Christopher BICKLEY
Conyers Dill & Pearman
A partner and the head of Conyers Dill & Pearman’s Hong Kong office, Bickley is an offshore lawyer who is frequently mentioned by clients as their top choice. He joined Conyers in 1994, just four years after he graduated with an LLB from Southampton University.
Bickley focuses on all aspects of corporate law, particularly corporate finance. This expertise extends to debt financings, schemes of arrangements, restructuring exercises, fundraising exercises and private equity investment. “Deal activity in this sector has increased significantly across China and and the wider Asia-Pacific region,” Bickley told ALB in 2015.
That trend has kept the 23-year Conyers veteran busy. He is particularly experienced in initial public offerings (IPOs) and listings of shares of companies on the Main Board and the Growth Enterprise Market in Hong Kong as well as stock exchanges in other jurisdictions including Australia, the UK, and Singapore as well as the NASDAQ in the U.S.
Bickley is also the author of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands Company Law, which is now in its fourth edition as was published by Thomson Reuters and Sweet & Maxwell Asia.
Bickley “is extremely attentive to clients and other professional parties,” says one of his clients.
Fiona CHAN
Appleby
A corporate partner in Appleby’s Hong Kong office, Chan advises clients on various offshore jurisdictions. While much of her most recent work involves the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands, she has also acted for clients on issues related to transactions in Bermuda, Guernsey, Jersey, and other offshore jurisdictions.
“We have seen more offshore-related mandates in a number of areas, such as the use of LLC,” says Chan. “Appleby is already advising on a number of LLC structures, be it new establishment or continuations of foreign entities into the offshore jurisdictions.”
She adds, “Chinese investors who used to play a passive role as limited partners are becoming sophisticated and thereby demanding greater roles in the management and operation of investment funds.”
Her recent cases include advising as Caymans counsel to a Beijing private equity fund in relation to its $300 million acquisition of a U.S.- listed semiconductor wafer processing equipment provider.
For the offshore sector in Asia, Chan says measures on outbound direct investment introduced by the Chinese government to curb outflows of capital has put many M&A and acquisition finance matters involving offshore vehicles at a standstill or they have been scrapped.
“Thesituationisnotentirelypessimistic. Weexpecttoseeacorresponding growth in financing and re-financing transactions falling within the ambit of strategic energy acquisitions and those foreign investments which are in line with the One Belt, One Road policy. The use of offshore vehicles will continue to feature in such transactions,” notes Chan.
Chan is “amazingly helpful and willing to answer questions 24 hours a day,” says a client. “She’s an expert in her field as a banking lawyer. I have met many offshore lawyers in my field of work, and her response time is second to none.”
Jonathan CULSHAW
Harneys
Culshaw is the Asia managing partner and global head of investment funds and regulatory. His practice focuses on the establishment and maintenance of Cayman Islands hedge funds, venture capital funds and private equity funds as well as the structuring of private equity portfolio acquisitions and disposals.
For Culshaw, who is one of the top choices for clients surveyed by ALB, the offshore legal field is increasingly competitive. “Competition between the offshore law firms in Hong Kong remains fierce, with local offices being well-managed and fielding strong benches of lawyers,” he shares.
That said, business has been good for Harneys, which is well-known in the space.
“We have enjoyed a particularly successful run over the past few years as we grew our office, increasing market share and opening in new markets,” Culshaw says. “However, we remain committed to continue improving, and we are aware that offering a client-centric service has been the key to our success.”
Prior to Harneys, Culshaw had a seven-year stint at international firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London and Hong Kong before moving to the Caymans to work for Walkers.
A client praises Culshaw as a “very responsive and knowledgeable” lawyer, one who pays “great attention to detail.”.
Alan DICKSON
Conyers Dill & Pearman
Dickson, a 30-year veteran who has spent most of his career with Conyers Dill & Pearman, is frequently mentioned by clients as one of the most knowledgeable and responsive offshore lawyers in the region. And as in previous years, he made a prominent showing in this list.
Dickson is the director and head of Conyers’ Singapore office, where he is based. His practice currently focuses on corporate and commercial law, with a particular emphasis on securities, private equity, investment funds and M&A.
He first joined Conyers in 2000 and has spent 17 years with the firm. He has been recognised for his work in Asia and Latin
America multiple times, in both offshore and mid- shore jurisdictions.
“As complex transactions with offshore connections continue in ASEAN, we continue to see room for growth in demand for offshore legal services in the region,” Dickson told ALB at the end of 2015.
Much of that work, it turns out, goes to him. As a client points out, “Alan never misses a deadline. His legal skills are extraordinary.”
Nick HARROLD
Maples and Calder
A Hong Kong-based partner at Maples and Calder, Harrold advises a diversified international client base with a particular focus on clients who
wish to target the Japanese market.
He has been recognised before as a funds specialist who can apply legal principles to complex commercial issues and has a wealth of knowledge on the Japanese market.
“We continue to see very strong demand for offshore products across Asia. My particular area of expertise is the Japanese market, where I advise on the establishment of Cayman Islands funds for Japanese investors,” says Harrold.
Since the beginning of 2016, Harrold has advised over 50 new investment funds for the largest wealth manager in China and led the team that set up the very first LLC in Asia. In the same year, his team was at the forefront of developing some of the first private equity-type unit trust structures brought to market and advised on transactions worth more than US$10 billion using this structure.
Maples and Calder has been recognised before as a winner of ALB’s Japan Offshore Law Firm, which the firm won six years in a row. But for Harrold, it is also “particularly pleasing” to be recognised based directly on client feedback.
As a client affirms, “I would say Nick’s deep knowledge and experience are attributes that set him apart from peers.”
Linda LEE
Lee is the managing partner of Carey Olsen’s Singapore office and lead partner in Asia.
Her legal career spans over 20 years, focusing on cross-border M&A, corporate finance and restructurings throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. She also regularly works with strategic investors and private equity and fund investors. This experience, coupled with previous stints in-house at several large multinationals,have given her a depth of insight into client needs.
Lee received early training as both an advocate and solicitor in Singapore. She then specialised in litigation before joining Pidemco, which is now part of the well-known CapitalLand Group, a real estate firm.
She also worked as an in-house lawyer for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (now known as GIC). Lee returned to private practice in 2000 by joining international firm Allen & Overy, where she became a partner in Singapore in 2006 and worked also as a partner
in Hong Kong. She joined Carey Olsen in 2015, when the offshore firm set up its Singapore office.
“Linda is able to consider the client’s position such as commercial and internal concerns instead of merely focusing on the legal aspects,” says a client.
Ian Mann
Harneys
Hong-Kong based Mann is Harneys’ head of offshore litigation and restructuring. He says that one of the most recent and significant developments in this practice area took place in March, when the Hong Kong Law Society’s Academy of Law held its inaugural conference on Cross-Border Insolvency.
“For the first time ever, four judges from Hong Kong and each of the three major offshore jurisdictions of the BVI, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda came together to participate in a joint seminar on cross-border restructuring,” shares Mann.
Much of that conference focused on the recent decisions in Bermuda and Hong Kong involving the common case of Z-Obee, which he says “will allow the Hong Kong Court and Offshore Courts to cooperate through an innovative interpretation of the common law to recognise an offshore restructure as being utilised across both jurisdictions.”
He adds, “This is a groundbreaking legal decision which is likely to drive immense offshore litigation business at a time when there is a debt bubble in the PRC, which is very likely untenable.”
A barrister by training, Mann is also senior tactician and thought leader at Harneys, where he specialises in restructuring, insolvency, shareholders’ disputes and contentious trusts. He was also recognised by ALB as one of the top 10 offshore lawyers last year.
A client describes Mann is “approachable and good to talk to. He always provides a prompt response.”
Ann NG
Maples and Calder
Ng is a financial services and corporate lawyer who focuses on the international investment fund market. Her expertise is in the formation, structure and restructuring of all types of open- and closed-end funds including hedge funds, private equity and venture capital, real estate and infrastructure funds.
Last year, Maples and Calder’s funds team acted for seven of the world’s top 10 private equity managers (ranked by five-year fundraising total) and nine of the world’s top 10 hedge fund managers globally (ranked by assets under management). The team has also established approximately 35 percent of all newly registered Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) funds and 44 percent of all new Exempted Limited Partnerships (ELP), the most popular vehicle for private equity funds.
“The year 2016 saw significant macroeconomic events, global market volatility and regulatory and political pressures that have contributed to the difficult industry dynamics currently felt worldwide,” observes Ng. “Client retention has remained high and we have on-boarded a number
of new clients across multiple offshore structures.”
This is the second time that Ng was named in this list. She says she’s “grateful for the continuous support my clients have given me. I will continue to try to exceed expectations and deliver only the highest level of service and legal advice to my clients
– they deserve nothing but the best!”
Ng is “a breath of fresh air,” remarks a client. “We moved from an existing offshore law firm to Maples purely because of the service level provided by Ann.”
Anthony OAKES
Ogier
Anthony Oakes is the head of Ogier’s finance practice in Asia and specialises in banking, capital markets, corporate and commercial transactions and structured finance.
Since joining Ogier, Oakes has advised in a number of landmark transactions including an innovative $1 billion perpetual securities issue by Chinese multinational Lenovo earlier this year.
“In Asia, the stream of offshore mandates remains strong. In my 18 years in Hong Kong, one of the major trends has been the increase in China mandates. I think that increase has been true for most practice areas across most firms in Hong Kong. Being able to read and write Chinese
has assisted me in understanding and servicing the requirements of Chinese clients,” explains Oakes.
He continues, “My goal is to have astrong understanding of clients’ businesses and their legal requirements and expectations. Receiving any form of acknowledgement from clients is a sign that you have had some success in understanding and meeting those expectations and I am very grateful for that acknowledgement.”
A client lauds Oakes as “efficient and practical”, a lawyer who is gifted “with business acumen and lots of industry knowledge.”
Nicholas PLOWMAN
Ogier
Plowman is a partner at Ogier, where he has been primary focused on developing the firm’s now-significant Cayman Islands and BCI investment funds and venture capital practice in Asia.
“We have seen the growth of outbound China work continuing, especially in the M&A, asset management, banking and finance and consequently the disputes space,” he says. “The offshore law firms in Hong Kong are well
positioned to continue to service this work.”
Ogier has made a point of building a team – a “really strong bench” of lawyers who speak Mandarin
– to cater to this type of work, building
This approach may have helped drive the firm and Plowman’s practice at a time when markets outside Asia seem in upheaval. Ogier’s headcount for the Hong Kong office increased by 40 percent in the last year due to growth in the city as well as mainland China. As he explains, “Asia has been somewhat insulated from the turmoil of the U.S. and European markets, and the domestic Asian economies seemingly continues to develop and evolve.”
Plowman, who acts for a wide variety of Asian fund managers in the private equity, long-only and hedge fund space, was named one of the top 10 offshore lawyers in Asia by ALB in last year’s list.
A client regards Plowman as “sincere, competent, responsible, and enjoyable to work with.”
NOTABLE MENTIONS
Stephen ADAMS
Collas Crill
With almost 20 years of experience in BVI law, Adams has advised on a range of commercial cross-border matters including joint ventures, mergers, acquisition finance, asset and project finance, investment funds, alternative investments, private equity and capital market transactions. His practice also covers trust and private client matters.
He is a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors and STEP, a professional association for practitioners who
specialise in inheritance and succession planning. Adams also acts as non-executive director for a number of prominent hedge funds.
According to a client, “Stephen can tailor the work to suit clients’ needs, and responds very quickly.”
JUDY LEE
Appleby
Lee is a partner and the corporate group head at the Hong Kong office of Appleby, where she practices a wide range of Bermuda, Cayman and BVI corporate law with a focus on corporate finance and investment funds.
With over two decades of offshore and onshore experience in listings in Hong Kong and Singapore, Lee’s most recent work includes acting as Cayman and BVI counsel to Everbright Securities in its listing in Hong Kong, which generated proceeds of approximately HK$8.6 billion (US$1.1 billion). In 2015, she led the corporate team in completing over 30 IPOs.
She was named as the Woman Lawyer of the Year at the 2016 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards.
“Judy has been exceptionally brilliant. I have nothing but good things to say about her. In the region, her team provides coverage that you don’t get from other firms,” says a client.
Anthony MCKENZIE
A partner at Carey Olsen’s Singapore office, McKenzie has extensive experience in corporate, commercial and finance transactions across multiple jurisdictions in areas such as M&A, joint ventures, secured and unsecured
financing arrangements, preference share issues and capital markets transactions.
His practice also includes advising clients on the structuring, formation and maintenance of regulated and unregulated investment funds in the Cayman Islands. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia in 2002.
A client admires McKenzie’s “positive, can-do attitude.”
Jenny NIP
Walkers
Nip is a partner in the corporate and investment funds group of Walkers’ Hong Kong office, where she specialises in corporate transactions such as capital market transactions, M&A and downstream
private equity financing and investment deals.
She has considrable experience in representing issuers, arrangers and investors in connection with pre-IPO financings and listings of BVI and Cayman Islands companies on stock exchanges, including Hong Kong and the U.S.
A client notes that Nip is “good at considering and solving problems from the client’s side.” She is also “very creative in dealing with complicated legal issues.”
Kristian WILSON
Bedell Cristin
A partner at Bedell Cristin’s Singapore office, Wilson is an experienced commercial lawyer who has worked in London and Paris before practicing offshore law in Jersey and the BVI.
His practice includes corporate and financial matters, with a focus on joint ventures, private equity and cross-border transactions.
An appreciative client cites having “a very good experience with him.”