Law firm Appleby Spurling Hunter yesterday said two senior partners were retiring while naming four new partners.

The firm, which last year merged with a Cayman firm and changed its long-standing name of Appleby Spurling & Kempe, said it is now bidding adieu to group senior partner Richard D. Spurling.

Also retiring is senior corporate partner Kenneth E. T. Robinson.

Meanwhile, the new partners are Bradfield Adderley and Scott Swainson in the Bermuda office, Stephen James in the Cayman Islands office and Liza Lam in the Hong Kong office.

Mr. Robinson will remain active as senior counsel to the Appleby group.

Managing partner Peter Bubenzer said: "We are very sorry to lose the talent and energy of Rick Spurling and Ken Robinson as partners, as each of them has made a tremendous contribution to creating the successful and growing international organisation that we have now become.

"The partners are delighted to be able to continue to work with Ken Robinson, as senior counsel, respecting and valuing his experience and legal skills, and his enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge with others."

In praise of Mr. Spurling, Mr. Bubenzer said: "Rick Spurling has had a career dedicated not only to the development of this group, but also to exemplifying this group's tradition of service to our communities.

"He has served as president of the Chamber of Commerce; as a 20-year trustee of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research Inc.; as a member and Government Whip of Parliament in Bermuda and most recently as founder of the new charity, the St. David's Island Historical Society which runs Carter House. He will continue with a number of directorships including Belco, BF&M and W.P. Stewart Co. Ltd. as well as other charitable works."

In Bermuda, the new partners are to the insurance and property departments.

Mr. Adderley, a member of the insurance team in the Bermuda Corporate and Commercial Practice Group, joined Appleby in 1997. He was called to the Bermuda Bar in 1998, after graduating from The College of Law in Guildford, England, and receiving a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Wake Forest in North Carolina. He focuses on insurance incorporations, segregated accounts structures, formations, transactions and finance.

Scott Swainson is the manager of the Bermuda Property Practice Group where he focuses exclusively on commercial and residential property transactions, including advising lenders, owners and developers.

He has practised in Bermuda since 1993 and joined Appleby in 1998. He was called to the Bermuda Bar in 1994 and the Bar of England and Wales in 1992. He received his law degree from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, and is a graduate of Queen's University, Ontario, Canada.

Appleby Spurling Hunter is a leading provider of specialised offshore legal services and maintains offices in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, London and Hong Kong.