Appleby’s Isle of Man office has achieved Tier 1 status across nine practice areas in 2015 according to The Legal 500, the world’s leading independent authority on legal services providers.

There was also individual recognition for 16 Appleby lawyers in the Isle of Man when the updated UK guide was published last week, with seven being highlighted as ‘leading individuals’.

The Legal 500 is viewed as the leading guide to outstanding law firms and lawyers, with rankings based on feedback from 250,000 in-house peers and independent assessment of law firms’ deals and confidential matters. It is updated annually, and inclusion is earned solely on merit.

In the 2015 UK edition, Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services, achieved a total of 12 Tier 1 rankings, with the Isle of Man office receiving nine, an improvement on last year’s eight practice areas.

Appleby’s Isle of Man office received Tier 1 ranking in banking and finance, commercial, dispute resolution, insurance and pensions, private client, trusts and tax, shipping, aviation and space, investment funds and capital markets, employment and e-gaming.

The Legal 500 featured seven lawyers from the Isle of Man office in its elite ‘Leading Lawyers’ list, and a further nine were featured as ‘recommended’.

Charles Davies was a new addition to the ‘Leading Lawyers’ list, joining Isle of Man office Managing Partner Faye Moffett and colleagues Simon Cain, Christopher Cope, Mark Holligon, Caren Pegg and Simon Harding. Charles works in Dispute Resolution, a practice area described in the Legal 500 as ‘extremely responsive, and offers many sound ideas and solutions’.

Dispute Resolution Group Head Christopher Cope said: “I’m delighted to see Charles join myself and Mark Holligon on the list of ‘Leading Lawyers’ for Dispute Resolution as it is a well-deserved recognition of his talents and skills. This independent endorsement of lawyers and services is a testament to the calibre of our team, not only in this practice area, but across the Isle of Man office.”

Partner Mark Holligon is described as ‘innovative’ and ‘very experienced in all areas, but hugely so in contentious insolvency’, while Caren Pegg is listed for her expertise in Employment law, where she is described as ‘very professional’ and ‘a pleasure to work with’.

Simon Cain features in the ‘Leading Lawyers’ for his work in Commercial law, while Simon Harding is listed for Insurance and Pensions as well as Investment Funds and Capital Markets.

Faye Moffett, who took up the role of Isle of Man office Managing Partner on September 1st, is featured as a leading individual for Banking and Finance and is described as ‘highly experienced and commercially pragmatic’.

She said: “The Appleby rankings recognise the professionalism and expertise of our Isle of Man office, and we are delighted to have received a Tier 1 ranking in an ever greater number of categories than previously. It is also very welcome to see more of our lawyers earning individual recognition for their work, and especially to see Charles Davies join the ‘Leading Lawyers’ list.”

“Peer and client recommendations are integral to the research process, so the recognition we have received demonstrates the extremely high quality of services that we deliver.”

Other Appleby Isle of Man lawyers recommended by The Legal 500 2015 include Kyle Sutherland, Tom Brook, Michelle Brook, Claire Milne, Juan Thornley, Rachel Berry, Andrew Harding, Alicia Cain and Sean Dowling.

Published for more than 20 years, The Legal 500 series provides comprehensive worldwide coverage on legal services providers in over 100 countries. Used by commercial and private clients, corporate counsel, CEOs, CFOs, professional advisers and other national and international referrers of work, the series is globally respected for its definitive judgement of law firm capabilities.