Ogier, one of the leading providers of offshore legal, trust and administration services, has appointed eight new partners across its network of offices.

The appointments are a result of the substantial growth of the Ogier Group, which has doubled in size over the past five years, and in anticipation of the continued growth.

Christopher Russell, Angus Davison, Jane Pearce, Paul Perris, Nicholas Plowman, Sally Edwards and Edward Mackereth became partners effective 1 February 2010.

In addition, Nick Rogers rejoined Ogier on 1 February from another leading offshore law firm. 

Christopher Russell: Partner, Ogier Cayman
Chris is Head of the Litigation and Insolvency team in the Cayman Islands. He joined Ogier in 2005. Previously, Chris was a barrister in England where he was a member of, and remains associated with, New Square Chambers, Lincoln’s Inn, London, a leading set of Chancery / Commercial Chambers. Before this, Chris was a member of 13 Kings Bench Walk Chambers, London, a leading set of Common Law chambers. Chris received his Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence in 1968 and Master of Arts in 1973, both from Oxford University. He is a member of the Cayman Islands Law Society, and the Bar of England and Wales; he is also a member of the English Bar Disciplinary Tribunal.

Angus Davison: Partner, Ogier Cayman
Angus joined Ogier in 2005 and specialises in Investment Funds, Structured Finance and Corporate and Commercial law. Prior to this, he practised at Minter Ellison and PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal in Sydney. Angus received his Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws, with Honours, from Australian National University in 2000 and his Master of Laws from the University of Sydney in 2005. He is a member of the Cayman Islands Law Society.

Jane Pearce: Partner, Ogier Fiduciary Services, Jersey
Jane specialises in fund administration services, having joined Ogier in 2006. She was previously Head of Private Equity Administration for Kleinwort Benson, and has held positions with both Deutsche Bank and Gartmore Fund Managers. She also sits on the board of directors of a number of private equity and management companies. Jane attained a Bachelor of Arts in 1990, following which she gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Teesside University in 1991. Jane trained with Ernst & Young and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Paul Perris: Partner, Ogier Fiduciary Services, Bahrain
Paul joined Ogier Fiduciary Services, Jersey in 1999 having previously worked with Abacus Financial Services Limited and Standard Bank. Having established the Real Estate Administration team in Jersey, in August 2008 Paul relocated to the Middle East to establish the Bahrain office. He is a director of Ogier Fiduciary Services, General Manager of the Bahrain Branch of OFS and Managing Director of Two Seas Trust BSC (c), Ogier’s joint venture with Keypoint Consulting WLL in Bahrain. Paul was educated in Jersey and is a Chartered Secretary and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Nicholas Plowman, Partner, Ogier Hong Kong
Nick joined Ogier in January 2006 from Slaughter and May. He has extensive experience in large cross border and multi-jurisdictional transactions as well as private acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures. He also has a strong focus on investment funds based in Asia, particularly with regard to private equity, hedge funds and fund of funds. Nick received his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Asian Economic History (First Class)) from University of Auckland. Nick was admitted as a solicitor in New Zealand in 1998 and in England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands in 2006. He is also a Registered Foreign Lawyer regulated by the Hong Kong Law Society.

Sally Edwards, Partner, Ogier Jersey
Sally Edwards joined Ogier in 2003 having previously worked for Eversheds in London and Birmingham. She was admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 1995 and as an Advocate in Jersey in 2009. She advises a range of professional trustees, settlors and beneficiaries on all issues concerning trusts and foundations, with particular emphasis on drafting trust deeds, advising on and drafting the documentation to restructure trusts and rectifying and mitigating breaches of trust. Sally is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and was a member of the working party for the introduction of the foundations legislation in Jersey in 2009.

Edward Mackereth, Partner, Ogier Jersey
Edward joined Ogier in 2004. He was previously a partner in a City of London commercial firm. His practice encompasses fraud and asset tracing, trusts, financial services regulation and disputes, restructuring and insolvency, banking and anti-money laundering law and regulation, contractual, shareholder and boardroom disputes. Ed has a wide experience of international and domestic litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. He was admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 1997 and as an Advocate in Jersey in 2008.

Nick Rogers: Partner, Ogier Cayman
Nick has extensive experience in funds, finance and corporate matters. He studied law at Cambridge University and completed his training with Clifford Chance in London and New York. Upon qualifying as an English solicitor in 1999, Nick joined the corporate finance department of Clifford Chance, advising clients in Europe, the US and Asia on acquisitions, securities offerings and general corporate matters. Nick joined Ogier in 2001 and was admitted as a Cayman Islands later that year. Nick re-joins Ogier following 3-4 years at another leading offshore law firm - having been based in Hong Kong and more recently in the Cayman Islands.  

Commenting on the new partnership appointments, Nick Kershaw, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

“I am delighted to announce a number of new partner appointments at Ogier as they reflect the continued growth and expansion of the Ogier Group across our network of offices. At Ogier we are committed to providing the very highest levels of client service across a very broad range of legal and fiduciary services. We have a clear vision and that is to be the leading offshore legal and fiduciary services firm; these appointments take us a step close to achieving that strategy.”

Ogier has won 11 of the 15 nominations received for fiduciary and legal industry awards over the past 18 months, and continues to receive substantial industry and client accolades for outstanding client service.

Ogier is unique in the offshore world in that it is still the only offshore firm that has an established, substantive presence in each of the four leading offshore centres - BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey.