Ogier has become the first offshore firm to secure a formal presence in mainland China with the launch of an office in Shanghai.

The new base will be headed by managing director Kristy Calvert, who joins from international mining group Rio Tinto, where she was a legal director. She is a native Mandarin and Shanghainese speaker.

The office, part of Ogier's strategy to have a presence in each of the world's key financial centres, will work closely with the firm's existing 40-lawyer base in Hong Kong, and will focus on capital markets, banking and finance, investment funds, trusts and private wealth and general corporate transactional advice.

Group chief executive Nick Kershaw commented: "In pursuit of our strategy we felt it critically important to establish a strong presence in mainland China so that we can provide the full range of Ogier's services to our clients in a manner which is responsive to local conditions and practices."

Ogier's Hong Kong office opened in 2006, and the firm is planning to double headcount in the base over the next three years. Last November finance partner James Bergstrom was appointed as Hong Kong managing partner after eight years as managing partner of the firm's Cayman Islands operation.

The offshore firm also has offices in Bahrain, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, London and Tokyo.