Hazel qualified as an English Solicitor in 1981 and was the head of Legal at Amlin Insurance before moving to the Isle of Man to become a Manx Advocate in 2005.  Hazel is one of the Island’s leading Advocates in personal injury and medical negligence as well as specialising in matrimonial and children law.  Hazel also undertakes employment law, having previously presided as the Deputy Chair of the Employment Tribunal.

Hazel is a qualified mediator and has worked relentlessly to develop and improve the use of mediation in the Isle of Man.  Hazel often leads discussions, both at judicial and political level, to further develop the use of alternative dispute resolution in the Island.  In April 2015, Hazel was appointed as a local panel Deemster and has sat on a number of cases.

Hazel is a recommended lawyer in offshore dispute resolution, by the Legal 500.

Darren primarily specialises in criminal, regulatory and family law, and has been involved in some of the Island’s biggest criminal cases.  Darren is known as one of the Island’s leading Criminal Defence Advocates and deals with the whole spectrum of offences from summary to high value white collar crime.  Darren has experience in regulatory crime and data protection offences, which is becoming more prevalent in the regulatory age we now live in.

Darren successfully defended the Island’s first prosecution of a Money Laundering Reporting Officer for alleged failures to report suspicious activity in 2022, and is one of a very small number of Manx Advocates with experience in defending cases of this nature.

Darren has a reputation for fighting hard for his clients’ rights and looking for practical solutions to the problems his clients face.  Darren is a fantastic Court Room lawyer who is well respected amongst his peers and is a tenacious adversary.  In addition Darren represents a number of leading insurers in relation to defending road traffic claims in both a civil and criminal context and at inquests.

Darren is a recommended lawyer for offshore dispute resolution, by Legal 500.

Vicki specialises in civil and commercial litigation, including regulatory and data protection, representing both local and international clients.  Vicki has a strength in commercial litigation and insolvency litigation, which is where a large focus of her practice lies.  She has fantastic attention to detail and really thinks outside the box.  Her knowledge of the law is second to none and she always looks for a practical and positive commercial approach to litigation.  As regulatory and data protection advice is required more and more, Vicki has undertaken significant training and qualifications in order to ensure clients receive up to date and relevant advice and assistance.

Vicki is always prepared to work long hours and go above and beyond to ensure success for her clients.

Vicki has been involved in some extremely complex and high value commercial litigation, trust disputes and insolvency matters before the Island’s Courts.  Vicki also has a strong reputation in personal injury and medical negligence work as well as other civil litigation.  In addition, Vicki, assisted by Sara-Jayne, recently represented the family of a prisoner who committed suicide whilst in prison, and secured a finding of neglect against both the Isle of Man Prison and the Isle of Man Government Department of Health as a result of their actions and failures.

Vicki was named as one of only eight leading individuals in offshore dispute resolution, by the Legal 500 in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions.

Vicki was the lead author of the Isle of Man chapter in the Law Reviews’ Complex Commercial Litigation Law Review, assisted by Matt as co-authors – Isle of Man

Lydia qualified as a Manx Advocate in 2011. Lydia is a Commissioner of Oaths and a Notary Public.

Lydia is one of the Island’s leading family and matrimonial Advocates, with an excellent reputation amongst the profession.  Lydia specialises in all aspects of family and matrimonial law. This includes divorce proceedings, pre and post nuptial agreements, matrimonial finances, co-habitation, adoption, care proceedings, child residence, contact, maintenance and domestic violence. Lydia has extensive experience in the Summary and High Courts of the Isle of Man and her reported cases include her successful Staff of Government Appeal Hearings. Lydia is well respected by the Island’s judiciary and is very well received by the Courts.

Lydia has advised on Hague Convention matters, landlord and tenant, private client and a broad range of civil litigation matters. Lydia has experience in the criminal Courts and police station advisory work.

Lydia represents parties in both private and public law matters, she represents high net worth individuals as well as being on the Legal Aid Panel representing Legally Aided Clients.

Lydia was named as a leading individual by the Legal 500 in their 2021 edition.

Lydia is an associate member of Resolution. Resolution’s members are family lawyers and other professionals committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes. Lydia is a community member of Save Lives Matter, a charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse. Lydia is a member of the Manx Domestic Abuse Forum and has strong links with third sector organisations in this area.

Prior to qualifying as a Manx Advocate, Matt worked in aviation from the age of 19, first for British Airways and then as an Assistant Air Traffic Controller at Ronaldsway Airport. Having completed the LPC in 2011, Matt worked for Barclays and then the award-winning Isle of Man Aircraft Registry. He left the Aircraft Registry in 2014 to become a Trainee Advocate at Appleby (Isle of Man) LLC and worked predominantly in their commercial department with a focus on aviation related transactions.  In 2017, Matt joined Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited.

Matt specialises in civil litigation, personal injury and medical negligence.  He also assists Darren and Vicki with regulatory and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience before all of the Island’s Courts. 

Matt takes a common-sense approach to issues facing his clients and provides them with straightforward and clear advice.  Having undertaken his training contract at Appleby (Isle of Man) LLC and qualified into their commercial department, Matt is well versed in commercial transactions and uses that experience to assist Darren and Vicki in commercial litigation and regulatory matters.

Matt is well versed in representing Claimants who have been injured as a result of road traffic collisions and works hard to ensure Claimants receive a fair outcome.

Matt co-authored the Isle of Man chapter in the Law Reviews’ Complex Commercial Litigation Law Review, led by Vicki – Isle of Man

Casey is dual qualified as a South African Attorney and Manx Advocate.

She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Cape Town.  In South Africa she practiced at Webber Wentzel, a “Big Five” law firm which operates in alliance with Linklaters.  Her focus was on large commercial transactions, corporate restructurings and advising on changes to the company law regime.

Casey is a Certified Fraud Examiner through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.  She previously acted as a legal advisor to a forensic business, providing legal support to teams conducting Financial Crime investigations.

She has significant experience outside of traditional law firms, including as in-house legal counsel to the Suntera Group’s global business. There she advised the business on a broad range of legal matters, including Regulatory Law, Commercial Litigation, and issues relating to trust and corporate structures.

Casey passed her Manx Bar exams with distinction.  She was called to the Bar in October 2025.

Casey is a Senior Associate Advocate with Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited, and she provides advice and assistance in Commercial and Civil Litigation as well as Financial Crime matters.

After undertaking work experience and holiday placements with Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited over several years, Victoria joined Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited as a Paralegal in July 2020.

Having graduated from Lancaster University with a First Class Batchelor of Arts degree in History in 2020, Victoria undertook the Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law, for which she received a Commendation.  Whilst studying for the Graduate Diploma in Law, Victoria also worked part-time with Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited, as a Paralegal.

Whist at university, Victoria volunteered with Coppafeel and the Refugee Society, which provided her with valuable insight into the problems faced by some members of our society, and the role individuals and organisations can play in supporting those facing difficult times.

Victoria passed her Manx Bar Exams with distinction on her first attempt with the highest mark of her cohort, resulting in her being awarded the President’s Award.

Victoria is now a Junior Associate Advocate with Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Limited, and she provides advice and assistance in Commercial and Civil Litigation as well as Criminal and Family law.

Julian Nutter was called to the Bar in 1979 and practised for over 20 years from chambers in the Temple in London. Subsequently he returned to the North of England, developing parallel practices in the Isle of Man (where he is a Registered Legal Practitioner and acts as consultant advising on the interface between Manx law and English law) and in Liverpool where he appears regularly for the defence of people accused in the most serious cases involving sexual offences and heavy crime, including conspiracy, serious fraud, corruption, drugs, firearms, blackmail, kidnapping, murder and serious assaults.

In addition he has considerable experience of judicial review arising from the most serious criminal proceedings in a case that eventually led to his successful appearance before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and in what is now the Supreme Court.

He has an analytical mind and is prepared to apply himself to the analysis of potential evidence of those who have been told that they may be prosecuted but have yet to be charged, helping them to get “ahead of the game” and to foresee what they may be asked about and how and why they may be asked about it.

Kofo graduated with a LLB (Hons) degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol in 2020, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Legal Practice (LPC) in 2021.  Kofo also completed her MSc in Criminology and Criminal Psychology with the University of Essex in January 2026.

Kofo started her legal career as a Financial Litigation Paralegal at Lysander Law (now RHL Solicitors) in 2021, and then joined TLT LLP as a Projects, Infrastructure and Construction paralegal, later progressing to Senior Paralegal in 2023.  In 2023 Kofo moved to the Isle of Man where she began working in the CSP industry as a Fiduciary Administrator at Charterhouse Lombard limited.

Kofo joined Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd as a Paralegal in February 2025 and commenced her Training Contract in Summer 2025.  Kofo assists all Advocates across all areas of law.

Prior to working in the Legal Industry, Julie specialised in accounts, working as a bookkeeper and office manager for over fifteen years both in England and the Isle of Man before moving to a Manx firm of Chartered Accountants to work as an audit clerk and later assisting one of the Partners with Estate and Trust Administration.

In 2002, Julie moved into the Legal Industry as a Trust Administrator before using her years of experience in business accounts, compliance and office management to become the Practice Manager of a long-established Manx Law Firm.

Julie joined Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd in April 2018, as Practice Manager.