Harneys announces partner promotions and two new practice heads

02 Jan 2025

Harneys is pleased to announce the promotion of two partners, eight counsel, and six senior associates across its BVI, Cayman, Cyprus, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, and Shanghai offices. In addition, the firm has made two leadership changes with Partner George Weston appointed BVI Head of Transactional, and Partner James Smith appointed Cayman Islands Head of Transactional. All changes are effective 1 January 2025. These promotions underscore Harneys’ commitment to nurturing and rewarding talent as part of its commitment to delivering the highest quality client service and continued growth.

The two new partners are Strachan Gray, based in the firm’s Hong Kong office, and James Petkovic, located in the BVI.

Strachan has over a decade of experience specialising in restructuring, insolvency, fraud, asset tracing, and shareholder disputes. He has extensive knowledge in obtaining injunctive relief, including freezing injunctions, anti-suit relief, and disclosure orders.

James has more than 12 years of experience in commercial litigation, with a practice that includes fraud, oil and gas, and banking disputes as well as a range of other commercial matters including contractual and restitution disputes.

George Weston has been a member of the firm for almost a decade, prior to which he spent seven years at the London office of Paul Hastings. He advises on all aspects of corporate and commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, private equity investments, share offerings, capital raisings, and corporate reorganisations and leads the firms SPAC practice group in the Americas. He has particular expertise working with leading law firms and private equity investors on cross-border corporate acquisitions and joint ventures.

James Smith was promoted to Partner in 2022 and advises on all aspects of the set-up, operation and closure of investment funds including corporate governance, regulatory compliance and the automatic exchange of tax information. He also has a particular focus on Latin American projects and is specifically experienced in helping Brazil-based managers with their offshore fund structures.

In their new roles, George and James will continue to develop the firm’s offering in the BVI and Cayman Islands across its transactional services and will help to drive forward the firm’s growth strategy. Harneys advises on a range of blue chip and complex finance deals, including equity related issues, complex cross-border transactions, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings.

Global Managing Partner William Peake commented: “On behalf of the partnership and personally, I would like to express heartfelt congratulations to everyone who has been promoted. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment to excellence have strengthened our firm and have been integral to our success. At Harneys we are committed to developing talent from within, offering our team dynamic opportunities to grow and thrive. Promotion rounds are always a time of immense pride for the business as we reflect on our future stars and leaders in the years to come.”