Matthew Paton

Matthew is Of Counsel to LennoxPaton, a leading offshore, full service commercial law firm with offices in The Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. Matthew is also a tenant of 5 Stone Buildings, a top tier private client set situated in the heart of Lincolns Inn, London, UK. Matthew has substantial experience, including advocacy, in high value and complex offshore litigation matters, including: contentious trust and probate; civil fraud, asset-tracing and recovery; shareholder disputes; insolvency and restructuring; and general corporate/commercial litigation including international arbitration. Matthew also maintains a niche practice in admiralty matters where there is a jurisdictional nexus with The Bahamas.

The core of Matthew’s practice is contentious trust and probate work. He has substantial expertise in multi-level trust matters advising professional trustees, protectors and beneficiaries alike. He advises extensively on all matters relating to trusts and estates and ancillary applications including: variation; removal and appointment of trustees/executors; blessing applications; Part 8 declaratory relief; indemnification and liability; and the enforcement of foreign judgments. Matthew regularly provides guidance on the proper administration of trusts and estates re construction and remedies available to fiduciaries in their relevant capacities. He also advises trustees and trust companies on their reporting duties and necessary considerations under anti-money laundering legislation as well as all aspects of the obtaining of information/disclosure of documents, and ensuing questions over breaches of confidentiality, especially where such information is sought for use in foreign proceedings.

As well as his core practice Matthew also has an active commercial Chancery practice. He has been involved in numerous highly contentious company and shareholder disputes arising in the context of Bahamian companies and International Business Companies respectively. He regularly advises on directors’ duties; rights of shareholders, especially in respect of minority oppression and dissention. Matthew has also advised and appeared in civil fraud actions involving tracing assets through multiple jurisdictions tracing and usually involving the principles of constructive trusts where such actions have included applying for resisting applications for injunctive relief in The Bahamas and their jurisdictional reach, including freezing applications/ Norwich Pharmacal (disclosure orders) and Anton Pillar relief (search orders).

Finally, Matthew has built a niche practice area in The Bahamas in shipping matters and has advised a number of major UK financial institutions and international law firms on various admiralty matters including: arresting vessels in Bahamian waters; priority and enforcement of maritime liens; registration of cautions/caveats against Bahamian flagged vessels and the application of the same as well as on cross-jurisdictional issues and the conflict of laws in private international law.