Walkers Provides Local BVI and Cayman Counsel in Singapore

Walkers, one of the leading international offshore law firms, announced opening the new office in Singapore. This decision, meaning further expansion into the Asian market, was made due to the increasing demand for British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands legal and corporate services in Singapore as well as other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Walkers will have BVI counsel practicing in the new office in Singapore, and it will be the first law firm to provide practicing Cayman Islands counsel in this Asian country.

The official opening of the new office will take place on 2 February 2009. The Singapore office will be spearheaded by partners Ashley Gunning, who will lead the investment funds and corporate groups, and John Rogers, who will be the head of the finance team. Mr. Rogers was the first finance lawyer in Walkers’ Hong Kong office, while Mr. Gunning has significant expertise in hedge funds and private equity, as well as general corporate matters, having worked in both the Cayman Islands and the BVI.

Grant Stein, global managing partner of Walkers, commented on the firm’s expansion in Singapore saying that “the opportunities presented in Singapore make it a logical next step in the process of expanding Walkers’ global development “. By his words, extending its presence in the ASEAN, the firm “will be able to provide seamless integrated Cayman Islands and BVI offshore legal and corporate services to clients operating in this region.”

Opening of a new Singapore office of Walkers group follows its recent expansion in Hong Kong, where it added ten new staff members and relocated to new, larger premises. The HK staff, now including approximately 20 lawyers, will work in synergy with the Singapore team to provide clients in the Asian region with Cayman and BVI counsel as well as advice on Jersey law.