The president of the Bermuda Bar Council was a leader in the development of insolvency law in Bermuda and a specialist in matters ranging from commercial litigation to corporate restructuring.

Kehinde George, who was ranked a “global leader” in her field by Who’s Who Legal, also helped strengthen the judiciary in Bermuda.

The affable and light-hearted Ms George has been mourned by her colleagues at ASW Law Limited, formerly Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki.

She became a member of the Bermuda Bar Council in 2019 and was elected president in April.

Ms George’s roles were diverse. She served on the executive committee of the Restructuring and Insolvency Specialist Association’s Bermuda branch and acted as an expert witness on Bermuda law in courts overseas.

The Bar Council expressed “deep sadness” at her abrupt passing. “Please join us in thought as we reflect on Kehinde’s legacy of leadership, wisdom, patience and humour that she brought to so many of her colleagues and friends at the Bar,” it added.

Ms George was a vice-president before becoming president. Other roles included serving on its professional conduct committee from 2010-13 and representing the Bar Council on the Mutual Assistance Committee of the Barristers’ and Accountants’ AML/ATF Board.

She was also a valued member of the Judicial Legal Services Committee.

The Bar Council added: “Her legacy of hard work you will see in the coming months as the Bar Council completes new projects that Kehinde was working on and improvements in other guidelines/procedures at the Bar.”

Rod Attride-Stirling, a fellow cofounder of Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki, said: “We are all deeply shocked and saddened at the news of Kehinde’s sudden passing.

“Besides being a world-class insolvency specialist of the top drawer and a fantastic colleague, Kehinde was a person of great kindness, integrity and just a genuinely good person.”

Neil Horner, a director at the firm and head of its corporate department, said: “Kehinde was a great colleague and friend — she was unassuming and modest but that belied a quiet strength that came from her supreme knowledge and command of her subject.”

He added: “She was also funny and kind and her passing leaves an enormous void in all our lives. She will be sorely missed.”

Ms George, who grew up in London, gained her law degree and qualified as a solicitor in 1985 at King’s College.

She spent six years practising as a corporate and commercial lawyer before working for four years in the UK Government Legal Service, advising on insolvency law and policy.

Ms George advised the Department of Trade and Industry from 1991 to 1995.

That year, she moved to Bermuda and in 1996 she was called to the Bermuda Bar.

Larry Mussenden, the Chief Justice, said the judiciary shared in the “deep sadness” at the news and offered “heartfelt” condolences to Ms George’s friends, family and legal colleagues.

Mr Mussenden said: “Ms George was widely respected as a leading practitioner in insolvency and restructuring in Bermuda. She advised liquidators, provisional liquidators, creditors and regulators in local and cross-border matters with skill and integrity.

“Beyond her professional excellence, she was a generous mentor to many attorneys in Bermuda, including myself, who benefited from her guidance, knowledge and experience in the field.”

The Chief Justice said Ms George embraced her role as President of the Bar with “pride and dedication”.

He added: “Only weeks ago, she spoke with eloquence at a Special Sitting of the Court to mark the retirement of Sir Christopher Clarke from the Court of Appeal.”

Mr Mussenden noted that, as a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Committee, Ms George last week “contributed thoughtfully in a number of interviews for a new Justice of Appeal”.

“Also, Ms George had commenced important discussions with the judiciary on initiatives to strengthen the profession, including increasing the number of criminal lawyers, providing funding for training for court administrative staff and clarifying the position of McKenzie friends in Bermuda.

“Ms George carried out her public duties with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to the people of Bermuda. She will be remembered for her warmth, generosity and vision. We will miss her counsel, leadership and her friendship.”

Ian Kawaley, the former chief justice, said: “I worked with Kehinde at Milligan-Whyte & Smith between 1996 and 1999 for the first three years of her Bermuda legal career. It seems like longer; it seems like yesterday.”

Mr Kawaley called her “a wonderful colleague, unobtrusively bright, diligent and thoughtful — serious but also able to be funny, a great team player, ethical and professional to a fault. A great insolvency lawyer.”

He added: “Over the last few months I have been conducting private research on Bermuda’s modern commercial litigation history and had noted that she had appeared in many reported insolvency cases before the Bermuda courts, mostly in a supporting role, occasionally before me.

“Her contribution to the Commercial Litigation Bar was immense and will not be forgotten.”

Mr Kawaley described Ms George as “soft-spoken but constantly surrounded by a powerful field of positive energy, which she generously shared with whomever she encountered”.

“She has gone too soon and will be deeply missed but fondly remembered.

“My deepest condolences to her family, in particular her daughter, Kayode, her twin sister, Taiwo, and her nephew, Nathan.”

John Johnston, a top liquidator and the chief executive at Deloitte, praised her as “an outstanding lawyer, in whom we always knew we could place complete confidence to deal with some of our most complex and contentious legal matters”.

He added: “Her impressive command of insolvency law enabled her to provide highly valuable and pragmatic advice. She will be very sadly missed by all at Deloitte.”

Mike Morrison, the chairman of the Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists Association of Bermuda, said its members were “shocked and deeply saddened by Kehinde’s sudden passing”.

He added: “Kehinde was instrumental in the establishment of RISA in 2015 and was a dedicated member, serving on the committee from that time.

“Kehinde was a highly respected restructuring and insolvency lawyer, both locally and globally, and recently chaired international industry conferences on the island.

“Kehinde was not only an exceptional professional colleague but also a friend and we will miss her dearly. We extend our deepest condolences to Kehinde's family, friends and colleagues at ASW.”

Ms George’s expertise played a key role in an array of prominent corporate matters. These included the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company Ltd, Manhattan Investment Fund Ltd, the Global Crossing Group, Loral Space & Communications Ltd, Trenwick Group Ltd, Northern Offshore Ltd, PEG Reinsurance Company Ltd, Lehman Re Ltd, Bluepoint Re Ltd, Titan Petrochemicals Group Limited and Saad Investments Company Limited.

As a cofounder at the law practice of Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki, Ms George became a director and head of restructuring after the switch to ASW Law Limited.

The firm said: “During her over 30 years in Bermuda, Kehinde played a significant role in the development of insolvency law and advised on many of the major insolvency proceedings that have taken place over the last 25 years.”

ASW said she would be “sorely missed” by her colleagues and added: “We extend our deepest condolences to her family who have lost someone special.”

Kehinde Abinbola Lucille George, president of the Bermuda Bar Council and head of insolvency and a founding partner of the ASW law firm, formerly Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki, was born on July 1, 1960. She died in November 2025, aged 65