Speak to Christopher
For expert advice on Jersey trusts, companies or foundations, get in touch..
Christopher Scholefield
Partner | Advocate
Expert in Jersey corporate and trust law
Christopher is a partner at Viberts and leads our corporate and trust team. He advises clients on all aspects of Jersey companies, trusts, partnerships and foundations, including both non-contentious and contentious matters.
Helping clients navigate complex structures
Christopher supports a wide range of clients, from international charities and regulated financial services providers to individuals managing cross-border estates. Whether you're setting up a new structure or dealing with a dispute, he provides clear, practical advice that protects your interests and supports your goals.
His recent work includes:
- Advising a charity dedicated to supporting other charities.
- Recovering wasted legal costs for a trustee following failed litigation by beneficiaries.
- Helping clients challenge or defend their interests in trusts, estates and company structures.
What clients value
Christopher brings a balanced, forensic approach to every matter. Clients appreciate his ability to:
- Anticipate how their actions might be viewed in court, and guide them accordingly.
- Bridge legal and cultural gaps in cross-border situations, especially with civil law jurisdictions.
- Identify and resolve ambiguity early to avoid unnecessary disputes.
- Offer proactive, well-rounded advice that goes beyond the immediate question.
Recognition
- Recognised as a Key Lawyer in The Legal 500 UK 2025.
- Also listed as a Recommended and Key Lawyer in The Legal 500 UK 2022–2024.
Outside the office
Christopher is passionate about urban design and planning. He’s also a keen cyclist and an enthusiast of vexillology - the study of flags.
Recognition
Key Information
Key Information
Admitted
- Jersey Advocate - 1987
Additional Languages
- French
- German
Year Joined
1992
Education
University of Oxford - Jurisprudence MA
Credentials
- 'Recommended Lawyer' - Legal 500 2024, 2023 and 2022
Memberships & Organisations
- Member of the Jersey Law Society
- Member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners ("STEP")
- Alliance Française Board Member
- Victoria College Foundation Trustee
- Save Jersey’s Heritage Chairman
- Consul Honoraire de France à Jersey
- Board member of the Don Balleine Inc. (dedicated to promoting Jersey’s native language, le Jèrriais)
Speaking Engagements
Christopher has provided in-house training to various organisations on request. Topics have included; company law, directors’ duties & corporate governance, foundations, Jersey domicile but assets elsewhere, non-domicile in Jersey but assets in Jersey & where Ltd. companies sit in the range of options available for doing business in Jersey. Christopher moderated a panel discussion “Are trusts defunct?” at the BL Jersey Trusts Conference (May 2016). Christopher spoke on the subject of beneficiary rights at the BL Jersey Trusts Conference (May 2015). Christopher has addressed the Step Jersey annual conference on the subject of explaining common law trusts to settlors from civil law countries. Christopher has spoken in French in France and in Switzerland on matters of Jersey law. Christopher has addressed a special sitting of the board of a major company on aspects of company law material to them. Christopher has spoken at and chaired numerous professional conferences in Jersey and addressed conferences in London on matters of Jersey law.
Highlights
Christopher appeared for his client, a software house, having identified and exposed the breaches of the IP licence agreement a software designer had granted to it and then breached.
Christopher has acted for trustees, beneficiaries and interested family members in cross border trust disputes both in the context of matrimonial proceedings and where there have been disputed estates, in one case for the legitimate heirs of the founder of a household name industrial concern.
Christopher advised a prominent Jersey charity on the creation of Jersey’s first public company limited by guarantee.
Having made a close study of Jersey foundations, Christopher was instructed to settle the pro forma charter and regulations of a long established services provider for both their Jersey and their foreign law foundations.
Christopher was the lawyer another Jersey lawyer instructed when a question arising from the Jersey law society code of conduct fell to be dealt with before the Jersey Royal Court.