18 March, 2016
Harneys has hired four lawyers in Hong Kong including ex-Walkers finance counsel Paul Sephton, who joins as Partner, and associates Leela Patel, James McKnight and Sharon Cong.
Paul Sephton has a wealth of experience acting on Asia financings involving offshore elements. He advises on a range of financial products including leveraged finance, margin lending, derivative transactions, acquisition finance, pre-IPO finance, take-private transactions, aircraft and ship finance deals, bond issuances, property finance and general corporate lending. Paul joins from Walkers, and also previously Paul practised at Allen & Overy and Linklaters.
Jonathan Culshaw, Harneys’ Asia Managing Partner, commented: “Paul Sephton is highly regarded in the market and we are delighted that he has joined us; his expertise and direct and friendly commercial style should really help our finance team to continue to go from strength to strength. We are also delighted to welcome lawyers of the calibre of Leela, James and Sharon to our growing transactional team; 2016 has started with continued growth and we are confident of another excellent year.”
Paul added: “I am delighted to be joining a team with such an exceptional reputation, sharp regional focus and forward-looking expansion plans. It is exciting to be part of the Harneys’ growth story, I believe the breadth and quality of service we can offer clients in the region is unmatched.”
Senior associate Leela Patel offers BVI and Cayman law advice, specialising in cross-border finance transactions, including banking, capital markets, asset and project finance and restructuring. Prior to joining Harneys, Leela was an associate at White & Case.
James McKnight’s practice includes advising clients across Asia, the Americas and Europe on a wide variety of fund formation and associated regulatory matters. James advises on all aspects of the formation, maintenance and restructuring of various types of offshore funds including hedge funds and private equity funds. James joins Harneys from the Hong Kong office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Sharon Cong joins Harneys’ Banking & Finance team from Allen & Overy’s Sydney office, where she was involved in a wide range of banking transactions including project finance, acquisition finance and other banking matters on both the borrower’s and lender’s sides.
Harneys in Hong Kong is known for its advice on a growing number of high profile transactions. The firm has continued to grow in recent years, and last year boosted its Asia presence, opening in Shanghai as well as Tokyo in addition to its existing Singapore and Hong Kong offices. From Hong Kong, the firm provides full service legal advice on the laws of Bermuda, Cayman, BVI, Anguilla, Cyprus and Mauritius.