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Froomkin quits MJM to join ISIS expansion

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Saul Froomkin

Saul Froomkin OBE, QC, has ended his 20-year association with Law firm Mello, Jones & Martin to join ISIS Law.The former Attorney General will lead the firm’s litigation department and his move is part of an expansion that Sharon Beesley, ISIS Law Director, said showed that they were bucking the trend by expanding in a still fragile economy.Mr Froomkin’s departure from MJM meanwhile comes at a time of major re-organisation within the firm, who have also lost the services of Michael Mello and Juliana Snelling.“The firm will continue in practice under the name MJM from the same premises at Thistle House, Burnaby Street Hamilton with the remaining partners and staff, and we are in the process of incorporating under the name MJM Limited,” said Alan Dunch, partner.As well as hiring Mr Froomkin, ISIS have also hired Jane Walker as a Senior Corporate Attorney, while former pupil Stephanie Paiva Sanderson has been named as a new Associate.“Saul has a wealth of experience and we are very excited that he is joining the ISIS Law team,” Sharon Beesley, ISIS Law Director, said. “Saul will lead our litigation department and will provide great value to our clients.”After practising law in Manitoba for eight years, Mr Froomkin spent nine years in the Government of Canada as a senior advisory counsel in the civil litigation section, then as director of criminal law for the Department of Justice.Mr Froomkin moved to Bermuda in 1978 where he served as Solicitor General from 1978 to 1981 and Attorney General from 1981 to 1991 before joining Mello Jones and Martin.“I am extremely pleased to be joining ISIS Law which is such an innovative firm,” said Mr Froomkin.The addition of Ms Walker and Ms Sanderson was also warmly welcomed by ISIS with Marco Montarsolo, director of ISIS Law expressing his delight at the moves.“We are excited to be welcoming Jane Walker to our corporate team,” he said. “Jane was a Senior Associate at Appleby and is highly regarded for corporate restructuring, mergers and asset-financed transactions.“In addition, we are delighted that Stephanie Paiva Sanderson decided to remain with ISIS Law as an Associate after her pupillage completed.”ISIS Law was established by Ms Beesley and Mr Montarsolo in April 2008, and subsequently incorporated as ISIS Law Limited, a specialist law firm focused on investment fund and cross border structured transactions.In addition to the firm’s involvement with overseas clients, ISIS Law acted as an advisor on two recent local acquisitions namely the purchase of Bermuda Commercial Bank and the Butterfield Fulcrum Group.“We are proud that ISIS Law’s business model seeks to combine the highest professional standards with a commitment to corporate social responsibility,” Ms Beesley said.“ISIS Law, as part of the ISIS Group, is linked to The ISIS Foundation, an international development organisation whose mission is to make a positive difference to the lives of children living in poverty in Nepal and Uganda through education, healthcare and community development projects.”While ISIS are expanding, MJM face a period of change which Mr Dunch said the firm was embracing with ‘an optimistic outlook’.“We have embraced the changes with an optimistic outlook for the future, despite the challenges the economy has posed for all legal services firms,” he said. “The incorporation allows the firm to grow and develop and compete within a more modern business framework.”Mr Mello, a senior and founding partner, headed up the firm’s wills and estates group. Mr Mello is considered to one of Bermuda’s leading authorities in that area of law. According to MJM’s website, he “literally wrote the book on wills and estates practice in Bermuda.”Ms Snelling headed up the employment team at Mello Jones & Martin. Ms Snelling has been practising employment law for more than 15 years and has been a partner at MJM’s litigation and employment practice group since 2001.Mr Dunch said of the three lawyers: “We are proud of our association with the departing partners and wish them well in their new endeavours.”The firm celebrated its 20th anniversary in July 2010 and provides law services in various areas, including corporate and commercial, insurance, litigation, employment law and immigration, family, property, trusts and estate planning.The milestone marked 20 years since the merger between Mello & Jones and Hollis & Co to become Mello Hollis Jones & Martin, which became Mello Jones & Martin in February 2000. Mello Jones & Martin moved to its current home in Thistle House at 4 Burnaby Street in March 2006.

Juliana Snelling
Michael Mello
Stephanie Paiva Sanderson,
Jane Walker