Ogier Blazes Trail In China

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

08 July 2011

Ogier has become the first offshore law firm to establish a presence in mainland China after the opening of its new office in Shanghai.

The move, says Ogier, is central to its strategy to "provide the most innovative and comprehensive multi-jurisdictional services, through a significant presence in each of the world’s key financial centres and across all time zones".

Commenting on the announcement, Group Chief Executive Officer Nick Kershaw said that “in pursuit of our strategy we felt it critically important to establish a strong presence in mainland China so that we can provide the full range of Ogier’s services to our clients in a manner which is responsive to local conditions and practices."

"We are the first offshore firm to have an office in mainland China and are the only offshore law firm in Asia with lawyers qualified to offer advice on the key jurisdictions of BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey. As a result our business in Asia is well established and has been extremely successful,” he added.

Ogier Shanghai will be headed up by Kristy Calvert who is a native Mandarin and Shanghainese speaker and has extensive corporate and commercial law experience in the Asia Pacific and in particular China where she was previously Legal Director for Rio Tinto China/Asia.

Kershaw added: "We are in the great position of being able to continue to support our Chinese clients with our international experience and now with enhanced local expertise.”

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