Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has hired a team of nine lawyers, including three partners, in Hong Kong from local construction and arbitration boutique Haley & Co.

BLP, which launched in Hong Kong in 2011, will now have 11 partners there and 31 lawyers in total. The firm's key existing practices are corporate, real estate, and asset and shipping finance.

The three partners, Glenn Haley, Ilan Freiman and Geoff Shaw, will join BLP on 4 May, along with four associates, a trainee, a paralegal and support staff.

The new team will provide BLP with arbitration capabilities in Hong Kong, and strengthen the firm's existing arbitration offerings in London, Singapore, Moscow and the United Arab Emirates.

Haley and Shaw both specialise in litigation, arbitration and mediation, with a focus on the construction and infrastructure sectors. Haley will work in BLP's global litigation and dispute resolution practice. Shaw will join BLP's litigation and regulation practice

Freiman, who will work in BLP's global real estate practice, handles transactional construction work.

BLP's recently appointed head of Asia, Bob Charlton, said the firm "wants to build a sizeable international arbitration practice" in Hong Kong and "the wider region".

He added: "Bringing in Glenn and his practice will help us deliver this. Secondly, we want to grow our international real estate and infrastructure capabilities."

With the trio of partners joining BLP, dispute resolution lawyer Colin Dodd will be the sole remaining partner at Haley & Co.

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