A corporate lawyer who helped build the law firm Appleby Spurling & Kempe – now Appleby – was also a top sportsman and world traveller.

Ian Hilton was a managing partner at the then AS&K from the early 1980s. He played rugby for Bermuda, excelled at cricket and enjoyed scuba diving.

Mr Hilton skied demanding slopes all over the world and was a top golfer with a penchant for adventurous travel.

He was born in Oldham, a suburb of Manchester, England. He was an only child and attended Manchester Grammar school, one of Britain’s top schools.

Mr Hilton graduated from Manchester University with a bachelor of Laws in 1958 and was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1961.

He came to Bermuda that same year and was Called to the Bar in 1971.

Mr Hilton joined AS&K and remained with the firm until 1989.

As a partner at the firm, Mr Hilton attracted talent locally and from abroad.

His work ranged from general practice to company law, insolvency, trusts and estates.

Mr Hilton belonged to the Bermuda International Business Association, serving as secretary through much of the 1970s.

At Appleby Spurling & Kempe, the role of managing partner fell to Mr Hilton after the firm lost two senior partners in a short space of time.

Bill Kempe retired in 1980 and Sir Dudley Spurling stepped down a year later, leaving a handful of junior partners to inherit the leadership of the firm.

The company grew through the decade as Bermuda’s profile soared as a global hub for international business. It changed its name to Appleby in 2007.

Mr Hilton enjoyed bridge and remained an accomplished golfer into his later years.

• Ian Hilton, a corporate lawyer and managing partner at Appleby Spurling & Kempe, was born on July 24, 1938. He died on December 28, 2022, aged 84