The weakness of Prince Andrew’s legal position and fears over his own performance in the witness stand left his legal team with few options other than reaching a settlement with Virginia Giuffre that is likely to cost him $10m (£7m) or more, according to several international lawyers.
Ann Olivarius, the senior partner of the McAllister Olivarius law firm who has acted in cases on both sides of the Atlantic, said she expected Prince Andrew’s settlement to be worth at least £10m ($13m), based on previous cases settled with wealthy individuals.
“The size of the compensation is probably massive by any British standards, and it’s probably very substantial by American standards – and American standards are very high,” Olivarius said.
“You can anticipate this would be probably in excess of £10m, even £20m perhaps. I don’t know what it is for a fact but as someone who does these agreements all the time it could easily be up there. And frankly it could be far higher.”
Mark Stephens, an international lawyer at Howard Kennedy and expert in reputation management, said he expected Prince Andrew’s settlement to reach around $10m after paying for his own legal fees, using the proceeds from the prince’s recent sale of a Swiss chalet, initially valued at $25m but which Stephens believes was sold for a “fire sale” $18m. » | Richard Adams | Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Prince Andrew’s payout to Virginia Giuffre ‘is worth its weight in gold’ for Queen: Experts suggest duke could pay about £10m after pressure from the royal family »
