Spruson & Ferguson has made three promotions to principal as part of its 2021 round of promotions: Ken Bolton in Sydney, May Chan in Hong Kong and Adelia Lin in Singapore were all promoted to principal. The appointments were part of a broader group of 14 promotions made firm-wide in the Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong offices. Alongside the three principal appointments, two special counsel, two senior associate and seven associate promotions were announced.

Ken Bolton, a member of the firm’s engineering/ICT, practice, was promoted to principal in Sydney. Bolton is a highly experienced patent attorney, with a career in IP spanning 25 years. Since joining Spruson & Ferguson, he has become a highly valued member of its engineering/ICT team and is now responsible for some of the firm’s most-valued clients.

May Chan, a member of the firm’s trademarks team, was promoted to principal in Hong Kong. Chan has been with the firm for 12 years in Hong Kong and is an experienced trademarks attorney. She has been involved extensively in trademark prosecution, opposition and invalidation proceedings in China, Hong Kong and Macau as well as other Asian jurisdictions.

Adelia Lin, a member of the firm’s chemical/life sciences practice, was promoted to principal in Singapore. Lin has been with the firm for nine years and qualified in Singapore after training with the firm. Her new role will add to the depth of the biotech leadership team in its Asian business.

The following were promoted to special counsel:

Jacqueline Chelebian was promoted at Spruson & Ferguson Lawyers in Melbourne, where she is a commercial litigator specializing in intellectual property disputes. She has acted in numerous contentious IP matters, including large-scale patent disputes and proceedings.

Cedric Yip, part of the trademarks team, was promoted in Hong Kong. He has been with Spruson & Ferguson for 17 years; his extensive experience includes trademark prosecution not only for Hong Kong and mainland China but also throughout Asia.

The following were promoted to senior associate:

Kristen Fu, part of the trademarks team, was promoted in Beijing. Fu has been with Spruson & Ferguson for four years as a trademarks attorney.

Han Chun Kua, part of the engineering/ICT team, was promoted in Singapore. Kua has been with Spruson & Ferguson for eight years and is dual qualified in Singapore and Malaysia.

The following were promoted to associate:

Kate Baumann, chemical/life sciences, in Brisbane

Tatiana Dudina, engineering/ICT, in Sydney

Marie Kidd, chemical/life sciences, in Sydney

Chelsea Peters, trademarks, in Brisbane

Chi Pu,engineering/ICT, in Sydney

Eric Shaw, engineering/ICT, in Brisbane

Vivian Tran, trademarks, in Sydney

Kristian Robinson, Spruson & Ferguson managing director of Asia, and Russell Davies, managing director of Australia, acknowledge the great achievement made by all who were promoted in reaching the next stage in their careers.