The Cayman Islands Law Society (CILS) has responded to a letter addressed to Financial Services Minister Hon. Wayne Panton by four lawyers that the 2016 Bill has been prepared through a less than transparent process.
CILS President Alasdair Robertson said: “CILS have campaigned for a significant number of years to ensure the current, outdated law is modernised, with a particular focus on the need for there to be a nexus to the Cayman Islands, something which is lacking at present.
We would like to respond to the recent letter by a small number of lawyers to Hon Panton and address some of the concerns raised.
CILS represents a wide range of lawyers and is open to membership to all attorneys admitted in the Cayman Islands. We have over 400 members (of which the aforementioned four lawyers have not chosen to be members) and over 30 member firms, ranging from sole practitioners to the larger law firms.
The most recent 2016 LPB substantially incorporates many of the concepts and proposals found in previous LPB drafts, including the 2008 CBA and CILS versions, the prior Law Reform Commission report, as well as many elements from the 2013 draft Bill. The 2016 Bill was prepared by a parliamentary draftsperson well versed in drafting Cayman Islands legislation and based on a position paper approved by Cabinet.
In reference to the practice of law overseas, CILS agree that the current law needs to be updated to reflect the modern reality of the legal profession. In 2012, CILS commissioned the Grant Thornton report, which demonstrated that over US$24m of revenue to the Cayman Islands Government was generated by the foreign offices of Cayman’s larger law firms. This large revenue demonstrates that the legal profession is a key driver for Cayman’s financial services industry, bringing employment not only to the law firms in the islands, but also many other related industries, including company management, independent directorships, IT, marketing and compliance.
The larger, multi-jurisdictional law firms are the key reason as to why over 200 Caymanians are now working in the legal profession. These firms offer articles and employment to Caymanians once qualified, creating opportunities for Caymanians to be part of the legal profession without having to go overseas.
The largest 14 multi-national law firms in the Cayman Islands employ 134 of the 200 Caymanian attorneys, not to mention that over 45 of these lawyers have had the opportunity to be seconded to the overseas offices. The operation of overseas offices increase job opportunities in the legal profession here, rather than taking away work from Cayman.
The Grant Thornton report also noted that these larger law firms have provided over 100 legal scholarships and 200 non-legal scholarships. A law that is too protectionist will reduce these opportunities for Caymanians both within and outside the profession.
Whilst we strongly disagree with the assertions in relation to the overseas offices, CILS do agree that the current LPB requires modernisation in order for the Cayman legal profession to evolve with the globalisation of our industry.
In regards to opportunities for consultation, the 2016 Bill includes elements from the 2013 draft Bill. The 2016 Bill was gazetted on September 12, providing a period of 21 days for consultation, as well as Hon. Panton holding a public meeting on the LPB for concerns to be voiced and the CBA holding their own meeting for their Members to explain it and publishing a FAQ document on their website.
Despite all of the above, the Minister has also extended the current consultation period in order for small firms and sole practitioners to voice their concerns and to be sure that these are incorporated as appropriate.
The current law is simply inadequate and we have been working hard, alongside the CBA, to ensure this new draft is fair and balanced and that it protects Cayman’s position as a jurisdiction of choice in key financial markets such as Asia. The 2016 Bill which is supported by over 80% of our membership, is in our view, the best attempt so far to ensure fairness and modernisation of our legal profession.
We will be failing the next generation of lawyers if we don’t act now to remedy and provide a better foundation to allow Cayman Islands law to continue to grow and provide opportunities.”
