Carey Olsen Opens Hong Kong Office

HONG KONG, November 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading offshore law firm Carey Olsen has opened in Hong Kong as part of the continued expansion of its network in Asia.

The Hong Kong practice has a dispute resolution and insolvency focus, with partner Michael Makridakis having recently relocated to Hong Kong from the firm's Cayman Islands office, where he established and led its dispute resolution and insolvency team.

The opening of the Hong Kong office in November 2016 follows the successful launch of the firm's Singapore office by lead Asia partner, Linda Lee, in October last year. Carey Olsen recently expanded its corporate legal practice in Singapore with the relocation of partner Anthony McKenzie from the firm's Cayman office.

The Hong Kong office will advise on the full spectrum of contentious, semi-contentious and offshore advisory work. This will include domestic and international restructuring and insolvency, corporate and commercial disputes, banking and financial services litigation, trusts litigation as well as fraud, asset tracing and regulatory disputes.

Michael Makridakis, who will continue to work alongside Carey Olsen's dispute resolution and insolvency practices in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman as well as Guernsey and Jersey, said: "The growth in demand for offshore legal services in Asia has created a parallel demand for offshore litigation services and we have an increasing number of clients requiring advice in relation to disputes and insolvency matters in the region.

"Our Hong Kong office provides clients and referrers with access to offshore dispute resolution and insolvency specialists who are in the same time zone and who have a thorough understanding of the Asian market."

Linda Lee, Carey Olsen's head of Asia, said: "The provision of offshore dispute resolution and insolvency services in Hong Kong complements our corporate, finance and investment funds offering in Singapore and begins the next chapter of Carey Olsen's Asia story."

Carey Olsen managing partner, Alex Ohlsson, said: "Our disputes and insolvency teams in BVI and Cayman have a long-standing record of advising Asian-based clients, making an office on the ground in Hong Kong a logical step.

"Hong Kong is a thriving business centre and we look forward to extending our footprint in Asia and to building on Carey Olsen's success in the region."

With 49 partners and 200 lawyers, Carey Olsen is one of the largest offshore law firms. It provides advice on British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey law from a network of eight international offices covering all time zones and key financial markets.  

The firm's notable recent dispute resolution and insolvency work in the region includes:

• Acting for Clearwater Capital Partners, a holder of US dollar bonds issued by China Shanshui Cement Limited, a Hong Kong listed cement making company with a number of factories in the PRC.
  
• Acting for KPMG, the Court appointed inspectors and now provisional liquidators of Greens Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong listed company that makes heat transfer products for power stations with a number of factories in the PRC.
  
• Acting for certain beneficiaries of the PAN FAMILY TRUST in "Beddoe" proceedings commenced by the Cayman Islands Trustee relating to the question of whether the Trustee should participate in matrimonial proceedings in Hong Kong.
  
• Acting for PWC as the joint official liquidators of Ardon Maroon Asia Dragon Feeder Fund.
  
• Acting for KPMG, the official liquidators of Vision Capital Ltd and Tharawat Capital, to advise as they wind up the affairs of these companies which were established to carry on the business of a gold sukuk investment project in the UAE.

SOURCE Carey Olsen