Appleby has launched its new Hong Kong-based litigation and insolvency team. Partner Eliot Simpson and senior associate Joanne Collett will relocate to Asia, and the team will be able to provide offshore litigation and insolvency advice starting in early July.

Simpson was the leader of Appleby’s British Virgin Islands (BVI) Litigation & Insolvency Practice Group. He is qualified in the BVI, Cayman Islands and Jersey, and has practiced in all three jurisdictions. Prior to joining Appleby, he spent nine years with Clifford Chance.

Collett joins from the Cayman Islands, where she has worked with clients in contentious and non-contentious insolvency and restructuring matters. Prior to joining Appleby in 2010, Collett worked at Australian firms for five years and with Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. She is admitted to the New York Bar.

Commenting on the new Asia team, the firm’s litigation and insolvency practice group head, Andrew Bolton said in a statement: “The continued popularity of structures set up in the various jurisdictions where we operate, coupled with an increasing confidence on the part of Asia-based clients in the dispute resolution processes of those jurisdictions, have led to a marked increase in litigation and insolvency-related work from the region.  Consequently, our clients need us to have a presence here.”

Appleby’s Hong Kong office Managing Partner, Frances Woo, added: “We are delighted that Eliot and Joanne will be joining our established and experienced teams across other practice areas in Hong Kong.  Together they bring over 27 years of combined experience in commercial dispute resolution, insolvency and restructuring to our team which is dedicated to delivering the highest standards of service to our clients in Asia and worldwide.”