(Image via Getty)
Today brings us unfortunate news from Japan, where a Freshfields attorney was killed in an avalanche during a backcountry ski trip. Barnaby Levy, 34, was a senior associate with firm who advised corporations and financial institutions throughout the Asia-Pacific region on transactional tax issues.
The South China Morning Post has additional information:
Barnaby Levy (Image via LinkedIn)
Levy was backcountry skiing with his brother and a local guide on the southern flank of 703-metre-high Mount Pinneshiri in the town of Nakatombetsu, in northwest Hokkaido, when the avalanche struck around 11:30am on Saturday.
Local emergency services responded to reports that a group had been caught in an avalanche and scrambled a helicopter to recover Levy from the mountainside and transfer him to a nearby hospital, national broadcaster NHK reported. Levy was pronounced dead a short while after being admitted.
Levy’s brother and the guide both survived. An avalanche warning for Mount Pinneshiri had been issued due to “unseasonably warm winter conditions,” but Levy and his brother went on an off-piste ski route nonetheless. According to local media, now an investigation has been opened into why they went ahead with those plans.
The firm released the following statement upon receiving news of the senior associate’s death: “Barnaby Levy was a wonderful colleague, friend and lawyer. We are shocked and saddened by this news and he will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to his family and many friends at this difficult time.”
We here at Above the Law extend our condolences to Barnaby Levy’s family, friends, and colleagues during these trying times.
British lawyer who worked in Hong Kong dies in Japan avalanche [South China Morning Post]
Big-Law Senior Associate Killed in Japan Avalanche [Law.com International]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.