John Trehey
Global Head of Dispute Resolution and Insolvency
- Hong Kong
Areas of Expertise
John leads Maples and Calder’s global Dispute Resolution & Insolvency practice and is Co-Head of the firm’s Hong Kong office. In addition to litigation and insolvency, his practice encompasses mergers and acquisitions, banking and general corporate. He has a broad international client base comprised of major corporates, financial institutions and insolvency-related officeholders. His expertise covers both British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands law.
John joined the Maples Group in 2005 and was elected as a partner in 2009. He previously worked for Herbert Smith in Hong Kong and, before that, Buddle Findlay in New Zealand. John has been named as being among Hong Kong’s best dispute resolution lawyers, and recognised on multiple occasions by Asian Legal Business as one of Asia’s top 10 offshore lawyers. He is also recommended as a leading litigation lawyer by The Legal 500 in its tier 1 recognition of the Maples Group, ranked as a highly regarded practitioner by IFLR1000, named by Who’s Who Legal as one of Hong Kong’s leading insolvency and restructuring lawyers, and recently recognised in the 2025 Lexology Index: Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR Report for his excellence in restructuring & insolvency.
Speaking Engagement
Maples Insights | Litigation, Restructuring & Insolvency Forum Hong Kong
1997 – Admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand (not practising)
2004 – Admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong (not practising)
2005 – Admitted as a solicitor of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands)
2005 – Admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales (not practising)
University of Auckland, New Zealand