Offshore

Latest news and analysis about offshore law firms

News

Osborne Clarke’s outgoing CEO lines up next law firm gig

Simon Beswick, who leaves his role as Osborne Clarke’s international CEO this summer, has been named chair of offshore firm Collas Crill. Beswick has held multiple leadership roles at Osborne Clarke, including international CEO for eight years and UK managing partner for over a decade before. Prior to that he was head of Osborne Clarke’s […]

Former Twenty Essex barrister rejoins set after offshore stint

Commercial set Twenty Essex has hired a barrister from Walkers to add to its civil fraud and asset tracing team. Sarah Tresman has spent three years as a litigation lawyer in the Cayman Islands. Previously she was a barrister at Twenty Essex for seven years, where she began her career. She returns to the chambers […]

The Lawyer Awards shortlist: the firms in the running for Offshore Firm of the Year

The offshore market continues to go from strength-to-strength and this year’s shortlist showcases a truly outstanding array of talent. Another strong year for Appleby saw its corporate work lead the way, with its Hong Kong office advising on 51 IPOs in 2018 for a combined total of HK$9.5bn. Arguably its headline deal saw the firm […]

The Lawyer Awards

The 60 second interview: Carey Olsen on winning at The Lawyer Awards

Ahead of The Lawyer Awards 2018 in association with Travelers, Carey Olsen managing partner Alex Ohlsson talks to The Lawyer about the impact of winning the Offshore Firm of the Year award last year. In a short paragraph can you tell us a bit more about the initiatives that led you to enter and consequently […]

Analysis

cayman beach offshore

Revealed: The Offshore Top 30 2017

This year’s Offshore Top 30 shows the ­calibre of a market that has weathered tough reputational issues (such as the Panama Papers) as well as heightened investor concern over seismic changes in international business. 

Featured Briefings

SPACs: Next stop Europe

This article reviews the key features of a SPAC structure and explains why the Cayman Islands, Jersey and Luxembourg are ideal jurisdictions to establish a SPAC issuer.

Fund Finance Update – Will Jersey’s new sustainable investment disclosure requirements aid ESG financing?

ESG. Unless you have been living under a rock these last 18 months (in hindsight probably not necessarily the worst place to have been) you will have heard these three letters over and over again. The hot topic of 2020 is carrying on full steam through the course of 2021 so far. While ESG investing has been gaining steady pace over the course of the last half decade, the use of ESG in financing arrangements has seen a recent proliferation.

A New Offshore Option for SPACs – SPAC to the (TISE) future…?

A special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) is a public company which raises funds via its listing, typically in order to acquire an existing business. They are by no means new, but as is well documented, have been enjoying a huge resurgence. In the US, SPAC Insider reported $36.2 billion raised in gross proceeds during 2020 […]

BVI limitation periods for foreign law claims

Given the reputation of the BVI as a premium offshore jurisdiction, its corporate structures have long been popular with individuals from across the globe. That has, in turn, led to disputes before the BVI court with an international dimension.

The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal Relieves the Tension between Arbitration Clauses and the Just and Equitable Winding Up Jurisdiction

In a comprehensive judgment published on 23 April 2020, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, comprising Moses JA, Martin JA and Rix JA, has provided welcome clarification of the interplay between a contractual agreement to arbitrate disputes arising between shareholders and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court to determine whether a company should be wound […]

Breaking the chain: Why do Jersey property transactions fall apart

Much focus has been given of late to gazumping and the potential pitfalls of the Jersey conveyancing process. Thankfully in practice the vast majority of transactions do eventually make it across the line and in most cases, completion occurs within the allocated window agreed through the estate agent at the outset. Gazumping, while a genuine […]

Cayman and BVI poised to benefit from Islamic finance growth

Offshore centres are poised to benefit from the enormous growth forecast in Islamic finance over the next few years, says Ogier’s Head of Banking and Finance in Asia. Anthony Oakes, who leads the banking and finance team in the firm’s BVI and Cayman-focused Hong Kong office, says that the combination of increasing appetite for Islamic […]

Jersey’s bank recovery and resolution law

The draft Bank (Recovery and Resolution) (Jersey) Law 201- (the Law) was lodged au Greffe on 20 December 2016. The Law is in many ways complementary with the draft Bank Depositors Compensation (Jersey) Law 201- (the JDCS Law, which will replace the depositor compensation scheme established in Jersey in 2009) lodged au Greffe on the […]

Panama Papers – how has Guernsey responded?

This article first appeared in eprivateclient By Marcus Leese In early 2016 several million client-related documents were stolen from a Panamanian law firm. The documents were subsequently passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who proceeded to publicise the theft… …Guernsey has shown over the course of several decades that it is ready and […]

Foundations – recent offshore developments

This article first appeared in the JEP Wealth Management Review. By Josephine Howe It has been possible to establish a Jersey Foundation since the introduction of the Foundations (Jersey) Law in 2009. Since that time there have been approximately 300 Jersey Foundations incorporated. Following the introduction of foundations into Jersey law, many other offshore and […]

Investment funds expertise is Guernsey selling point

Guernsey expertise is being increasingly called on for investment funds that are not even based in the island – which Ogier Group Partner Craig Cordle says is an endorsement of the skill and ability of Island lawyers and administrators. The latest statistics from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) show the fifth consecutive quarter of […]