The expansion includes the strategic hiring of Jonathan Silver, who joins from Norton Rose Fulbright, and Maggie Wong and Rachel Wang in the Maples Group's Hong Kong-based law firm ,and Edwin Lo in its fiduciary services team.

Extensive experience

Mr Silver has joined the Maples Group in Hong Kong as a partner, bringing over 20 years' experience in the shipping and finance field, having previously led the shipping group at Norton Rose Fulbright for the North Asia region, where he also co-led the Republic of Marshall Islands law practice. Mr Silver will lead the group's Asia shipping finance team, providing British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Marshall Islands legal advice, entity formation and fiduciary services to clients worldwide. The team will work closely with Sherice Arman, partner and head of the shipping finance team in the Group's Cayman Islands office. Managing partner of the group's law firm in Hong Kong and global head of asset finance, Mark Western said, “We are delighted to welcome Jonathan and team to the Maples Group. We believe their combined extensive experience in the shipping industry, deep market knowledge of Asia, and Marshall Islands legal expertise will complement our existing global capabilities and enable us to offer a broader service to our clients in the region.”

Commitment

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Silver said, “I look forward to joining a prestigious global partnership and using my experience to develop the Group's global shipping practice.” Global managing partner, Alasdair Robertson added, “These appointments further demonstrate our commitment to provide our Asian clients with a world class service in a wide range of industries.” The Maples Group's Asia offices have over 300 legal, fund services and fiduciary services lawyers and professionals based in Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr Silver is the second new partner to join the group's Asia Pacific team this year, where they now have 21 practising partners. Earlier this year, the Group opened an office in Shanghai in response to the growing client base in China.