Ralph Sellar joins Slaughter and May and Richard Woodworth opts for Linklaters

Ralph Sellar joins Slaughter and May and Richard Woodworth opts for Linklaters

The two were working with Debevoise & Plimpton and Allen & Overy, respectively

Slaughter and May and Linklaters have hired a partner each in Hong Kong. While Ralph Sellar has joined Slaughter and May as a disputes partner, Richard Woodworth will work with Linklaters in its restructuring and insolvency practice.

Sellar worked with Debevoise & Plimpton for almost nine years. A commercial litigator, he has been serving as international counsel in the firm's disputes resolution group in London. From 2015-2022, he was based in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, Woodworth was serving at Allen & Overy. He has vast experience in all aspects of financial restructurings and formal insolvency proceedings.

Dual qualified in Hong Kong and English law, Sellar has expertise in a range of banking litigations, including disputes relating to investments and wholesale banking, listed securities, OTC derivatives and structured products. He has also conducted regulatory investigations and white-collar criminal defence cases. He is also experienced in international investigations by UK's Financial Conduct Authority, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Securities and Futures Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Richard Swallow, the head of the disputes and investigations practice at Slaughter and May, commented, "Ralph is an ideal addition to the team and his experience supplements our existing market-leading offering in financial services litigation and investigations. We are pleased to increase our presence in Hong Kong in addition to strengthening our global disputes and investigations practice."

Sellar's hire marks a relatively rare external partner hire for the prestigious firm. Slaughter and May is one of the few top US and UK law firms operating a pure lockstep structure wherein the partner pay is essentially based on seniority. Until now, it has made only two lateral partner hires in London, even though it is common in Hong Kong, where the lockstep does not apply. With Sellar's arrival, the partner count at the office is now 13.

Meanwhile, dual qualified in Hong Kong and English law, Woodworth has advised the co-ordinating committees of creditors in connection with the ongoing restructurings of several PRC property developers, which chimes with Linklaters' work advising Chinese property developers' restructuring cases amid the country's unprecedented property crisis.

William Liu, the Asia managing partner at Linklaters stated that Woodworth's hire demonstrated the firm's continued investment in its global R&I offering. He added, "Woodworth has an impressive track record and an established reputation as a technically strong and commercially pragmatic specialist with deep regional knowledge and experience."

Woodworth spent almost 12 years at Allen & Overy, where he founded and was co-head of the firm's Asia Pacific restructuring and recovery group. His work included advising the committee of lenders to shipbuilding industry group Vinashin and the secured creditor and appointed receivers on the restructuring of Baha Mar in the Bahamas.