Attorney Joanna Dunne was called to Bar of the Cayman Islands on June 2, when Forbes Hare head of litigation Chris Young presented her credentials to Justice Charles Quin.
Ms. Dunne joined the Forbes Hare team in 2011 in the British Virgin Islands and has broad-based contentious and non-contentious experience, Mr. Young said.
She also speaks and reads Chinese (Mandarin). Ms. Dunne trained with Clifford Chance in their London and Greater China offices. She practised as a Registered Foreign Lawyer at Ince & Co in Hong Kong followed by a move to the Middle East to work as a legal consultant, before starting with Forbes Hare.
“We are delighted to welcome someone with Joanna’s ability and enthusiasm to the Cayman team,” Mr. Young said later. “Joanna brings some excellent and unusual experience that I am sure will be put to good use for the firm and its clients, particularly in the Greater China region.”
He noted that Forbes Hare is growing in Cayman following the addition of Sonia Starvis and Bhavesh Patel in 2016, and Alistair Abbott earlier this year. He expressed confidence that Ms. Dunne will play an important role in the future of the firm in the Cayman Islands.
Ms. Dunne provided some insight into her reasons for coming to Cayman. “Forbes Hare continues to strengthen its reputation and is well-regarded in the offshore legal world, and I look forward to being part of the expansion of our Cayman offering. The current environment is a challenging one for offshore jurisdictions; however, Forbes Hare is going through an exciting phase of growth and this is a great time for me to join the team here,” she said.
Forbes Hare was established in 2005 and the Forbes Hare Group now employs over 40 staff across five offices in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, London, New Zealand and Singapore. The firm’s core practice areas are litigation and insolvency, corporate, finance, investment funds and private client and trusts.