Appleby is pleased to announce that Ian Gobin and Deborah Poole have been appointed partners of Appleby within the Funds and Investment Services team.  Both Ian and Deborah join Appleby from Walkers.

Ian joined Appleby on 1 October 2012 and Deborah will start in May 2013.

For Deborah this represents a return to the Appleby London office which she was instrumental in establishing back in 2002.

These appointments are at the core of Appleby’s focussed and strategic drive to enhance its global profile within the offshore funds world and in particular its Cayman funds offering.

Ian was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1997 and was employed by Clifford Chance from March 1997 to August 2001. In that time he had various secondments to Morgan Stanley & Co. International Limited.

He was employed by Walkers in the Cayman Islands, London and Jersey from August 2001 to November 2011 and was promoted to Partner in January 2008.  During this period he was also admitted in the BVI.  Ian specialises in setting-up and advising hedge funds and private equity funds under the laws of the Cayman Islands, the BVI and Jersey.

Deborah was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1987 and, after pupillage at 2 Essex Court, she joined Ashurst in 1988 where she practised for 9 years. Deborah is a former partner of Appleby having started as an associate in the Bermuda office in 1997 before taking up partnership in the London office in 2002.  After leaving Appleby in 2006 Deborah joined the London Office of Walkers. Whilst at Walkers, she was admitted in the BVI and, as head of the London funds team, focussed her practice on funds and corporate finance.

Alex Erskine, Appleby’s Global Head of Funds and Investment Services Group comments:

“These senior appointments are a critical part of our drive and strategy to boost Appleby’s position in the offshore funds market in respect of both legal and fiduciary offerings.

“Ian and Deborah bring a formidable combination of remarkable charisma, credibility and stature to an already keen Appleby funds team, which is relentless in its drive to enhance its recognition in the global offshore hedge funds and private equity market.

“Both new partners of Appleby are highly respected lawyers within the offshore funds world, and are consummate professionals.

“I am confident that Ian and Deborah will add considerable firepower to our Cayman funds offering globally and the Appleby Funds and Investment Services Team as a whole.”

Appleby is the world’s largest provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services. With an unparalleled presence in the key offshore jurisdictions of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, and Seychelles, the group offers advice on offshore law and also has offices in four international financial centres: London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Zurich.

The Appleby Group has been ranked as the world’s largest provider of offshore legal services by partner numbers in The Lawyer’s 2012 Offshore Survey. In December 2010, Appleby was named “Offshore Law Firm of the Year” at The Legal Week British Legal Awards. In June 2010, Appleby was named “Offshore Law Firm of the Year” at The Lawyer Awards. With over 800 lawyers and professional specialists across the Group, Appleby delivers sophisticated, specialised services, primarily in the areas of Corporate and Commercial, Litigation and Insolvency, Private Client and Trusts and Property, and a broad range of fiduciary services.  The Group advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals, working with them and their advisers to achieve practical solutions, whether in a single location or across multiple jurisdictions.