Financial law firm Walkers has made a number of promotions at its Hong Kong office.
Arwel Lewis and Thomas Granger have both been promoted to partners in Walkers’ investment funds group.
Lewis joined Walkers in January 2007, specialising in corporate work with an emphasis on private equity and investment funds. Having originally trained with Linklaters, Lewis moved to Hong Kong in 2002. His experience includes advising investment banks, financial institutions, investment managers and private equity houses on downstream private equity investments, private equity fund formation, as well as all aspects of Cayman Islands and BVI hedge fund structures.
Granger also specialises in investment funds and private equity work. Having joined Walkers in 2005, he previously worked in the corporate department of Minter Ellison in Hong Kong and in Australia. Granger has extensive knowledge of the Japanese hedge fund and private equity market and regularly advises clients on public and private offerings in Japan.
Further to these moves, associates Ashley Davies and Fraser Hern have both been promoted to the position of counsel.
Davies joined the finance and corporate group in Walkers’ Hong Kong office in 2008. He advises on Cayman Islands and BVI law in relation to real estate finance, construction finance, structured and acquisition finance, syndicated loans and general corporate matters. He joined Walkers from Australian firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth and has also worked with Lovells, Dorsey &Whitney and Ashurst.
Hern joined Walkers’ Hong Kong office in January 2009, focusing principally on corporate and financial restructuring as well as contentious and non-contentious insolvency. Previously he was with Allen and Overy in Hong Kong, specialising in restructuring and insolvency matters and Baker & McKenzie in London where he also worked in investment banking.
"Walkers’ success and growth has always been driven by the needs of our clients and these promotions in Hong Kong are well deserved and demonstrate our major commitment to this region," says Guy Locke, managing partner of Walkers’ Hong Kong office and head of Asia. "As we continue to see an increasingly complex flow of work into our major practice areas across our global network of offices it is imperative that we have the right professionals in place."
