Erik Bodden is an Associate in the Litigation and Trust & Private Client departments in the Cayman Islands office of Conyers Dill & Pearman. Erik joined Conyers in 2013 after completing a secondment with the Disputes Team at Farrer & Co. Prior to that, he completed pupillage in Lincoln’s Inn in London, where he assisted with a wide range of traditional and commercial chancery cases including matters concerning partnerships, company and insolvency law, as well as contentious trusts and will disputes.
Erik’s practice covers all areas of international commercial, insolvency and private client litigation. He frequently appears before the Grand Court both on his own and as a junior being lead as part of a large team, including in the course of large-scale cross-border and multi-party disputes. In addition to acting in various winding up proceedings (including the longest trial of a winding up petition in Cayman) and other disputes involving Cayman Islands companies, Erik has recently been involved in a series of Section 238 dissenting shareholder appraisal cases, and has extensive experience acting for both companies and dissenting shareholders in this context. He has also acted in contentious trust matters, acting for office holders such as trustees, beneficiaries, and protectors.
Erik has co-authored a number of articles about developments in companies law and trust law in the Cayman Islands. He is a visiting lecturer at the Cayman Islands Law School, a contributor to the Cayman Islands Law Review, and a contributor to the text book Civil Litigation in the Cayman Islands (3rd Edition). Erik has been a member of the RISA (INSOL International) education subcommittee since 2014, and was awarded the RISA Rising Star Award in 2015. Erik is also a council member of the Caymanian Bar Association, and was a recognised attorney in both the 2017 and 2018 editions of Legal 500 Caribbean.
Experience Highlights
- Acted for RC Cayman Holdings, lender to the companies that owned the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Resort against the developer to enforce a personal guarantee when the companies defaulted on their loan.
- Acted for Ernst & Young in relation to claims of auditor negligence and fraud brought against them by the liquidators of Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited.
- Acted for RMF Market Neutral Strategies (Master) Limited against a clawback claim by the liquidators of DD Growth Premium 2X Fund for redemption payments made to RMF at a time when it subsequently shown the fund was insolvent.
- Acted for Shanda Games Limited in the trial of its petition pursuant to s.238 of the Companies Law to determine the fair value of shares held by shareholders that dissented to the merger of the company.
- Acting for the Joint Official Liquidators, Grant Thornton Specialist Services (Cayman) Limited, in the ICP master and feeder funds liquidation proceedings.
- Acting for Torchlight Fund LP in its defence against a just and equitable winding up petition.
- Acted for trustees, beneficiaries, protectors and other office holders on a variety of Cayman Islands non-contentious and contentious trust and private client matters.
Professional Background
- Visiting Lecturer, Conflict of Laws, Cayman Islands Law School
- Secondment, Disputes Team, Farrer & Co., London
- Pupillage, Ten Old Square and Serle Court, London
- UBS Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd.
Education
- BPP Law School, BPTC, 2012
- University of Liverpool, LLB, 2011 (First Class – ranking 1st overall)
- Wilfrid Laurier University, BA, 2006
Bar Admissions
- Cayman Islands, Attorney, 2013
- England & Wales, Barrister, 2012 (not currently practising)
- Recognised in the 2019 edition (and since 2017) of Legal 500 Caribbean (dispute resolution)
- Recipient of the Rising Star Award from Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association (RISA)
- Caymanian Bar Association (council member)
- Cayman Islands Law Society
- Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator (ADR Group, UK)
- INSOL International (member of RISA education subcommittee)
- STEP
