A Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer has been killed in an avalanche in Japan while on a ski trip.

According to local media reports, Hong Kong-based senior associate Barnaby Levy was skiing away from ski runs with his brother and a local guide on Mount Pinneshiri on Saturday when at around 11:30 a.m. the group was hit by an avalanche.

A lawyer in the Magic Circle firm's tax department, Levy moved from the firm's London office to Hong Kong in May 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Last year, he took a role advising China Telecommunications Corporation on its joint venture telecommunications project in the Philippines.

A spokesperson for Freshfields said in a statement: "Barnaby Levy was a wonderful colleague, friend and lawyer. We are shocked and saddened by this news and he will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to his family and many friends at this difficult time."

In January last year, two lawyers for Barclays, Matt Ziegler and Katherine Clarke, were killed in an avalanche while skiing in the Italian Alps.