International law firm Lovells has announced the appointments of four new lawyers to the firm's Hong Kong practice. Joyce Lee has been hired as a partner and head of the property practice, Philip Gilligan will be a partner in the banking and finance group where he will be joined by two new associate lawyers, Sally Hung and Prisca Lo.
Lee will join Lovells in October from Herbert Smith where she currently heads the property department, a position she has held since 1997. Lee has experience advising clients on sale and purchase, leasing, development work and the property aspects of commercial and banking transactions.
Allen Leung, managing partner at Lovells' Hong Kong office, is looking for Lee to strengthen the firm's reputation in the property market. "Joyce knows the property market in Hong Kong and China extremely well," he says. "Her extensive experience of big ticket property projects, combined with that of our property team, will be key in expanding our client base and the breadth of our practice."
Gilligan moves to Lovells from White & Chase, a firm he joined in 1995. He has experience in advising on secured and unsecured lending, acquisition finance, PRC financings, restructuring and bank privatization.
He will report to John Hartley, who heads the banking and finance team and believes Gilligan will fit in well. "I'm very pleased to be getting Phillip on board," says Hartley. "He is an excellent lawyer and his background and client base are very much what we were looking for in terms of the direction we are taking the practice."
Gilligan also brings Hung along from White & Chase, where she assisted him in financing matters, particularly on both secured and unsecured lending as well as restructuring deals.
Completing the new arrivals is Lo who moves on from Simmons & Simmons. She has worked with clients such as PCCW, and has a background in acquisitions, MTN programs and structured finance transactions.
