Joanne Collett 高頌恩

With more than 22 years' experience specialising in insolvency and restructuring matters (including almost 12 years in Hong Kong), Joanne regularly represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, shareholders, investors, directors, fund managers and insolvency practitioners regarding Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands law with respect to a broad range of issues arising in relation to offshore entities and structures.

Background and experience

Joanne is a partner in our Dispute Resolution team, having joined Ogier in 2024.  Joanne has particular expertise in insolvency and restructuring, along with general commercial litigation.

Joanne has significant experience advising clients in both contentious and non-contentious matters arising from insolvency queries, questions relating to funds, and commercial disputes, including complex restructurings and privatisations.

Joanne regularly represents companies experiencing financial distress and their stakeholders regarding protective steps, enforcement of rights and remedies, including in cross border related matters, taking and enforcing security, and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, interim relief in support of foreign proceedings and using both in court and out of court options and strategies.

She has particular experience in advising on corporate governance questions and directors' duties, and regularly gives advice regarding structuring and insolvency risk assessment for finance and corporate transactions, as well as acting for target companies, buyer consortiums, financiers and dissenting shareholders in relation to mergers and appraisal cases of US listed companies.

Prior to joining Ogier in 2024, Joanne was a partner at another offshore firm in its Insolvency and Dispute Resolution team in Hong Kong, where she had been for 10 years.  Prior to that, she worked at another offshore firm, having moved offshore in 2009.  Joanne was originally qualified and admitted in Australia, having worked at Finlaysons and then Blake Dawson (now Ashurst), and then Milbank in New York. 

Joanne obtained her Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (with Honours) from Flinders University in Australia in 2002, and also holds a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University, a Graduate Diploma in Military Law from the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Management (Marketing) from the University of South Australia. 

Joanne is a Registered Foreign Lawyer regulated by the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Admitted in:
2013 – Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 
2013 – England and Wales (non-practising)  
2010 – Cayman Islands 
2008 – New York (non-practising)  
2002 –  Australia (non-practising)  

Memberships:

• Hong Kong Law Society (Registered Foreign Lawyer)

• INSOL International

• IWIRC