Swift, an experienced English solicitor who is now also a Manx advocate, has been named an associate in the litigation and insolvency team, a new position at the firm.
Most recently, Swift combined running a private practice in Liverpool with being a deputy district judge there. During a 25-year career he also spent two years in the legal department of Royal Life, where he dealt with disputes involving the provision of financial services, Appleby said. Royal Life at that time was part of the Royal Insurance group, which subsequently became Royal & Sun.
Swift said he had decided to leave Liverpool and start afresh on the Isle of Man – even though this involved having to sit the first professional exams he’d faced in 27 years – for reasons of “lifestyle and challenge”.
Appleby Group, which officially was named the world’s largest firm by The Lawyer magazine in March, employs more than 800 lawyers and professional specialists in offices throughout the world, including Bermuda — where Appleby has its roots — as well as Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and the Seychelles. It also has a presence in such international financial centres as London, Hong Kong, Zurich and Bahrain.