DQ Recruits BVI Lawyer and Establishes BVI Law Capability

Dougherty Quinn (“DQ”) announces the appointment of Stephen Dougherty as a senior associate. Stephen joins DQ from Withers in the BVI, where he was also a senior associate. He has extensive experience of insolvency, commercial litigation and corporate work.

Stephen has spent his career to date in London, Cayman and the BVI. He is qualified as an English Solicitor and a BVI attorney. His appointment enables DQ to offer BVI legal advice including legal opinions, insolvency, trust and corporate advice to Isle of Man and international clients who are looking for BVI law capability in the European time zone.

Head of Corporate at DQ, Tom Maher commented:-

“We are absolutely delighted to have secured the appointment of Stephen. We have been investigating the possibility of offering BVI legal advice to clients for over a year now. However, the biggest difficulty we faced was finding the right senior lawyer to take on this role and drive the BVI law practice forward. Stephen is well qualified for this challenge having previously worked with leading international firms Withers, Maples & Calder and Appleby. Stephen has run many high profile international corporate, insolvency and litigation cases in the BVI.

Stephen’s appointment follows the recruitment earlier this week of senior associate Annemarie Hughes into our trust & pensions team. Over the past 18 months, we have almost doubled the number of qualified lawyers in DQ by a combination of organic growth and targeted recruitment of top quality lawyers. These are exciting times for DQ. Stephen’s appointment adds a further dimension to the firm with his BVI experience and also strengthens our insolvency and commercial litigation teams.”

Stephen Dougherty commented:-

“Having grown up in the Isle of Man, it was always my intention to return to the Island to practise law. When the opportunity to join DQ came up, I realised that it was a challenge I would relish as the firm continues to expand and establish itself as one of the Island’s leading law firms. Our market testing has shown a great demand among existing clients for an Isle of Man based firm offering BVI law capability, especially in view of time zone and logistical difficulties encountered when dealing directly with the BVI. I look forward to working with my colleagues in DQ driving the BVI practice forward, expanding the insolvency team and advising clients on a wide range of multi-jurisdictional issues.”

For more information, please contact Tom Maher or Stephen Dougherty.

6 August 2010