Offshore law firm Appleby is extending its network with the opening of offices in Dubai and in Zurich.

The expansion will enable Appleby to provide clients with greater access to the Middle East, Asian, Indian and African markets and to private bank and institutional services in Switzerland. The new offices, which will begin operation in early 2009, will increase Appleby’s focus on high growth international corporate and private wealth markets.

Appleby is the first of the “offshore magic circle” firms to do so; the new offices will provide local clients with direct access to offshore jurisdictions in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jersey and Mauritius.

The Dubai office will be staffed by Jeanne Bartlett, head of the firm’s global structured finance practice, with another partner and an assistant. The office will focus on investment funds, private equity, structured finance, major projects, property and private client services. Appleby has a significant inflow of work from the GCC region and the Dubai office will ensure this is expanded directly into the core offshore markets providing Middle East clients with a significant choice of offshore jurisdiction.

The Zurich office will focus on both corporate and private wealth markets providing private banks, wealth management and other institutions as well as middle East and Asian based clients whose funds are managed in Switzerland, with direct access to high level offshore services. On the corporate side, the office will focus on the insurance and funds sectors again to provide direct access to the firm’s specialist expertise in the Bermuda and Cayman markets. The office will be initially staffed by a partner and an assistant.

Appleby has expanded rapidly in the last three years with a total legal and professional staff of over 700 including 54 partners.