Heidi Sandy

Heidi is a partner in Ogier's Dispute Resolution team, based in Guernsey. She specialises in contentious trusts, insolvency, regulatory and commercial disputes, and regularly advises clients in connection with high value and cross-jurisdictional issues. 

Background and experience

Heidi is an advocate of the Royal Court of Guernsey. She joined Ogier in 2020 and has extensive experience dealing with contentious trusts, acting in administrative applications and hostile trust proceedings. She regularly acts for trustees, beneficiaries, high‑net‑worth individuals and professional advisors. 

Heidi's practice also encompasses shareholder disputes, professional negligence claims, insolvency and tax disclosure requests emanating from various jurisdictions, in particular acting for the taxpayer in the first Guernsey challenge to the Royal Court by way of judicial review. She also frequently advises in respect of regulatory matters and cases in the context of proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering legislation. Her cases often have a cross-jurisdiction aspect, which involves dealing with advisors in multi-jurisdictions. She is also experienced in dealing with enforcement proceedings and costs issues, including taxation. 

Heidi's recent cases include: 

Contentious Trusts and Estates

• Acting for trustees and beneficiaries in relation to contested Public Trustee v Cooper applications, in particular to settle multi-jurisdiction proceedings and separation of trusts between beneficiaries

• Acting for the trustee in an application to vary a trust in order to modernise the trust and permit efficient tax planning for the family

• Advising trustees in relation to sham trust proceedings, which also included dealing with proceedings in various other jurisdictions

• Acting for the trustees in respect of application to vest the trust assets from former trustees, who are claiming 100% retention

• Acting for a Monaco judicial administrator and guardian in relation to powers under a Guernsey trust and the validity of a change of trustee decision

• Advising settlors and beneficiaries in relation to trustees failure to pay relevant taxes arising out of compliance with the UK Requirement to Correct legislation

• Acting for beneficiaries regarding information requests from the trustees

• Acting for the trustees in respect of a rectification application

• Acting for the outgoing trustees in respect of contested removal proceedings

• Advising professional executors and beneficiaries in relation to various Guernsey inheritance and estates claims, particularly under the légitime provisions, lifetime advancement and distribution of the testator's estate and where there are capacity issues

Tax and Regulatory

• Assisting trustees and beneficiaries in responding to international tax and disclosure requests, usually emanating under the Tax Information Exchange Agreement provisions, from various jurisdictions including India, Canada, Switzerland and Russia

• Advising trustees and beneficiaries in relation to international tax disclosures and the subsequent blessing applications in respect of the payment of foreign taxes

• Advising taxpayer in respect of clearance letter and changes to legal avoidance statement of practice

• Advising trustees regarding requests from various jurisdictions tax authorities, which are not made pursuant to international agreements, but where there are live investigations against parties that can often be known to an off shore structure

• Acting for trustees in relation to investigation and enforcement action by the GFSC

• Acting for a financial institution in relation to a request from the Economic Crime Division (working with the Financial Conduct Authority) to interview its employees regarding various structures and investments

• Acting for a financial institution defending proceedings under proceeds of crime legislation. Proceedings were issued against the institution to recover the monies held, whose MLRO's suspicion is being challenged, trial in September 2026  

Commercial Litigation and Insolvency

• Acting for the administrators of a Guernsey investment scheme, Providence Investment Funds PCC Limited and its investment manager, Providence Investment Funds PCC Limited, in relation to their respective professional negligence claims against their former auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, for failing to identify fraud and a Ponzi scheme during the audit

• Advising the joint liquidators in respect of claims against the former directors of the company

• Acting for the minority shareholder in unfair prejudice proceedings, one week trial before the Royal Court

• Advising a fund regarding a professional negligence claim against the fund administrators in relation to misstatement and calculation of the Net Asset Value of the fund

• Advising the former liquidators of a company regarding provision of documents

• Experience of acting for shareholders and companies in relation to freezing orders. Acting for institutions in relation to requests for disclosure pursuant to freezing orders

• Acting for institutional lenders in relation to professional negligence claims against their former advisors

Heidi is a committee member of the Guernsey Bar Council and sits on the Royal Court civil rules committee. She is also an active member of Ogier’s CSR and DEI committee and is particularly supportive of causes focused on social mobility and the representation of women.

Heidi graduated with a 2.1 BA Honours History degree from the University of Leeds. She completed her PGDL and LPC at the Chester College of Law and holds a Diploma from the University of Caen, France.

Admitted in:
2019 - Guernsey
2006 - England and Wales (non-practising)

Memberships:

• Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS)

• Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts (ARIES)

• The Contentious Trusts Association (Contra)

• Guernsey Bar Council

• Guernsey International Legal Association

• International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)

• Law Society of England and Wales

• Women Lawyers Division of the Law Society of England and Wales (former Chair)