International law firm, Maples and Calder, has announced the appointment of eight new partners. Five of the new partners – Matthew Crawford, John Dykstra, Jarrod Farley, Michael Richardson and Joannah Bodden Small -– are based in its Cayman Islands office, while the other three – Phillip Ireland, Colm Rafferty and John Trehey – are based in Dubai, Dublin and Hong Kong, respectively.
Maples and Calder provides advice to its global clients on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Ireland and the British Virgin Islands. This latest group of partners includes lawyers with expertise covering all three of those international financial centres.
Speaking on behalf of the firm’s partners, Global Managing Partner Henry Smith said the firm was "pleased to admit the new partners, each of whom adds further strength and depth to the firm’s key practice areas."
Crawford joined the firm in 2006 and has broad litigation and insolvency experience, with particular expertise in the financial services sector. He regularly advises financial institutions, investment vehicles and their shareholders, directors, administrators, managers, liquidators and associated professionals in relation to disputes or other crisis events. He is an experienced commercial litigator appearing at all levels of the courts of the Cayman Islands.
Dykstra specialises in structured finance, investment funds and corporate and commercial transactions, with an emphasis on catastrophe bond transactions and other insurance-linked securities, CLO/CDO transactions, securitisations, derivatives, structured debt and repackagings. Dykstra joined Maples and Calder in 2001.
Farley joined the firm in 2004. His practice is focused on advising open and closed ended investment funds on their establishment and ongoing legal and regulatory compliance in the Cayman Islands. Farley also advises on general corporate and commercial matters and on local trade and business licensing.
Richardson also joined the firm in 2004 and advises a wide range of clients on all aspects of the establishment, maintenance and restructuring of open and closed ended investment funds.
Bodden Small joined the firm in 1998. She specialises in asset and acquisition finance, including international aircraft finance and local aircraft and vessel registration in the Cayman Islands. Bodden Small has wide expertise in assisting businesses with the set up and maintenance of a physical presence in the Cayman Islands and local business licensing regimes.
Ireland has broad British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands corporate and investment funds experience. He specialises in collective investment schemes in particular, private equity funds, real estate funds, Shariah compliant (Islamic) funds and hedge funds. Ireland has been with the firm since 2004.
Rafferty has broad experience in company law and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, venture capital and other private equity investments in particular. Rafferty heads the growth companies group in the Dublin office and advises growth companies at all stages of their development. He has been involved in many of Ireland’s most significant corporate transactions involving technology and other growth companies. He has been with the firm since 2007.
With the firm since 2005, Trehey has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial litigation, security enforcement, insolvency, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and general corporate. He has a broad international client base comprised of major corporates, financial institutions and insolvency-related officeholders. His expertise covers both Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands law.
