Queen’s Counsel Appointment for Walkers’ Colette Wilkins

A ceremony at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on 3 September 2021 marked the elevation of Colette Wilkins QC to the distinguished rank of Queen's Counsel.

The appointment of Queen's Counsel, or 'silks' as they are known informally on account of the silk gowns appointees are permitted to wear in Court, acknowledges ability as an advocate and seniority in the legal profession. Appointments are made on the recommendation of the Cayman Islands' judiciary to the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth office. There have been 27 Queen's Counsel appointments in the Cayman Islands since the first was made in 1982.

Colette is a highly regarded litigation attorney in the Cayman Islands, where she has practised for the past 15 years, following her early career at the English Bar. She specialises in high value financial services related litigation, asset recovery and contentious insolvency and has appeared in many of the leading cases in the Grand Court and the Court of Appeal. Colette is recognised as eminent in her field by all major independent legal directories including Chambers Global (Band 1), Legal 500 (Tier 1) and Who's Who Legal (Global Elite Thought Leader). Recent directory comments include 'Among the world’s top restructuring and insolvency minds, with peers across the globe recommending her as “an exceptional lawyer” and “a wonderful advocate with a dedicated client following" and “Colette is the creme de la creme of the Cayman Islands when it comes to asset recovery.”

Colette is the Cayman Islands representative of FraudNet, a worldwide network of lawyers under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commercise and has twice been named Cayman Islands Attorney of the Year by the Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association. She is in much demand as a speaker at international conferences.

At the Court ceremony on Friday, Colette thanked the talented team at Walkers, saying that their work with her on many leading cases deserves much credit for this appointment.

Colette is passionate about the need for diversity in the work place and, in particular, the need to ensure greater socio-economic diversity in law. She is proud to be a long-serving member of the Walkers' Training Committee which continues to work to achieve that end.

Ingrid Pierce, Global Managing Partner says "We could not be more delighted and proud of Colette's appointment as Queen's Counsel. It is richly deserved and reflects her seniority and distinction at the Bar. Colette is a role model for many young lawyers and we wish her continued success for many years to come."