Ryan Hawthorne

Senior Associate (Litigation)

Specialises in Litigation
(441) 295 7444
rhawthorne@td.bm
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Whatever type of litigation issue a client brings into Trott & Duncan there is someone at every level who can cater to you, and who has the depth of experience to do it well.

Ryan is a civil and commercial litigation attorney who was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2008. He was a lecturer at the London School of Economics and King’s College, London before completing his pupillage at Devereux Chambers in London, where he secured tenancy and practiced for eight years. Ryan relocated to Bermuda to join Trott & Duncan in August 2016.

In Bermuda, Ryan’s practice includes all aspects of litigation and advice related to company and commercial law, employment, corporate insolvency, trusts and equitable remedies, civil fraud and asset recovery, arbitration, constitutional challenges and judicial review.

Ryan has been involved in the leading constitutional and judicial review cases in Bermuda in the last 2 years. Further, he has extensive experience with interim injunctions, whether in constitutional proceedings, to protect employment, prevent team moves and misuse of confidential and proprietary information, freezing orders etc.

At Devereux Chambers, Ryan’s principal areas of practice were taxation, employment and commercial litigation, as well as injunctions and other emergency relief, fraud and international commercial arbitration.
Ryan spent three years as a lecturer at the LSE and King’s College, London, teaching all areas of private law, including contract, tort, restitution, land, equity and trusts and employment.

Education

  • St. John’s College, Oxford
  • BPP Law School, London

Publications

  • Author, The Employment Practitioner’s Guide to Taxation (3rd edition, Bloomsbury Publishing)
  • Editor, Cousins, The Law of Mortgages (3rd edition, Sweet & Maxwell)
  • Editor, Bean on Injunctions (10th edition, Sweet & Maxwell)

Noteable Cases

Albert Brewster and Others vs The Premier of Bermuda SC (Bda) 57

Whether COVID 19 regulations imposing mandatory quarantine in a government approved hotel for unvaccinated travelers at their cost amounts to a breach of the Applicants’ fundamental right to freedom of movement.
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Albert Brewster and Others vs The Premier of Bermuda SC (Bda) 45

Application for an interim injunction restraining the implementation of COVID 19 mandatory quarantine regulations for unvaccinated residents on the ground that it infringes the Applicants’ fundamental rights under the Constitution; test to be applied in relation to the grant of interim injunction involving constitutional rights; role and obligations of an expert witness in court proceedings.
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Dr. Gina Tucker v Public Service Commission & The Board of Education

The Appellant sought a declaration against the Respondents that the appointment of Mrs Kalmar Richards as Commissioner of Education for Bermuda was void on the ground of illegality and that the appointment be deemed null and void.
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Bermuda Prison Officers Association vs Labour Dispute Tribunal and Minister of National Security

Representation of Bermuda Prison Officers against the Government of Bermuda concerning the validity of a tribunal decision taking away their GEHI medical contributions. Constitutional rights of employees and their legitimate expectation to retain their GEHI benefit.
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Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited II

Representation of shareholders seeking appraisal of the fair value of their shares under section 106(6) of the Companies Act 1981; whether a shareholder who acquired shares after the notice of amalgamation has the locus standi to make the application; whether such an application is an abuse of process; whether the fair value to be assessed on an objective or subjective basis.
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Raymond Davis Myron Piper v The Premier of Bermuda and the Commission of Inquiry

Representation of the Commission of Inquiry into Historic Land Losses in Bermuda in the Supreme Court of Bermuda. This first in a series of four separate but related cases before the Supreme Court involved the test for leave in an application for judicial review challenging decisions made by the Commission of Inquiry, interpretation of the terms of reference issued to the Commission by the Premier of Bermuda; interpretation by the Commission of its own procedural rules for the conduct of the inquiry and holding portions of the inquiry in camera. Whether on an application for judicial review, the Commission could be ordered to call specific witnesses and disclose documents.
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Corporation of Hamilton v Attorney General and Governor of Bermuda [2022] CA (Bda) Civ 6

Delroy Duncan KC and Ryan Hawthorne were instructed by the Attorney General and Governor of Bermuda in the Court of Appeal. The Corporation of Hamilton was represented by Sir. Jeffrey Jowell KCMG KC. The appeal involved a number of significant constitutional issues such as: (1) the enforcement of section 1 of the Constitution; (2) the scope of protection of the law within section 1 of the Constitution; (3) the significance of the rule of law when applying the Constitution; (4) the scope of the right to freedom of expression and whether it incorporates the right to vote in a municipal election; and (5) the scope of the deprivation of property provisions in section 13 of the Constitution.
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Active Equity Holdings Ltd & 4 Ors v The Registrar of Companies [2022] SC (Bda) 64 Civ (31 August 2022)

Delroy Duncan KC and Ryan Hawthorne were instructed by the Registrar of Companies. The case involved judicial review proceedings against the decision of the Registrar to register certificates of cancellation and issue certificates of deposit in relation to limited and exempted partnerships under the Limited Partnerships Act 1883 (LPA) and the Exempted Partnerships Act 1992 (EPA). The Judgment considers the interplay between statutory interpretation and public law.
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CI2 Aviation Bermuda Limited v Permanent Arbitration Tribunal [2022] SC (Bda) 26 Civ

Delroy Duncan KC and Ryan Hawthorne were instructed by the Bermuda Public Service Union (representing the former employees of CI2) to intervene in these judicial review proceedings, which were an appeal against a decision of the Permanent Arbitration Tribunal in relation to its interpretation of section 23 of the Employment Act 2000 (the Act), namely whether severance pay is payable to an employee where he is offered “re-employment by the employer”.
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What Ryan thinks

On working at Trott & Duncan

Trott & Duncan operates very much like barristers’ chambers do in the UK. Each litigation attorney has their own caseload but has access to other experts for their opinion but ultimately, our cases are our own responsibility. Trott and Duncan is the only firm in which attorneys can be led by Queen’s Counsel on a regular basis dealing with the leading cases in the jurisdiction. We’re therefore able to develop as lawyers and I haven’t observed that level of flexibility in other firms. I enjoy the working environment here. I’m happy to be at work and happy to do what I do.

Whatever type of litigation issue a client brings into Trott & Duncan there is someone at every level who can cater to you, and who has the depth of experience to do it well. Having such wide-ranging expertise within the firm is critical and provides every lawyer with invaluable support and guidance.

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