The new office will be operational in the spring of this year and will practise Guernsey law with a focus on corporate, commercial, private client, litigation, insolvency and restructuring and following approval by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, a complete range of fiduciary services.

The company says the move will support Appleby's strategy to offer clients the widest choice of sophisticated financial centres through which to invest, and establishes the firm's position as the only offshore legal, fiduciary and administration service provider with a major foothold in eight of the world's leading offshore business centres.

Appleby Guernsey will initially comprise two group partners, Barney Lee and Helen Crossley, in the corporate team and two partners, Jeremy Le Tissier and Gavin Ferguson, in the litigation, insolvency and private client and trust teams.

Following the establishment of Appleby Guernsey, the firm will have 12 offices worldwide in the key offshore centres of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, Seychelles and Guernsey, as well as the leading financial centres of London, Hong Kong, Zurich and Bahrain.

The move follows the firm's successful launch in the Isle of Man, through its merger with Dickinson Cruickshank, and new office openings in the Seychelles, Bahrain and Zurich in 2009, taking Appleby to 79 partners and over 210 lawyers, and a total of more than 800 staff.

Sean Dowling, managing partner of the Isle of Man office, said the company was very excited about the latest development.

'Our entry into the Guernsey market will offer our corporate, institutional and private clients with greater resources and a broader range of structures and jurisdictions, unmatched by any other offshore law firm,' he said.

'We believe that this move will solidify Appleby's position as the first choice for clients in the offshore sector.'