Appleby report highlights increase in insolvency petition filings in Cayman

An Appleby report on petition filings in the Cayman Islands, going back to 2008, has revealed that insolvency filings on the islands spiked more than 30 per cent in 2013 when compared with 2012, resulting in the highest number of filings in the past three years.

The increase reversed a downward trend in the number of petitions filed in 2011 and 2012 that had followed high numbers in 2009 and 2010 driven by the global financial crisis.

The rise in petition filings in Cayman in 2013 suggests that the ramifications of the global financial crisis have not concluded, and the next wave of investor rejections of continued informal wind-downs and other manager-led restructurings has begun, according to the report. While petition filings in 2013 were down from highs in 2009 and 2010, they were up 53 per cent from pre-recession 2008.

The report covers the following categories of petitions, most of which saw an increase in 2013: winding up, conversion of voluntary liquidation to court-supervised liquidation, schemes of arrangement and capital reduction.

Appleby’s Judy Lee wins ‘Offshore Investment Funds Lawyer 2014’ accolade

Appleby has announced that Judy Lee, corporate partner in its Hong Kong office, has won the ‘Offshore Investment Funds Lawyer 2014’ accolade at this year’s Corporate INTL magazine awards.

This is the second year in a row Appleby has been recognised by the Corporate INTL awards programme, which places a focus on the range and types of services each team can offer to its clients. Winners were selected by an independent panel in each country to ensure that the best advisers were chosen for each award category.

Lee recently also received the individual award for offshore practice areas at the IFLR Euromoney Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2013.