On paper at least, history will show that 2019 was a very good year. Encouraged by sustained low interest rates, declining trade policy uncertainty and diminished fears of an economic slowdown, US stock markets led the way: the S&P 500 ended the year up 28% and the Nasdaq 35%. Meanwhile, the Europe-wide STOXX 600 increased by 23% and the FTSE 100 by a more modest 12%.
But on the ground, things seemed a little different for many offshore law firms. ‘Even by recent standards, 2019 was an extraordinary year in geopolitical and macro-economic terms: US-China trade wars, Brexit uncertainty, volatility in the US dollar/GBP exchange rate, tension in Hong Kong and the growing risk of a global economic downturn,’ says Jonathan Rigby, global managing partner of Mourant.
Rather than a single global event, he notes, it was the combination of these factors that had the greatest impact, ‘bringing peaks and troughs in workflow and making it challenging, at times, to plan ahead’. Alex Ohlsson, group managing partner of Carey Olsen, concurs: ‘Uncertainties have impacted business confidence and this in turn has impacted deal flow.’
For some offshore leaders, uncertainty had a natural apotheosis. ‘Brexit undoubtedly had the biggest impact on Appleby over 2019,’ says its new group managing partner, Malcolm Moller. ‘With shifting deadlines, extravagant promises, cantankerous debates and radically differing visions for the future proposed by different political parties, and sometimes by individuals from within the same party, the trials and tribulations of Brexit have always loomed large. This uncertainly fed into conversations across just about every practice area with clients understandably nervous about new and existing commitments.’
Jason Romer, group managing partner of Collas Crill, adds: ‘Brexit created significant uncertainty, which has been uncomfortable for everyone affected and the market in general. As a consequence, many investors have been reluctant to commit to deals.’
However, Ingrid Pierce, global managing partner of Walkers, strikes a different note: ‘Brexit continued to have a (mostly positive) impact on our business as we continued to advise regulated financial services providers on migrations from the UK to Ireland.’ Walkers established a new employment group in Dublin last year. ‘Several clients who sought to establish an Irish presence as part of their Brexit contingency planning required employment law advice as they looked to expand their footprint in Ireland,’ she adds.
The stock market numbers also tell another story, in part fuelled by global M&A that hit $3.9tn in aggregate value last year – albeit half of this figure related to US deals. One of the largest was Takeda Pharmaceutical’s £46bn acquisition of Shire: the biggest-ever outbound M&A deal by a Japanese company and the largest-ever takeover of a Jersey company. Ogier advised Takeda while Mourant advised Shire. But even Edward Mackereth, Ogier’s managing partner, notes: ‘The impact of recent trade disputes on the flow of capital between Asia and the US has definitely dampened the growth in deal flows.’
‘Brexit uncertainty has been uncomfortable for the market in general. Many investors have been reluctant to commit to deals.’
Jason Romer, Collas Crill
While lawyer headcount at many offshore firms was either flat or showed modest growth last year, Ogier and Walkers continued to buck the trend. Mackereth notes that Ogier’s compound annual headcount growth over the past three years has been 22%, while Pierce says Walkers had a record partner promotion round last year. In less than five years, Walkers has doubled its lawyer numbers, including a 13% growth in legal fee-earner headcount last year.
Both firms remain dwarfed in overall terms by the Maples Group, which consolidated its Maples and Calder and MaplesFS (Maples Financial Services) offerings under a single brand in 2019, taking total staff headcount beyond 2,000 people. Maples also expanded its global footprint to 18 locations worldwide, opening new offices in Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, China, Jersey and Luxembourg, although it only offers legal services in the last two on the list. ‘Being able to combine business lines, including legal, fiduciary, fund administration and entity formation and management services is a powerful solution for clients, and this formula continues to drive our growth,’ says Jonathan Green, the firm’s new managing partner.
For large firms without a Channel Islands presence, such as Harneys and Conyers Dill & Pearman, other factors loomed large. While it has no plans to be in the Channel Islands, Harneys merged with M Partners to form Harneys Luxembourg. ‘As a result of the merger we gained four Luxembourg partners,’ says chairman, Peter Tarn. Meanwhile, Conyers chair, Christian Luthi, notes: ‘The unrest in Hong Kong and the US/China trade wars have been a source of concern. Fortunately, Asian business remains robust, although we expect an uptick in Asian restructuring work in the next couple of quarters.’
According to Tarn, economic substance requirements have been ‘one of the most fundamental shifts in our business environment since the late ’90s, bringing both challenges and opportunities’. Economic substance concerns have resulted in a huge amount of advisory work as investors, funds, businesses and individuals have all been pulled into its orbit. The new regulations that came into force in 2019 require entities carrying on specific types of business in key offshore jurisdictions to demonstrate adequate economic substance in that jurisdiction.
Ohlsson notes: ‘The introduction of economic substance requirements across offshore jurisdictions over the past 12 months has, without question, been a significant area of focus for businesses. Our teams across Bermuda, the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey have been busy advising on all substance matters.’
So what do firms anticipate for 2020? ‘Clients will reposition for growth or downsizing depending on the markets,’ says Pierce. Meanwhile, Mackereth points to ‘multifaceted uncertainty: the nuts and bolts of the Brexit trade agreement, whether the China-US trade war and investor confidence will continue, or whether the storm clouds will part and global growth will accelerate’.
Despite numerous headwinds, Rigby remains upbeat. ‘The prospect of a global economic downturn has receded, there is growing hope of a breakthrough in the US-China trade war, and the recent election result has delivered much needed political stability in the UK and clarity over the country’s membership of the EU.’
Below are snapshots of the ten largest offshore firms in 2019, focusing on their recent performance and practice growth.
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APPLEBY
Lawyers: 184, including 70 partners
Offices: Ten (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, Seychelles, Shanghai)
Group managing partner: Malcolm Moller (Mauritius)
Focus: Corporate, dispute resolution, private client/trusts, property and regulatory
Recent standout work: Representing HSBC in a £7bn longevity swap associated with its pension plan members and a reinsurance transaction – the second largest on record; advising Santander on the transfer of its banking businesses in Jersey and the Isle of Man, a complex multi-jurisdictional restructuring involving court-sanctioned schemes in both jurisdictions
‘Our leading clients in terms of revenue continue to be dominated by global banking groups and we are seeing an increase in revenue across these clients.’
Malcolm Moller, Appleby
Following a management buyout of its fiduciary arm Estera in 2016, Appleby became the latest offshore firm to return to the market launching a new fiduciary business, Appleby Global Services (AGS), in February 2019. Moller, who was appointed group managing partner in January, says it is ‘a significant part of Appleby’s growth strategy’. AGS launched in six jurisdictions (Bermuda, Cayman, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey and Mauritius) and has secured a licence to open in Seychelles from early 2020. ‘The business is growing rapidly, ahead of target in its first year,’ he adds.
Pointing to continued steady growth overall, Moller notes: ‘Our leading clients in terms of revenue continue to be dominated by global banking groups and we are seeing an increase in revenue across these clients.’ Appleby has also seen a year-on-year strengthening in retention of its top 25 clients. In the latest financial year, the firm worked for 23 of its top 25 clients (92%), compared to 88% the previous year and 80% two years ago.
There has also been a significant rise in economic substance advice for clients in 2019: a revenue increase of 366% in this area compared to the previous year and therefore a major source of fee income, particularly in Bermuda, BVI and Cayman. That apart, Appleby continues to capitalise on its position as the only offshore law firm operating in every Crown Dependency, advising banking and institutional clients across the three jurisdictions. Appleby has led on all six major restructurings completed by UK banks in the Crown Dependencies since 2013, involving cumulative assets of a round £50bn.
BEDELL CRISTIN
Fee earners: 86, including 29 partners
Offices: Six (BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Global managing partner: Tim Pearce (Jersey)
Focus: Banking, capital markets, property, corporate/commercial, insolvency/restructuring, insurance/reinsurance, investment funds, litigation, private client, probate, regulatory and compliance
Recent standout work: Acting for Inflexion Private Equity Partners on the acquisition of Estera, a global provider of funds, corporate and trust services, from Bridgepoint; advising a US hedge fund, the majority creditor of Four Seasons Health Care, on Jersey, Guernsey, BVI and Cayman law
‘We have had a lot of interest in our traditional offshore centres, such as Jersey and Guernsey, as a result of what is happening in Hong Kong.’
Tim Pearce, Bedell Cristin
‘This year has been one of consolidation because in October 2018 we merged with Solomon Harris in Cayman,’ says Bedell’s global managing partner Tim Pearce. ‘Following the split from what became Ocorian [formerly Bedell Trust] in September 2016, the firm has had to make many changes and a lot of investment. Cayman was part of that and our Cayman property team is absolutely booming. BVI litigation is another part: 2019 was our best year in the last five.’
Given the uncertainty over the US-China trade war and potential conflict with Iran, notes Pearce, people want to put their capital in a stable environment like Cayman. ‘We have also had a lot of interest in our traditional offshore centres, such as Jersey and Guernsey, as a result of what is happening in Hong Kong,’ he notes. ‘A lot of our clients are now routing their capital through our Singapore office and using that as a hub instead.’
Consolidation has also involved building strength across the firm. In 2019, six partners were laterally hired: in the Channel Islands, corporate partner Sara Johns joined the Jersey office from Ogier while another corporate partner, Dylan Latimer, joined the Guernsey office from Mourant. Two partners were also hired in Cayman: Joss Morris joined the corporate team from Collas Crill and Andrew Miller joined from Walkers as head of international private client. Meanwhile, Tim Wright joined from Carey Olsen as head of dispute resolution in BVI and Kerrie Le Tissier joined from Collas Crill as an international private client partner in Guernsey.
CAREY OLSEN
Lawyers: 235, including 59 partners
Offices: Nine (Bermuda, BVI, Cape Town, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Group managing partner: Alex Ohlsson (Jersey)
Chair: John Kelleher (Jersey)
Focus: Banking and finance, corporate and commercial, investment funds and private equity, dispute resolution, trusts/private wealth, property, employment and insurance
Recent standout work: Advising insurance company Marsh & McLennan on its acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group for $5.6bn; representing Asia Private Credit Fund and Adamas Asia Strategic Opportunity Fund in Cayman and Hong Kong, joint voluntary liquidators of two investment funds in separate but related cases
‘Our growth in Asia continued apace in 2019 with the launch of a BVI and Cayman corporate practice in Hong Kong and a BVI and Cayman litigation practice in Singapore.’
Alex Ohlsson, Carey Olsen
‘Our growth in Asia continued apace in 2019 with the launch of a new BVI and Cayman Islands corporate practice in Hong Kong and a new BVI and Cayman Islands litigation practice in Singapore,’ says Alex Ohlsson, group managing partner of Carey Olsen. This was supplemented by lateral hires of disputes partners Michael Padarin and James Webb, both from Walkers.
Other lateral partners were hired last year: corporate partner, Jasmine Amaria, who joined the London office, also from Walkers; litigation and insolvency partner Richard Brown, who joined from the London office of Harneys; and James Noble, who launched the firm’s BVI and Cayman litigation practice in Singapore, having been the managing partner of Harneys’ Singapore office.
At the end of 2019, Carey Olsen employed 470 people. This includes 235 lawyers (up 11% on 2018 and up 15% on 2017). Partner numbers went up from 52 in 2018 to 59 at the end of last year. Ohlsson notes that the firm has also added a Bermuda law capability in Hong Kong with the relocation of Henry Tucker and Kyle Masters, a move that means ‘Carey Olsen is the only offshore law firm in Hong Kong and Singapore that can offer on-the-ground advice of Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey law’. Having initially launched in 2017 with just one lawyer, managing partner Michael Hanson, the Bermuda operation has since grown to four partners and a total of 14 lawyers.
COLLAS CRILL
Lawyers: 82, including 34 partners
Offices: Seven (BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Jersey, Hong Kong, London, Singapore)
Group managing partner: Jason Romer (Guernsey)
Chair: Nigel Vooght (London)
Focus: Banking/finance, capital markets, corporate/commercial, dispute resolution/insolvency, investment funds/private equity, trusts/fiduciary/private client services, property, risk and regulatory, and UK real estate
Recent standout work: Advising Arif Naqvi, former chairman/chief executive of The Abraaj Group, on provisional liquidations and potential restructuring of financial obligations, valued at $500m, spanning Cayman, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa; defending the professional trustee against an allegation of breach of trust and conspiracy in a £70m claim, AFS Trustee v Wilton Trustees, and successfully opposing appointment of a receiver over the BVI company
‘Our strategy over the past five years has been to diversify revenue streams and establish an international footprint. This has enabled us to double in size.’
Jason Romer, Collas Crill
‘Our strategy over the past five years has been to diversify revenue streams and establish an international footprint, serving our clients in the jurisdictions in which they operate,’ says Jason Romer, group managing partner of Collas Crill. ‘This approach has served us well and has enabled us to double the size of the firm in that time.’
Having extended its reach through mergers – Collas Day in Guernsey and Crill Canavan in Jersey (2011); Charles Adams Ritchie & Duckworth in Cayman (2015); and Farara Kerins in the BVI (2017) – organic growth has since become the key strategic objective. In November 2019, Collas Crill Compliance was launched to provide governance, risk and compliance, and anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing services, to regulated and non-regulated businesses.
Dispute resolution continues to dominate the firm, in particular high-profile insolvencies, and with the evolution of trust structures, disputes between second-generation beneficiaries. ‘We’ve made several strategic lateral hires in recent years, which have been instrumental in developing the global DR practice,’ says Romer. Last year, these included corporate finance and funds partner Matthew Gilley, who joined from Ogier in Jersey, and Tom Mylott, head of international private client and trusts in Cayman, who joined from Scotiabank. Romer notes that the BVI office has seen a significant increase in corporate advisory and restructuring work arising from new economic substance legislation.
CONYERS DILL & PEARMAN
Lawyers: 136, including 58 partners
Offices: Eight (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mauritius, Singapore)
Chair: Christian Luthi (Bermuda)
Focus: Corporate (including aviation, banking and finance, capital markets, hedge funds, insurance, M&A, private equity/venture capital and shipping), dispute resolution, private client/trust, intellectual property (IP) and real estate
Recent standout work: Advising Aircastle on its $7.4bn acquisition by Marubeni Corporation and Mizuho Leasing Company; advising Luxoft, an NYSE-listed software development company on its $2bn acquisition by DXC Technology – the largest ever takeover by value of a publicly listed BVI company; acting for PagSeguro Digital on its $653.3m secondary follow-on offering on the NYSE
‘Litigation has enjoyed the strongest performance. While corporate had a good year, we have not seen the same number of company incorporations as before.’
Christian Luthi, Conyers Dill & Pearman
Conyers headcount grew by about 6% in 2019, according to Christian Luthi, with 19 new fee-earners anticipated to be joining in the 2019-20 financial year. ‘We have continued to grow and strengthen our Cayman offering, with three lateral partner hires,’ he adds, pointing to ‘a steady flow in restructuring and insolvency work across the board’. Nicholas Pattman, corporate (funds) partner, joined from Walkers and litigation partner Jonathon Milne from Mourant, while disputes partner Alex Potts QC will soon be joining from Kennedys.
‘Litigation has enjoyed the strongest performance,’ says Luthi. ‘While the corporate practice had a good year we have not seen the same number of company incorporations as before across the three jurisdictions in which we operate.’
Conyers has hired experienced associates across its corporate and litigation practices in Bermuda, Cayman and in BVI. ‘In Hong Kong and Singapore, we see demand for further increasing our capability, particularly in dispute resolution,’ says Luthi. In Bermuda, he points to insolvency and restructuring work sourced in Asia and significant energy restructuring matters. However, the big-ticket litigation continues to be in trusts, while the busiest areas for Conyers’ BVI litigation practice continue to be asset tracing and asset recovery work as well as shareholder disputes and receiverships. Conyers acted in the longest BVI Commercial Court trial of the year, Yao v Kwok, an Asia-based shareholder dispute.
HARNEYS
Lawyers: 182, including 60 partners
Offices: Nine (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, Cyprus, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Shanghai, Singapore)
Executive committee chair: Peter Tarn (London)
Focus: Litigation, restructuring and insolvency, commercial and corporate, private wealth/trusts, investment funds, tax and regulatory, IP, banking and finance, shipping/aircraft, insurance and real estate
Recent standout work: advising DXC on its $2bn acquisition of Luxoft, the largest ever (by value) take-private of a BVI publicly listed company; acting as issuer counsel for China Feihe on its $855m initial public offering (IPO), one of the biggest Hong Kong IPOs of 2019; and acting as issuer counsel for Melco Resorts Finance on a $600m public bond issued by Studio City Finance
Peter Tarn describes his firm’s performance as ‘a steady upward growth trajectory’. In April, it merged with M Partners to form Harneys Luxembourg, providing advice on investment funds, corporate, private wealth, regulatory and tax. The firm gained four Luxembourg partners: managing partner and head of regulatory and tax, Andrew Knight; corporate partner Charl Brand; multi-disciplinary lawyer Chiara Deceglie; and head of Luxembourg investment funds, Vanessa Molloy.
Other 2019 partner hires included Nicola Roberts (from Ogier) who joined the Hong Kong litigation, insolvency and restructuring team; Yin Xu (from Walkers) who became a transactional partner in Hong Kong; Lishi Fong was recruited from Norton Rose Fulbright to head up the Singapore transactional team; while Charlie Clayton-Payne joined the Hong Kong banking and finance team from Hogan Lovells.
‘Since 2017, we’ve noticed a trend towards increasing deal values, as demonstrated by DXC Technology’s acquisition of Luxoft.’
Peter Tarn, Harneys
Meanwhile, Harneys no longer has a Bermuda office. Instead, it now provides Bermudian legal services through a referral arrangement with Zuill & Co, an independently owned and controlled Bermudian law firm.
‘It’s been an incredibly successful year for our corporate team: our BVI office has been the most active over the past year,’ says Tarn. ‘Since 2017, we’ve noticed a trend towards increasing deal values, as demonstrated by DXC Technology’s acquisition of Luxoft.’
In Cayman, he adds, subscription finance has been a key growth area. ‘We’re seeing more banks enter the market and more deals being launched as the appetite for this level of speciality finance from private equity funds increases.’
MAPLES AND CALDER
Lawyers: 355, including 136 partners
Offices: Nine (BVI, Cayman, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Singapore)
Global managing partner: Jonathan Green (Cayman)
Focus: Disputes, corporate, finance, funds, insolvency and corporate restructuring, insurance, IP/technology/telecoms, private equity, property/construction, regulatory/financial services, sports/media/entertainment, tax and trusts
Recent standout work: Advising Alibaba on its $11.2bn IPO, the largest offering in Hong Kong since 2010; advising SMBC Aviation Capital on Global Aviation Equipment Leasing Fund, an aviation equity fund for 17 Japanese institutional investors
‘2019 was a memorable year. We reached 2,000 staff, rolled out a complex rebrand and expanded our global footprint to 18 locations.’
Jonathan Green, Maples
Taking account of its broad service offering, Maples is comfortably the largest offshore firm, although in terms of pure lawyer headcount it was overtaken for the first time by Walkers last year.
2019 was a ‘particularly memorable year for the Maples Group’, according to Jonathan Green, who was appointed in December. ‘We reached 2,000 staff globally, rolled out a complex rebrand and expanded our global footprint to 18 locations worldwide. Over the past 18 months, we opened new offices in Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, Shanghai, Jersey and Luxembourg. Over the past five years, we also extended the number of locations from which we offer our jurisdiction-specific services, for example, we now have an Irish practice in four of our 18 locations: Cayman, Dublin, Hong Kong and London.’
In Abu Dhabi, Bermuda and Shanghai, MaplesFS is a corporate service provider offering specialised fiduciary and fund administration services. But in Jersey and Luxembourg, it also offers legal services. In terms of recruitment, two lateral partner hires stand out: Karen Killalea, head of employment in Dublin, who came from A&L Goodbody and Jonathan Silver, finance partner and head of shipping for Asia, who joined from Norton Rose Fulbright in Hong Kong.
The January 2019 rebrand, says Green, consolidates the Maples and Calder and MaplesFS offerings under a single brand: the Maples Group.
MOURANT
Lawyers: 237, including 61 partners
Offices: Six (BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, London)
Global managing partner: Jonathan Rigby (Jersey)
Senior partner: Robert Shepherd (Guernsey)
Focus: Finance and corporate, funds, international trusts/private client and litigation
Recent standout work: Advising Shire on its £46bn takeover by Takeda, the largest-ever outbound M&A deal by a Japanese company and the largest-ever takeover of a Jersey company; acting for Kalo as liquidators in a $2bn liquidation of Kingate Global Fund and Kingate Euro Fund, two of the largest investors in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, in a BVI settlement and Chapter 15 recognition
‘If our optimism proves well founded, our biggest challenge will be to continue to recruit the talented professionals we need to sustain our growth.’
Jonathan Rigby, Mourant
‘We have seen further year-on-year revenue growth off the back of a record year in 2018,’ says Jonathan Rigby. ‘In line with our strategy, US dollar revenue growth has been particularly strong and now accounts for well over a third of our revenue overall. In Asia, specifically, our compound annual growth rate has averaged 54% per year over the last five years.’
Rigby points to corporate work as having the highest revenue growth rate last year. ‘The strong activity in our corporate practice is also generating impressive growth in our affiliated business, Mourant Governance Services,’ he notes.
Mourant’s Jersey office had an ‘outstanding performance’ in 2019. The biggest drivers were schemes of arrangement, investment in UK commercial real estate, downstream private equity transactions and – in the second half of the year – new investment fund launches. In Cayman and Hong Kong, he points to fund finance, private equity transactions, and demand for increasingly sophisticated regulatory and compliance advice.
Mourant made three lateral partner hires last year, including two from Walkers in Cayman: corporate and finance partner Ramesh Maharaj, and banking and finance partner Alexandra Woodcock. In Hong Kong, insolvency and commercial litigation partner Justine Lau joined from Mayer Brown.
‘We’re relatively optimistic about market conditions in 2020,’ says Rigby. ‘If our optimism proves well founded, then our biggest challenge will be to continue to recruit the talented professionals that we need to sustain our growth in what is already a highly competitive recruitment market.’
OGIER
Lawyers: 365, including 65 partners
Offices: Eight (BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Luxembourg, plus presences in Shanghai and Tokyo)
Global managing partner: Edward Mackereth (Jersey)
Global senior partner: Steve Meiklejohn (Jersey)
Focus: Banking and finance, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, environment, investment funds, listings, private client/trusts, real estate, regulatory, restructuring/insolvency and tax
Recent standout work: Advising Takeda on its £46bn acquisition of Shire, creating one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms and the largest-ever foreign takeover by a Japanese company; acting for The Carlyle Group and Carlyle Investment Management in a $2bn dispute – Guernsey’s Court of Appeal upheld the judgment that they were not responsible for Carlyle Capital Corporation, a Guernsey investment fund, going into insolvency in the 2008 financial crash
‘Requirements for cross-jurisdictional working have increased, notably between Cayman and Luxembourg, two of the leading investment fund jurisdictions.’
Edward Mackereth, Ogier
‘All of our offices have seen growth,’ says global managing partner Edward Mackereth. ‘Client requirements for cross-jurisdictional working have increased, notably between Cayman and Luxembourg, two of the world’s leading investment fund jurisdictions.’
Ogier’s headcount has grown by 22% over the past three years and last year there was a notable increase (to almost 5:1) in partner: associate leverage. As part of that growth, the firm hired three lateral partners in 2019: tax partner William Jean-Baptiste and investment funds partner Benoît Rose, who both joined the Luxembourg office from CMS, and litigation partner Nic Journeaux, who joined the Jersey office from Carey Olsen.
‘We’ve seen a noticeable spike in dispute resolution work in the past 24 months across almost all jurisdictions,’ adds Mackereth. ‘In particular, our Cayman, BVI and Hong Kong teams have seen the most substantial growth, collectively doubling in size in two years.’
The impetus, he says, comes from ‘many large, complex cases, including cross-border commercial litigation, restructuring and insolvency, trusts, regulatory, professional negligence cases, proceeds of crime cases originating from North and South America, Europe and CIS, Middle East and Asia.’
In Cayman, Ogier’s disputes team has been heavily engaged in the Abraaj litigation, while in the BVI it acted for QGOG Constellation in its $2bn restructuring – the BVI’s first ‘soft touch’ provisional liquidation.
WALKERS
Lawyers: 408, including 114 partners
Offices: Ten (Bermuda*, BVI, Cayman, Dubai, Hong Kong, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, London, Singapore)
Global managing partner: Ingrid Pierce (Cayman)
Focus: Banking and finance, corporate, funds, insolvency and dispute resolution, insurance, listing services, private equity, real estate, regulatory and compliance, structured products/capital markets, taxation (Ireland) and wealth structuring
Recent standout work: Acting as Cayman, BVI and Bermuda counsel to Parkland Fuel Corporation in their 75% acquisition of Sol Global Investments for $1.2bn; advising across five offices on the Cayman court-driven restructuring of Abraaj, once the largest private equity firm in the Middle East with $14bn in assets
‘In 2019 we experienced 14% growth in global headcount and 13% growth in legal fee-earner headcount.’
Ingrid Pierce, Walkers
Walkers continues to grow at a remarkable pace – more than doubling its staff numbers from 420 in 2015 to 900 today. ‘In 2019 we experienced 14% growth in global headcount and 13% growth in legal fee-earner headcount,’ says global managing partner Ingrid Pierce. Notably, partner numbers increased from 99 in 2018 to 114 last year.
Eight of these were lateral hires: in Bermuda, finance partner Sarah Demerling joined from Estera, having previously been an Appleby partner; in BVI, finance partner Matthew Cowman joined from Australian Unity; in Dublin, employment partner Susan Battye joined from LK Shields; in Guernsey, trusts partner Rajah Abusrewil joined from Babbé; in Hong Kong, finance partner Nicholas Davies joined from Appleby; in Jersey, disputes partner Nigel Sanders joined from Ogier and funds partner Leanne Wallser joined from Mourant, while regulatory partner Sara Hall joined the London office from Deutsche Bank where she was global head of regulatory compliance.
‘Demand for our services has increased across the board,’ says Pierce. ‘Finance and capital markets remain highly active in Ireland and Cayman. Insolvency and dispute resolution is on the rise, with impressive growth in Jersey, while Cayman-domiciled private equity fund instructions have increased, due in part to a stronger US market and the amount of capital now being deployed.’ She adds that fund finance has remained very strong and that Walkers global regulatory practice has grown because of new developments. LB
Offshore leaders: Channel Islands
‘As a firm with a significant presence in the Channel Islands, UK political uncertainties have been front and centre of mind.’
Alex Ohlsson, Carey Olsen
Offshore managing partners are upbeat about growth across multiple practice areas in the Cayman Islands and a deluge of British Virgin Islands litigation. But the same uniform enthusiasm did not always apply in the Channel Islands last year.
Some are distinctly bullish. ‘The Channel Islands has become more active following the introduction of new legislation and a flow of instructions in the digital asset space,’ says Ingrid Pierce, managing partner at Walkers.
Meanwhile, Edward Mackereth, global managing partner of Ogier, adds: ‘In Guernsey, we are acting for the joint administrators of a high-profile mining exploration company with assets in a number of diverse locations.’ Real estate finance, he notes, also had an incredibly strong year despite headwinds. ‘With the recent UK election delivering greater certainty around Brexit, we are looking forward to a busy 2020 in this sub-sector,’ he says.
At Mourant, global managing partner Jonathan Rigby, is equally sanguine. ‘In Jersey, the finance and corporate practices have seen exceptional levels of activity that have boosted revenue growth in Mourant Governance Services,’ he says. ‘On top of that, our funds, litigation and international trusts and private client practices have all had a strong year. Given the political uncertainty in the UK over Brexit, we hadn’t predicted a record year for Jersey.’
Others, however, are more circumspect. At Collas Crill, global managing partner Jason Romer observes: ‘The UK continues to be a leading source of work for each of our jurisdictions and so it has been impossible to avoid the B word. Brexit has undoubtedly affected deal flows, not just in the UK real estate sector but in the UK more generally.’
As offshore lawyers routinely observe, the Channel Islands are neither subject to UK laws nor are part of the EU. Nevertheless, they remain highly dependent on the UK and for offshore law firms based there, the City of London still matters more than any other financial centre. That Brexit will have no direct effect on the financial services industry in the Channel Islands is a common response when the question is put about what will happen. Offshore lawyers echo in unison that Guernsey and Jersey are treated as third countries for the purpose of financial services and this relationship will not change post-Brexit. Nevertheless, uncertainty does still prevail over certain aspects of their post-Brexit position, particularly in relation to the future of UK financial services in the EU, which could directly impact them.
Alex Ohlsson, global managing partner at Carey Olsen, develops the point: ‘As a firm with a significant presence in the Channel Islands, UK political uncertainties centred around Brexit and the election have been front and centre of mind. For a business like Carey Olsen, this simply underlines the importance of having a globally diversified business.’
The Channel Islands set equivalent standards to the EU for many elements of their legislation and are represented in international negotiations by the UK government. Jersey and Guernsey lawyers must therefore hope that trade negotiations will work in their favour and not disturb the unique position that they currently enjoy.
Offshore leaders: Caribbean
‘All the stars are aligned for Cayman. The tourism industry is massive. They can’t build five-star hotels quick enough.’
Tim Pearce, Bedell Cristin
Now that every top-ten offshore firm has offices in both the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), 2019 was the first year for some time where there was not a merger or takeover of a local firm in either jurisdiction by a bigger international player. Instead, consolidation has been the dominant theme, although there have been above-average lawyer headcount increases in the regional offices of Maples and Calder, Ogier and Walkers.
But different challenges arose to the Brexit headlines prevailing in Europe. ‘2019 has been an interesting year for deal-making with the US-China trade war,’ says Ingrid Pierce, global managing partner at Walkers. ‘Activity has spiked in the BVI, Cayman, Hong Kong and Singapore with anti-money laundering and economic substance-related work,’ she adds. At Appleby, new group managing partner Malcolm Moller points to a 350% rise in economic substance advice during the first three quarters of last year, most notably in Bermuda.
In Cayman, finance and capital markets work kept firms busy. Subscription finance and structured finance are key areas of growth, notes Peter Tarn, chair of Harneys. Cayman-domiciled private equity fund instructions have increased, due in part to a stronger US market and the amount of capital now being deployed. With an increase in both bank and non-bank lending, fund finance has remained very strong.
At Bedell Cristin, which merged with Solomon Harris in 2018, global managing partner Tim Pearce says: ‘All the stars are aligned for Cayman. The tourism industry is massive there because it’s close to Miami and there are hundreds of cruise ships in the bay every week: they can’t build five-star hotels quick enough.’ Bedell represents several local hotel operators, including the Dart family, Cayman’s biggest real estate owner.
In the BVI, Conyers Dill & Pearman’s corporate team had an excellent year, according to the firm’s chair Christian Luthi. ‘Globally, litigation has experienced the strongest performance,’ he says. ‘The busiest areas for our BVI litigation practice continues to be asset tracing and asset recovery work (particularly involving Russia, CIS states and PRC) as well shareholder disputes and receiverships.’
Tarn adds: ‘The BVI has seen a continued increase in trust litigation because of the wide use of BVI trusts. As before, we are seeing a number of shareholder disputes due to the number of BVI companies being used in structures such as joint ventures.’ Edward Mackereth, Ogier’s global managing partner, adds: ‘Our disputes team has grown to meet demand. Our Cayman, BVI and Hong Kong teams have seen the most substantial growth, collectively doubling in size in two years.’
In extending its offering, Maples recently relocated two dispute resolution partners – Christian La-Roda Thomas and David Welford – from Cayman and BVI to its London office. Meanwhile, Carey Olsen launched a BVI and Cayman corporate practice in Hong Kong, and a BVI and Cayman litigation practice in Singapore, and has beefed up its capability in Hong Kong through two lateral partner hires from Walkers.
Offshore headcount by firm/office – partners/associates
| Appleby | Bedell Cristin |
Carey Olsen | Collas Crill |
Conyers | Harneys | Maples and Calder | Mourant | Ogier | Walkers | TOTAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bermuda | 13/19 | 4/10 | 25/31 | 6/10 | 48/70 | 118 | ||||||
| BVI | 4/10 | 1/1 | 2/8 | 3/2 | 6/10 | 14/31 | 5/9 | 2/8 | 5/16 | 6/11 | 48/106 | 154 |
| Cayman | 16/20 | 6/13 | 8/14 | 6/12 | 10/12 | 12/16 | 55/72 | 11/30 | 13/55 | 33/86 | 170/330 | 500 |
| Cyprus | 6/20 | 6/20 | 26 | |||||||||
| Dubai | 3/4 | 4/10 | 7/14 | 21 | ||||||||
| Dublin | 35/68 | 19/60 | 54/128 | 182 | ||||||||
| Guernsey | 5/7 | 5/7 | 18/42 | 13/18 | 14/39 | 9/46 | 8/16 | 72/175 | 247 | |||
| Hong Kong | 6/12 | 2/4 | 14/18 | 15/35 | 18/30 | 6/18 | 7/41 | 14/47 | 82/205 | 287 | ||
| Isle of Man | 11/20 | 11/20 | 31 | |||||||||
| Jersey | 11/14 | 14/29 | 20/72 | 11/16 | 3/2 | 25/68 | 25/108 | 10/25 | 119/334 | 453 | ||
| London | 2/6 | 2/20 | 1/4 | 7/6 | 9/14 | 3/13 | 6/15 | 30/78 | 108 | |||
| Luxembourg | 4/6 | 5/15 | 6/32 | 14/53 | 67 | |||||||
| Mauritius | 4/12 | 4/12 | 16 | |||||||||
| Shanghai | 0/3 | 0/3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Singapore | 1/1 | 3/6 | 1/- | 2/3 | 1/5 | 3/5 | 8/14 | 19/34 | 53 | |||
| Tokyo | -/2 | 0/2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Vancouver | 1/- | 1/0 | 1 | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 70/114 | 29/57 | 59/176 | 34/48 | 58/78 | 60/122 | 136/219 | 61/176 | 65/300 | 114/294 | ||