Nick is Head of Litigation & Director with Ellul & Cruz Limited. Nick founded Cruzlaw in 1996. He is widely-regarded as one of Gibraltar’s top litigators and has been in practice for over 30 years. He leads the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team at Ellul & Cruz.
Nick was called to the Bar in 1990 and during his early years he practised in a diverse range of fields including litigation, dispute resolution, insolvency, employment, corporate, commercial, private client and tax. He now focuses on commercial litigation dealing principally with high-level complex matters.
In his litigation practice, whilst varied, it includes acting as Counsel for Insolvency Practitioners in substantial insolvency matters such as: breaches of Insolvency Act malpractice provisions, breach of fiduciary duty and financial crime. In his Admiralty Practice Nick usually acts for banks and shipowners/charterers involving arrests, appraisal and sale of vessels. In his Administrative and Employment Law Practice, Nick usually acts for Employers, individuals and Public Bodies such as the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Gibraltar Health Authority in Judicial Reviews. In his Private Client Practice, he acts for Trustees, Beneficiaries and Shareholders and in multi-million trust litigation cases. Nick appears regularly before the Employment Tribunal, the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Court of Appeal and has led in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
Nick tackles legal problems head on knowing when to temper aggression with pragmatism and a retains an appreciative commercial outlook. He has been recommended and ranked by recognised directories such as Chambers & Partners.
Outside his practice as a Barrister Nick’s experience is also varied. He is a Non-Executive Director of the real estate agent, Savills Gibraltar and has served on the Board of leading financial institutions including Lloyds Bank (Gibraltar) Limited. He has served as Chair and Vice Chair of the association of Trust & Company Managers for over 20 years and was Chair of the Gibraltar Finance Centre Council between 2021 and 2022, having served as Vice Chair previously. The Council pays an important role and represents all of Gibraltar’s financial services industry associations. It meets regularly with the financial services Minister, Government officials, the regulator and it has an important role in shaping finance centre policy and legislation.
Nick is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and has been since 1995. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.