Alan is Co-Head of Stephenson Harwood’s tier 1 fraud and asset recovery team in London, having been a partner of that firm since 2002. He regularly advises clients, including major corporations and high-net-worth individuals in relation to litigating disputes as well as tracing and recovering assets across multiple jurisdictions involving CIS States and offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus and the Isle of Man. Alan’s cases have included some of the largest before the English courts.
With significant experience of cases involving insolvency, either acting for or against insolvency practitioners, both in the UK and abroad or advising regularly on directors’ duties, Alan’s appointment comes at a time of significant growth for the Appleby Dispute Resolution team.
Alan has been highly ranked by leading legal directories, Legal 500 and Chambers Global. He is ranked as a ‘Leading Individual in Legal 500 2023 where they describe him as providing “excellent strategic advice.” He is a ranked lawyer in Chambers UK Guide 2023 where he is described as “a pragmatic, capable and very experienced lawyer” and “confident and tenacious – someone who is good at seeing the weaknesses in the other side’s case.” He is also a ranked lawyer in Chambers Litigation Support Guide 2023 where he is described as “not someone I want on the opposite side because he is very good at thinking of long-term goals, like playing chess”.
Alan’s appointment marks the third new partner hire to the Caribbean region in the last quarter, following the recent appointment of BVI lawyers, Simon Jerrum and Daniel Mitchell.
Sebastian Said, Partner and Co-Head of the Cayman Islands Dispute Resolution practice said “We are delighted to have a practitioner of Alan’s calibre and experience join our burgeoning practice and welcome him to the Appleby team. We are seeing significant growth in client demand for specialist enforcement and recovery advice and representation and Alan’s expertise and long track record of successfully litigating complex cases will reinforce our strength, expertise and service offering in this area. His relocation to Cayman is part of our growth strategy which is to continue to provide the very best comprehensive offshore legal advice from an experienced, highly skilled partner led team across our key markets.”
Alan Bercow said “I am excited about joining the outstanding Appleby team in the Cayman Islands after many happy and successful years as Co-Head of Fraud and Asset Recovery at Stephenson Harwood in London, and I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead”.
Ros Prince, Co-Head of Stephenson Harwood’s commercial litigation practice said “We wish Alan all the best for the next chapter of his career at Appleby and look forward to continuing to work with him to support common clients together. Alan made a significant contribution during more than 20 years at the firm, in particular helping to build our market-leading fraud and asset recovery practice.”
Alan was admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales in 1983 and as a CEDR accredited mediator in 1999.
Alan will relocate to Appleby’s Cayman Islands office at the end of November 2023.
