Appleby Hunter Bailhache has been recognised as a leader among offshore law firms in recent legal publications.

A statement from Appleby said recent rankings place Appleby as a leading firm in all four offshore jurisdictions in which the group has a presence: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands.

In recent years, Appleby has expanded rapidly, combining with Hunter & Hunter in the Cayman Islands in 2004 and then more recently merging with Bailhache Labesse in Jersey earlier this year.

Appleby also opened an office in the BVI in 2004 which has grown to include seven resident lawyers, with more expected in the New Year.

Appleby said the IFLR 1000 Directory, which focuses on corporate and commercial practices, placed Appleby in the top tier in Bermuda and in one of the top two tiers in the other three jurisdictions.

The Legal 500, another legal industry publisher, similarly ranked the firm as a market leader in Bermuda, and among the top tiers of firms in its other offshore locations.

Practical Law also ranked the corporate practices of the firm as Leading in Bermuda, highly recommended in Cayman and Jersey, and Recommended in the BVI.

For dispute resolution, the firm was in the Leading position in Bermuda, Jersey and Cayman.

Chambers Global Directory recently released their annual rankings and placed Appleby in the top two tiers for dispute resolution and corporate and commercial work in Bermuda.

Peter Bubenzer, John Riihiluoma, David Lines, Jennifer Fraser, Tim Counsell, Cameron Adderley and Kiernan Bell were specifically singled out for their reputations in their specific areas of practice, the statement said.

The firm was also in noted in the top tiers in the Cayman Islands and Jersey for both dispute resolution and corporate work, with the litigation practice in the top tier in all three jurisdictions.

The BVI practice was also recognised for both dispute resolution and its corporate and commercial practice.

At the recent Chambers Awards dinner in London, the firm was the only Bermuda firm among the finalists for Offshore Law Firm of the year. The firm won the award in 2005-06.