England and Wales, Solicitor Advocate England and Wales, BVI Bar Association, Restructuring and Insolvency Association (BVI) and INSOL International.

Admitted in:

2013 - England & Wales (non-practising)
2016 – British Virgin Islands
2017 - Solicitor Advocate, England and Wales (non-practising)

Languages:
Polish (native)