- Group Managing Partner: Peter Bubenzer
- Managing Partner: Shaun Morris
- Number of partners worldwide: 55
- Number of other lawyers worldwide: 156
THE FIRM:
Appleby is a leading provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services, with offices in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Jersey and Mauritius - as well as the financial centres of London and Hong Kong. Offering strength and depth across these jurisdictions, Appleby gives clients access to impartial offshore business knowledge and experience, as well as a talented pool of lawyers in each of its locations. This ensures that the most appropriate jurisdiction and team are always available to meet a client's requirements.
Employing over 700 people, including approximately 156 lawyers, the group provides commercial, business solutions to complex legal issues across a broad range of practice areas. Primary areas of service include corporate and commercial; litigation and insolvency; property and trusts. Clients include: financial institutions, global corporations, FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies and high net worth individuals. Complementing its legal expertise is its Fiduciary and Administration Group, owned by the Partners of Appleby, offering corporate services, employee benefit trusts, fund administration, insurance management, listing services, management and accounting services, special purpose vehicles and trust services.
Appleby is a member of Terralex, an international association of law firms, as well as the World Services Group, a global multi-disciplinary network of service providers.
MAIN INTERNATIONAL AREAS OF PRACTICE:
Banking & Asset Finance: The group advises on the full spectrum of banking and asset finance, including project finance, security takings and the establishment, sale and restructuring of banks. Transactions include asset sales, securitisations, financing structures for ship owning companies, the registration of vessels, financing of aircraft, acquisitions (including cross border tax-based leasing structures) and the registration of aircraft.
Funds & Investment Services: The group has leading expertise in the establishment and restructuring of retail, private equity, property and hedge funds. Advice is provided on the establishment and operations of limited and general partnerships; the structuring of securitisation transactions; and structured finance transactions, including derivatives and ISDA Master Agreements entered into with counterparties.
Capital Markets: The group provides legal advice on the full spectrum of issues relating to capital markets. This includes public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, bond issues and derivative transactions, commercial paper programmes, repackagings, collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), Medium Term Notes (MTNs); securitisations and other structured products.
Structured finance: Advising private and listed companies, domestic and international banks and other financial institutions, the group focuses on a wide range of structured finance matters, such as ship and aircraft leasing, securitisations, repackaging, collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), other structured products and bond issues.
Insurance: The group advises insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance managers and brokers, as well as companies seeking to do business with insurers, on a broad array of insurance issues. These include regulatory compliance, captive formations, capital raising, segregated cell structures, re-domiciliation, policies and procedures.
Telecommunications & Technology: Acting for both private and public clients, the group advises on a variety of telecommunication and technology issues, including establishment and operating issues, restructuring, insolvency and litigation. In addition, advice is given on intellectual property, licensing, patent and trademark portfolio management and maintenance contracts.
Trusts: Trust advice spans the establishment, restructuring and winding up of private, charitable, purpose and commercial trusts for individuals, families and businesses. This includes corporate trust administration, international estate planning, pension and other employee benefit programmes. The group also manages master trusts set up by international life and annuity companies.
Litigation: Handling a wide variety of business disputes and complex cross-border cases, the group focuses on major commercial litigation. This includes insurance/reinsurance issues, banking, trust and shareholder disputes, money laundering, intellectual property issues, and employment and industrial relations. They also carry out judicial review, the enforcement of overseas judgments and arbitration awards, as well as urgent interlocutory relief.
Insolvency & Restructuring: Specialising in insolvency work, asset recovery and constructive trust proceedings, the group has experience in liquidating all types of companies and partnerships, both on conventional insolvency grounds and as a consequence of governmental or regulatory action.
Employment & Immigration: Updating employers and employees on existing and changing employment laws, the group advises on the hiring and retention of staff. This includes drafting employment contracts, policies and procedures, as well as unfair dismissal and redundancy.
Property: Clients are advised on a wide range of property matters, including commercial property and hotel development, re-developments, and the purchase, sale, leasing, mortgage and transfer of residential or investment properties.