Legal services firm Appleby has promoted three new partners and five Counsel in its annual round of promotions.One of the lawyers promoted to the partnership is Bermuda-based James Bodi.Mr Bodi initially joined Appleby in 1999 and rejoined the firm in 2004. He is a member of the banking and asset finance team within the corporate and commercial team in Bermuda.The company in a statement said Mr Bodi has “extensive experience in corporate finance and capital markets, with particular emphasis on the shipping, aviation and natural resources sectors”.Appleby is one of the world’s largest offshore providers of legal, fiduciary and administration services and has offices in a number of offshore jurisdictions, including Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands and the British Virgin Islands. It also has offices in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Zurich.Other than Mr Bodi, lawyers based in Guernsey, BVI, Jersey, and the Isle of Man have been promoted by Appleby.“These appointments support our strategy and our positioning as a leading offshore firm, delivering integrated advice cross-border by assembling the right team with the necessary expertise and experience to work on our clients’ projects,” said Appleby Group managing partner, Michael O’Connell.“Corporate and litigation are two of our core legal service lines. Last year we added several lateral hires to these teams, and we are continuing to bolster the strength of these practices by promoting three new partners and five Counsel in these areas, in our annual promotion round.“I very much look forward to continuing to work with these talented individuals as we focus on our strategic priorities and building our business in 2013.”Appleby Group chairman, Frances Woo, added: “These promotions come at an exciting time in our development when we are focused on our international growth, greater depth of our teams and maintenance of our presence as one of the leading offshore legal and fiduciary groups.”The new appointments became effective on April .The other partner promotions announced were Jeremy Berchem, a member of the corporate and commercial team in Guernsey, and barrister Andrew Willins who is head of the firm’s litigation and insolvency department in the British Virgin Islands.The Counsel promotions are Marc Guillaume, who joined Appleby in 2009 and practises in the private client and trusts team in Jersey, Michelle Hotchkiss who is a member of Appleby’s corporate and commercial department in the Isle of Man, Nadia Menezes in the corporate and commercial practice group in the BVI, Kyle Sutherland who is a member of Appleby’s corporate and commercial department in the Isle of Man, and Matthew Wrigley, a member of the corporate and commercial team in Guernsey.