Meet Ogier’s award-winning senior team in Hong Kong

Ogier in Hong Kong has continued its award-winning success after being named Best Offshore Law Firm at the HFM Asian Services Awards 2023.

It’s the latest major industry award win for the Hong Kong team, which has also been named Best Offshore Law firm at the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2023, and one of Asia’s Top 15 ESG Law Firms by ALB.

Individuals from the team have also been recognised this year with a number of awards and prestigious rankings, including ALB's Top Ten Offshore Litigators 2023, ALB Offshore Client Choice List and the Women in Business Law Awards.

With more than 150 people across its legal and fiduciary business in Hong Kong, Ogier has become one of the largest offshore law firms in the jurisdiction, and the only offshore firm to have a presence in Asia's top five financial centres: Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo.

From their work on award-winning deals, including the debt financing for the take-private of China’s 51job, to working on high profile cases at the forefront of crypto litigation, such as representing the joint liquidators of cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Limited (3AC) and representing the Bahamian joint provisional liquidators of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, our partner team in Hong Kong has demonstrated expertise and commitment with outstanding strength across all service lines.

Meet our award-winning senior team:

Investment Funds

Nicholas Plowman is practice partner of Ogier in Hong Kong and head of the firm’s Investment Funds team in Asia. He acts for a wide variety of Asian fund managers in the private equity, long only and hedge fund space, representing some of the region’s most sophisticated and respected fund managers. Nick has been named one of the top offshore lawyers in Asia by Asian Legal Business in its Offshore Client Choice List for six consecutive years and he has also been ranked as one of the "World's Leading Investment Funds Lawyers" in all four editions of Euromoney's Expert Guides.

Recently named Investment Funds Lawyer of the Year by the ALB Hong Law Awards 2023, Kate Hodson is Ogier’s head of ESG (legal). Kate, who is also ranked as an IFLR 100 Women Leader, launched Ogier's Sustainable Investing and Impact Funds practice in 2019, the first of its kind for an offshore law firm, and she is one of a small group of offshore lawyers with a significant Japan practice.

Lin Han has been named one of the top offshore lawyers in Asia by Asian Legal Business in its Offshore Client Choice List 2023 and frequently receives outstanding client feedback in leading legal directories, including Legal 50 Asia-Pacific and IFLR 1000. Native in Mandarin, and fluent in English, French and Italian, Lin’s practice has a particular focus on clients based in China, helping them to achieve their investment goals through innovative Cayman and BVI structures.

Richard Bennett advises investment funds, acting for both private equity and hedge fund clients and other investment arrangement structures, on a range of issues under the laws of the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. Richard has experience with fund formation, regulatory issues, fund financing matters and corporate advice relating to investment and exit activity.

Corporate

Nathan Powell is Ogier’s global head of Corporate legal services. Named one of Asia’s top offshore lawyers by the ALB Offshore Client Choice List 2023, Nathan is described in Chambers Asia-Pacific as one of the key authorities in the offshore space. He has a broad corporate finance practice with particular expertise in using BVI, Cayman and Jersey companies for capital markets, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions (public and private), consortium acquisitions, private equity structures and joint ventures.

Florence Chan advises on a wide range of corporate finance transactions, including IPOs on Hong Kong, Taiwan, London and United States stock exchanges, pre-IPO investments, mergers and acquisitions, take-private transactions and general corporate matters. Praised for her "client-focused" approach, Florence also provides offshore legal advice for de-SPAC transactions and is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Private Equity team.

Rachel Huang advises on a broad range of corporate finance transactions, including initial public offerings in Hong Kong and the United States, pre-IPO investments, mergers and acquisitions, SPAC listings, de-SPAC transactions, private equity and general corporate matters.

Cecilia Li regularly advises both international and Chinese clients across a broad range of corporate, fundraising and financing transactions, including major Chinese state-owned enterprises, listed and private companies, major investment banks, financial institutions and private equity houses. She has particular expertise in using BVI and Cayman companies in capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate reorganisations and joint ventures.

Banking and Finance

As head of Ogier’s finance practice in Asia, Anthony Oakes provides BVI and Cayman legal advice in relation to a broad array of financing transactions and restructurings. Anthony is ranked in ALB’s Client Choice list 2023, and he is ranked as a leading individual in Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR 1000 (Notable Practitioner).

David Nelson is a Rising Star Partner (IFLR 1000, 2024) who advises on the BVI and Cayman law aspects of a broad range of debt financing transactions (including leveraged and acquisition finance, fund finance, margin lending, structured finance, real estate finance and secured and unsecured general corporate lending) and their restructuring. 

Dispute Resolution

Oliver Payne is Ogier’s head of Dispute Resolution in Asia, with a practice that spans all aspects of offshore litigation and includes complex, high value fund, shareholder and banking disputes, cross-border insolvency, and breaches of directors and trustees' duties. Oliver was ranked in ALB’s Asia’s Top Offshore Litigators 2023.

Ranked as one of Asia’s Top Offshore Litigators 2023, Justin Davis’s practice focuses on complex, high-value, multi-jurisdictional commercial and corporate litigation, shareholders' disputes and insolvency litigation. He has particular experience of obtaining and opposing freezing injunctions, asset disclosure orders, receivership orders and anti-suit injunctions, as well as obtaining and opposing winding up orders and asset enforcement orders.

Michael Snape specialises in complex cross-border commercial litigation, shareholders’ disputes and contentious insolvency, with a focus on Cayman domiciled companies listed on the SEHK that operate in the PRC. Recognised as one of Asia’s Top Offshore Litigators 2023 by ALB, Michael has advised on many of the leading cases before the Cayman Islands’ courts.

Private Wealth

Marcus Leese is a Leading Individual (Legal 500 UK, 2023) and leads the Private Wealth legal team in Hong Kong, advising international trust companies, high net-worth families and their advisors on estate and succession planning, trust and foundation structuring, family governance, charitable structures and philanthropy, wills, probate and estate administration.

Jacqueline Loh is head of Ogier Global's Private Wealth services and has specialised in the private client industry for more than 20 years. Jacqueline has numerous accolades to her name, including being named in the Citywealth 2018 IFC Power Women Top 200 and the Citywealth 2019 Top 10 Professionals in China and Hong Kong, and she works with Ogier's legal and corporate administration teams as a trusted advisor to HNWI and UHNWI clients in the Asian region.