It takes imagination, being bold, thinking outside of the box and putting in the long hours to perfect an argument.
Profile
Keith Azopardi is one of Gibraltar’s top litigators. He regularly appears at all levels of Gibraltar courts and tribunals and is among the few lawyers in Gibraltar to have appeared and led at the Privy Council in London.
Keith has represented parties in most of Gibraltar’s recent high-profile public law cases and high-value commercial or trust cases. His clients include major multinationals, trustees, banks, underwriters, liquidators, regulators, government departments, developers and all manner of licensed financial services entities.
His recent work included appearing in the Court of Appeal in a dispute over the image rights of Argentina and FC Barcelona striker Leo Messi, acting for the US Trustee for the liquidation of the business of Bernard Madoff in various Gibraltar actions, representing clients in litigation against Chevron, advising in various contentious trust disputes of large international and multi-jurisdictional structures or family settlements, being Counsel for the Inquiry in a Public Inquiry into allegations of misconduct, mismanagement, malpractice and abuse and advising on constitutional and administrative law matters.
Keith is particularly active in contentious trust disputes having acted in a number of high value family trust disputes for trustees and beneficiaries and in the field of insolvency where a TSN team recently advised Peabody Energy in respect of Gibraltar matters
After obtaining a first degree in law and history from Keele University, Keith was called to the Bar of England and Wales, and the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, in 1990, then took silk in 2012. He served in the Government of Gibraltar for seven years, holding various ministerial portfolios, including financial services. From 2000 to 2003, he was the Deputy Chief Minister. He also led the Gibraltar negotiating team in intergovernmental constitutional talks with the United Kingdom Government, was Vice-Chairman of the House Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, and was a member of the Gibraltar delegation that negotiated its Constitution in 2006. Keith has a PhD on constitutional law from the University of Nottingham.
He remains an associate member at Blackstone Chambers, London, and was Chairman of the Bar Council following from April 2015 until November 2017. He is also the author of ‘Sovereignty and the Stateless Nation’, published in 2009.