Hong-Kong boutique law firm, Hugill & Ip, has just announced that Caroline Thomas has joined the firm as consultant with effect from 11 April 2023.

Caroline is an experienced disputes and regulatory lawyer with over 15 years’ experience. She is qualified in England & Wales, Hong Kong and New York. She has extensive experience sitting as an arbitrator in international arbitrations (including HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, LMAA and SIAC arbitrations) and has written and advised an NGO on investor state arbitration.

Having spent several years in a legal and policy role at the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong, Caroline is very familiar with Hong Kong's insurance regulatory regime and has studied other insurance and financial services regulatory regimes in the world’s leading financial jurisdictions. In addition to advising on insurance regulations and thorny regulatory issues, Caroline also handles the regulatory aspects of M&A transactions, licence and other applications.

Adam Hugill commented: “We are very delighted in welcoming Caroline to our team. Caroline brings value to our clients across an important range of practice areas. She is an exceptional lawyer with a fresh perspective. We do believe that with this new partnership, we can further escalate our level of contribution and support to our clients, colleagues, and community.”

Alfred Ip added: “In 2023 we have already added two important elements to our firm and specifically to our Alternative Dispute Resolution practice. Following the appointment of Fiona Chan as partner earlier this month, we believe that Caroline enhances our expertise, especially for larger corporations and players within the insurance, shipping and construction industries. We are thrilled about her joining us, which we reckon reflects our law firm’s vision to create an even stronger team and a robust recognition culture.”

Caroline Thomas noted: “Several years ago, I met and was extremely impressed by Alfred Ip and his client-centric approach. Since he and Adam Hugill set up the firm, I have referred clients to them who consistently came back with great feedback. Joining them was an obvious step for me.”