Allen & Overy has appointed litigation and investigations specialist Eugene Chen to its Asia Pacific litigation and investigations group. Chen will be based in Hong Kong. Having originally practised in the US (California and Washington, DC) before relocating to Shanghai in 2007, Chen has significant US trial experience and is fluent in English and Mandarin. He joins from Hogan Lovells, where he was head of the PRC disputes group and brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations, China-side regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, and China inbound and outbound disputes. Chen will work hand in hand with FCPA and US white collar partner Jason Gray, based in Sydney, as well as global FCPA and investigation practitioners.
Squire Patton Boggs launched a global commodities and shipping group with the addition of partners Barry Stimpson and Jessica Kenworthy, who 
join the firm’s Singapore office from Reed Smith. Having worked in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, Stimpson brings more than 25 years’ experience handling matters in the international trade, shipping, offshore energy, construction and insurance sectors. He has been in the Asia-Pacific region for over 20 years, and was the founding partner of Reed Smith’s Singapore office when it was established in 2012, as well as the office managing partner from 2016 to 2018. His practice covers both disputes and advisory work. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a fellow and panel arbitrator of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. 
Kenworthy’s practice covers a broad range of financings, with a specialization in complex commodity financings and ship financings. She has been involved in a wide range of commodity finance-related transactions, in particular acting for lenders, trading houses and multilaterals. Her recent transactions include international structured trade financings and pre-export, prepayment, receivables and limited recourse structures in emerging markets, with a particular focus on transactions in South East Asia, China, India, Indonesia and Mongolia, as well as transactions in the CIS, Africa, South America and London. Kenworthy has worked on a number of award winning deals, including deals in Indonesia, Mongolia, Greece, Ukraine and China. Her practice also covers ship finance, and she has handled a large number of ship sale / purchase transactions and the financing of new buildings and secondhand vessels, both debt and sale and leaseback structures involving time charters, CVCs and contracts of affreightment.
