Paul has practiced in Asia since 2007 when he joined the Banking Group of Allen & Overy’s Hong Kong office. During his time with Allen & Overy, Paul spent a year based in Allen & Overy’s Tokyo office.

Before moving to Asia, Paul trained at CMS Cameron McKenna in London, qualifying into their Leveraged and Acquisition Finance team in 2004. Prior to commencing his legal career, Paul worked for a global fund management firm based in the City of London.

Admitted In:
Bermuda, Registered Associate
British Virgin Islands 
England and Wales (not practising)

Qualifications:
Bachelor of Laws, Cardiff University

2022 Chambers Global - Offshore - Notable Practitioner

2022 Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Leading Individual - Paul Aherne is a key name for finance work and has a strong track record for complex financings involving detailed offshore structuring.

2022 Chambers Asia-Pacific - Recommended - Offshore: Corporate & Finance including Investment Funds - "...highly rated for his adept handling of corporate and financing transactions. He is regularly engaged by financial institutions and large corporations. He receives high praise from the market and is noted by one source as a "very good operator."

2021 Chambers Asia Pacific - Notable Practitioner -"Paul Aherne handles corporate and financing transactions and is regularly engaged by financial institutions and large corporations. One client says: 'He is commercial and easy to work with. His services are excellent value for money.' "

2021 Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Leading Individual - "The 'commercial and highly technical' Paul Aherne has excellent connections with numerous major international banks, that are appreciative of his broad-ranging expertise, which includes handling structured equity financing transactions with borrowers, securities providers, and counterparties incorporated in BVI or Cayman Islands. 

2020 Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific - Recognised Practitioner

2020 The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyer: 
"Paul Aherne has a 'broad perspective of the market' and is regularly at the forefront of the highest-profile mandates handled by the office, including his work for Deutsche Bank on the restructured financing to Noble Group and for Morgan Stanley on the financing of The Centre, one of Hong Kong's most prestigious commercial buildings."

2019 The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyer:
"Noted by one client as 'the best offshore debt lawyer in the market'"

"The 'very commercial' Paul Aherne recently advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch as lead arranger on the $3.6bn financing in support of the $6.8bn take-private of Hong Kong-listed shoe retailer Belle International Holdings."

2018 The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyer

2017 The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyer:
"Paul Aherne is ‘energetic and bright’."

ADVISORY

• Offshore Perspectives - Year of the Tiger Trends 2022 - The continuing impact of Covid-19 is clearly among the big talking points for 2022, with several que...
  
• Chinese and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges: Offshore Protection in a Volatile Market - Walkers is receiving an increasing number of enquiries from lenders, investors, investment managers ...
  
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ARTICLES

• Private Equity Survey Report - Asia and Middle East 2021 - While 2020 was a year of challenges and contradictions in the Asian private equity (“PE”) market...
  
• Global Fund Finance Trends 2022 - Off the back of another record breaking year of deals, both in size and volume, the resilience of th...
  
• Walkers Offshore Fund Finance Update – Asia, Europe & US Market - The global fund finance market remains resilient, with a positive outlook particularly in the credit...
  
• Lending and Investment into Europe from Asia – A Jersey and Guernsey Perspective - One trend we have watched with interest both before and throughout lockdown is the ever-increasing i...
  
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NEWS

• Walkers maintains double Tier 1 ranking in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2022 - We are pleased to announce that Walkers has maintained top tier status in The Legal 500's Asia-Pacif...
  
• Walkers Maintains Band 1 Ranking for Offshore in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022 - Walkers is pleased to announce that it has retained its top tier ranking for 'Offshore' legal servic...
  
• Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2021: Singapore and Hong Kong Offices Ranked Tier 1 - Walkers is pleased to announce its Singapore office has been ranked in Tier 1 in the newly launched ...
  
• Walkers Leads Chambers Asia Pacific Lawyer Rankings 2021 - Walkers is pleased to announce that it has retained its top tier ranking for 'Offshore' legal servic...
  
• Walkers Leads Offshore in Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2020 - Walkers' Hong Kong office has once again been ranked in Band 1 for Offshore Law by Legal 500 in the ...
  
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EVENTS

• Walkers Sponsors 5th Annual European Fund Finance Symposium - Walkers is proud to be the Silver sponsors for the fifth annual European Fund Finance Symposium on T...
  
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MATTERS

• Walkers Acts on Innovative Bond Financing of Mega Hong Kong Real Estate Purchase - Walkers advised Morgan Stanley as the mandated lead arranger of US$4.1 billion asset-backed senior b...
  
• Walkers Advises Blackstone in Take Private of China's Pactera - Walkers' Cayman Islands and Hong Kong offices advised funds managed by Blackstone in a $625 million ...
  
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