Appleby hires hedge fund administrator's legal chief as deputy GC

Ellis will take on the newly created role for a short period before becoming the firm’s general counsel. British Virgin Islands (BVI) managing partner Michael Burns currently serves as general counsel in addition to holding his management and client duties.

An Appleby spokesperson said the firm felt it had grown large and complex enough to require a dedicated general counsel. Ellis will be responsible for ensuring that Appleby is structured in the best way in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates and to focus on global governance across the group.

Ellis spent five years at GlobeOp, where he was also company secretary and was previously a corporate lawyer at Dewey & LeBoeuf’s London office. He will be based in Appleby’s BVI office.

Burns said Ellis’s appointment would assist Appleby’s “drive for cohesive global governance and compliance”.

Appleby is the world’s largest offshore law firm, with over 200 lawyers in 12 offices. It has expanded rapidly in recent years, merging with Isle of Man firm Dickinson Cruickshank in October 2009.