Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has named Ian Ivory as its new corporate head for Asia. Ivory is relocating to Hong Kong from Moscow, where he was head of English law at Goltsblat BLP for seven years.

Ivory has experience in corporate finance as well as cross-border M&A and joint ventures, as is expected to help BLP enhance working relations between its Asian and Russian operations.

“We have seen increased client demand across Asia for cross-border transactional expertise and Ian’s relocation will expand the breadth and depth of our capabilities in this area, ensuring that we are delivering the best legal advice,” said Bob Charlton, BLP’s head of Asia, in a statement.

In March this year, BLP acquired Haley & Co, a Hong Kong-based construction and arbitration boutique firm. The merger gave BLP’s Hong Kong office full arbitration capabilities.