The offshore law firm Appleby has added to its teams in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

The firm added Michael Mello QC to its private client and trusts practice in Bermuda, effective next month.

Mello joins the practice as counsel, having previously been a founding partner at Mello, Jones & Martin. His expertise focuses on trusts, wills and estates, the firm said.

Last October Appleby promoted Vanessa Schrum as Bermuda local practice group head for the private client and trusts practice group.

Schrum, a trust practitioner in the Bermuda office, has been with Appleby for 13 years and has extensive experience in advising on a wide range of trust and estate planning matters.

Meanwhile, Shaun Tracey recently joined the firm in the Cayman Islands as an associate in the litigation and insolvency practice group. He will focus primarily on the areas of insurance and reinsurance dispute resolution, negligence claims, fund and shareholder disputes, and fraud litigation.

Previously, he has advised multinational companies, insurers, professional firms, fiduciary service providers and their professional directors, banks, government departments, and private clients. He has also undertaken secondments to a division of Barclays and Travelers Insurance Company.