Hurrion & Associates is less than a year old, but it has grown far beyond founding lawyer Sarah-Jane Hurrion’s expectations.

A Bermuda law firm specialising in international commercial litigation, corporate restructuring and insolvency, the focus is on providing offshore legal solutions for financial institutions, corporations and investment funds around the world, and doing it as efficiently as possible. It is a commercial litigation boutique firm, and the only one in the Island.

Hurrion & Associates has expanded rapidly from founder and managing partner Ms Hurrion’s single office operation, to an eight-strong team based in top-floor offices in Hamilton’s Continental Building.

The staff includes Bermudian attorney Lilla Zuill whose areas of concentration include commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards, Bermudian trainee attorney Mark Burrows, office manager Hiliary Every and a team of paralegals and additional office staff. The firm plans to hire two new Bermudian lawyers and additional support staff in the new year.

Ms Hurrion said: “With the inclusion of Mark, and hopefully two more young Bermudians lawyers next year, we are hoping to expand our remit — the litigation role.” She said the firm would also like to take on cases involving local undertakings, such as local landlord and tenant work, and in the employment and trust arena. “So we’ll broaden a little bit.”

When the lawyer started the firm her intention was, simply put, to see how it went. “And it’s going incredibly well!” she said.

“I had no expectations. We’ve had an incredible response and our client base has grown all year, and it continues to grow.

“We are getting extremely high quality work, and we have an amazing staff. We are now eight people, with a further eight (joining us) at the start of the next year.”

Ms Zuill added: “The fact that the company has grown so quickly is a testament to Sarah-Jane, because of her reputation as an advocate.”

Ms Hurrion is of international stature, currently ranked by the London-based Chambers Global as a leading individual in dispute resolution, and admitted to practice law in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and England and Wales. She explained she takes a commercial approach to dispute resolution and has acted in numerous high-profile collapses, previously for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and for the Joint Provisional Liquidators of Sea Containers Ltd.

She has also been involved in the Kingate Management Ltd and Butterfield Trust (Bermuda) Ltd versus Rutli Stiftung et al cases, among others.

She was called as a barrister to the bar of England and Wales by Gray’s Inn in London in 2001, five years later moving to the Cayman Islands to join Walkers Global in order to develop her international commercial, hedge fund and insolvency practice in commercial and dispute resolution.

The lawyer came to Bermuda to join Cox Hallett Wilkinson Limited in 2010, where she developed her international commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring practice.

In addition to her professional qualifications, Ms Hurrion holds a Master’s degree in jurisprudence from the University of Oxford. She has also co-authored ‘Guide of Restructuring and Insolvency in Bermuda PLC Handbook 2011-1012’, as well as the 2012-2013 edition.

Ms Hurrion explained the focus on commercial litigation, corporate restructuring and insolvency means the firm is conflict free: “Because we don’t have the trust or corporate work,” she explained.

She emphasised they also seek the best commercial solutions for their clients.

Ms Zuill said: “We are really focused on resolving matters as efficiently as possible.”

Ms Hurrion is a mother of two young children, one of whom was born this year. There was no maternity leave for the new parent.

To the delight of the staff, however, the new baby spent his first weeks in a crib in her office. Ms Hurrion emphasises that the firm is deeply aware of, and is responsive to, family responsibilities and makes a parent’s role in their children’s lives a priority. This approach has created a happy office with professionals who provide outstanding services to their clients, she explained.

“I think it is fair to say that I had always envisioned leading my own law firm one day. I was at the stage of my career when I thought it was the next logical step — the time seemed right to focus on my areas of speciality. And so we did it!”