New partner Joanne Collett joins Ogier's Hong Kong office

Restructuring and insolvency expert Joanne Collett has joined Ogier as a partner in its Hong Kong office.

Joanne has extensive experience representing clients in both contentious and non-contentious matters and regularly represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, shareholders, investors, directors, fund managers and insolvency practitioners on matters of Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands law with respect to a broad range of issues arising in relation to offshore entities and structures.

With more than 22 years' experience as an insolvency lawyer, Joanne initially qualified in Australia before moving to New York and then the Cayman Islands, before moving to Hong Kong in 2012 where she continued to practise offshore law. Joanne has considerable local and cross-border legal expertise and she regularly advises offshore companies experiencing financial distress and their stakeholders regarding protective steps, enforcement of rights and remedies, taking and enforcing security, enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, interim relief in support of foreign proceedings, and fund-related questions, utilising both in Court and out of Court options and strategies.

She has particular experience in advising on questions of corporate governance 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.

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.

She said: "Ogier has been at the forefront of offshore litigation in Hong Kong for several years now and I am delighted to be joining the firm and to be working alongside such a talented team."

Partner Oliver Payne, who is Ogier's head of Dispute Resolution in Asia, commented: "I am very pleased to welcome Joanne to our Hong Kong Dispute Resolution team and look forward to working with her."

Firmwide head of Dispute Resolution Marc Kish added: "Joanne's experience will only add to our offering in the Cayman and BVI spaces and it is fantastic to be able to welcome someone with such a breadth of insolvency experience across a number of jurisdictions, which will undoubtedly bring benefits to our office and clients and also to the wider firm."