Collas Crill has made a number of promotions in its Guernsey, Jersey and Singapore offices, effective from 1 January 2015.
In Guernsey, corporate, funds and risk and regulatory specialist Wayne Atkinson has been promoted to group partner. In Jersey, fiduciary specialist David Dorgan has been promoted to partner.
Fiduciary specialist Karen Farman becomes Of Counsel, a title which is on a par with the role of partner and reserved for senior lawyers who have currently chosen to concentrate on the more technical aspects of their profession.
In the firm's top-tier dispute resolution team, Simon Hurry and Ben Havard have both been promoted to senior associate. In Collas Crill's Singapore office Brandon Doffing becomes a senior associate. And in Collas Crill's Jersey wills and estates team Julie Harrigan becomes an associate.
Described by Legal 500 as 'very capable', Wayne Atkinson has worked on several high profile transactions this year including the acquisition of the Jacksons CI group by a consortium of investors, the sale of Heritage Insurance Management Limited to Arthur J. Gallagher& Co., and acting for the Channel Island Property Fund in relation to fund-raising and bank financing for the acquisition of a substantial commercial property in Jersey. Prior to joining Collas Crill in 2009, Wayne trained and qualified as a corporate lawyer with Herbert Smith in London and has worked in the British Virgin Islands.
Collas Crill Commercial partner Ian Kirk said: "Wayne has demonstrated leadership, notably this year by taking charge of the Heritage transaction. He has also been at the forefront of business development, particularly with regard to developing the firm's risk and regulatory offering. His promotion to partner is in recognition of his seniority, strong legal skills and business development efforts. I am delighted to welcome Wayne to the partnership."
David Dorgan is described as a 'stellar advisor' by Legal 500 2014. He has established himself as one of the leading lawyers in Jersey uniquely combining strengths in fiduciary, corporate and banking and finance work, with a significant specialism in private and commercial trusts and foundations. He is a regular contributor of articles on trusts and foundations issues in the professional media. David qualified as a Jersey Solicitor in 2006, as a Jersey Advocate in 2008 and as a Jersey Notary Public in 2011. He joined Collas Crill in 2006.
Head of Fiduciary Angela Calnan said: "David is a technical heavyweight and is highly respected as such by his colleagues and clients alike. David is passionate about the law and has a phenomenal work ethic, which has enabled him to build our highly successful Fiduciary practice in Jersey. He is widely regarded as a leader in his field and his promotion to partner is a natural reflection of his considerable abilities and high standing."
Karen Farman is recommended by Legal 500 2014 for her 'expertise in general tax points'. Karen is a senior member of the firm's Guernsey fiduciary team, winner of Citywealth's Legal Team of the Year 2014. Karen has many years' experience in both private practice and in-house as head of legal for a large multi-jurisdictional trust company. She joined the firm in January 2011.
Angela Calnan said: "Karen is an exceptional lawyer. She has a real talent for making highly complex matters easy to understand and, despite her seniority, is approachable, incredibly user friendly and without ego. Her tax background has provided an excellent foundation upon which to build her highly successful pensions practice and her previous in-house fiduciary experience has been invaluable across our Fiduciary practice in gaining a real understanding of how best to deliver our advice in a client-friendly way across the piece. Karen is one of the firm's star performers and a huge asset to us. I am absolutely delighted that her hard work has been recognised by the partnership with her elevation to the Of Counsel role."
Simon Hurry works in Collas Crill's Jersey dispute resolution team, ranked top tier by the Legal 500 2014. He is actively involved in leading and assisting with high value trust and commercial disputes and has an interest in employment law, successfully representing clients in a number of well publicised Jersey Employment Tribunal cases. In this regard, Chambers Europe has named Simon as a Leader in his Field and an 'Associate to Watch'. Having joined the firm in December 2008, Simon was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2009 and was sworn in as a Jersey advocate in early 2014.
Head of Dispute Resolution Nuno Santos-Costa said: "Simon has proved himself to be professional hard working great with clients and an extremely capable lawyer. He is a real asset to the firm and I look forward to seeing his career blossom as I am certain it will."
Ben Havard has broad experience of dispute resolution matters but has recently undertaken significant work assisting businesses with risk, regulatory and compliance issues and advising on large scale projects with an employment law element. Ben joined Collas Crill in 2009 and spent time on secondment to Olswang LLP in 2010. He regularly delivers seminars internally and externally to clients on risk and regulatory and employment topics.
Head of Dispute Resolution in Collas Crill's Guernsey office, Christian Hay, said: "Ben's promotion to senior associate within Collas Crill's dispute resolution team is very well deserved, and in recognition of his exceptional abilities. It is extremely satisfying to me to see our 'home grown' talent successfully progress their careers within Collas Crill, particular those like Ben who live and breathe the culture and values of the firm."
Brandon Doffing joined Collas Crill in Guernsey in 2007 and completed his training contract with the firm. In 2010 he was admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales and called as an Attorney in the State of New York. He spent over a year in Collas Crill's Jersey office before joining the firm's team in Singapore in 2012. He has experience in a wide variety of corporate and fiduciary work, including mergers and acquisitions, stock exchange listings and trusts.
Head of Collas Crill Singapore Marcus Hinkley said: "Brandon is a reliable and hardworking lawyer, but it's his unfazed willingness to "get the job done" that has been his biggest strength in the two years he has been in our Singapore team. His ability to excel in a varied role has meant he can work between Corporate and Fiduciary matters (often at the same time), to business development and even a secondment to Rajah & Tann and to SG Hambros. He is also New York qualified."
Julie Harrigan joined Collas Crill in 2008 as a legal assistant with the wills and estates team. Julie recently passed her Jersey law exams and was sworn in as a Jersey solicitor in December. Following her successful completion of the Jersey advocates and solicitors examinations, Julie has been asked to be the local Adjunct for the Testate and Intestate Succession paper at the Institute of Law.
Department head Paul Harben said: "Julie joined us as a trainee and has proven to be a fabulous asset of the firm combining fantastic work ethic with studying for and passing the Jersey Law exams. It is lovely to watch a home grown talent progress through the ranks to become a key element of a going-places department."
