What does BD in the Cayman Islands look like?
A question I get asked by many lawyers who are considering a move to the Cayman Islands. Lawyers want to know how they are expected to engage with clients and ultimately build a book and advance toward the ultimate goal of partnership.
One crucial thing to consider, especially in the core offshore practice areas like litigation, corporate, funds, private client, banking and finance, is that onshore law firms are major generators of work streams. As an offshore lawyer, your ability to build relationships with onshore lawyers can be just as valuable as your offshore legal knowledge.
When it comes to BD, the US and South American markets are the most accessible and time-efficient to target for Cayman lawyers. Given the close proximity and similar time zones, US Firms frequently turn to offshore firms for assistance on complex Cayman specific issues often involving Cayman-registered entities. This is particularly common in high-demand practice areas like M&A, capital markets, funds, crypto and litigation.
Cayman lawyers are typically engaged on matters that require advice on regulations, tax structures and cross-border issues. For Cayman lawyers, establishing relationships with US law firms is an efficient way to create opportunities for consistent work-flow and also makes for a great opportunity to get off island and see different parts of the world alongside your Cayman colleagues.
Many leading offshore firms have offices across many of the key jurisdictions, typically across Europe, Asia and more recently, the Middle East. These global offices play a significant role in jurisdictional focused BD by generating regional relationships with clients and supporting them on a time-sensitive basis.
Lawyers in the Cayman Islands build relationships with colleagues in other offices allowing them to understand global market trends which can often lead to international secondments or in many circumstance, permanent overseas opportunities.
While much of the BD efforts in Cayman revolve around international markets, local BD still plays a critical role also. The Cayman Islands is home to a vibrant financial services sector, with a high concentration of finance, funds, wealth management, and restructuring and insolvency-related businesses. These sectors generate significant local work for offshore law firms.
Local networking events, such as the one hosted by Maples in the video below can be an important part of BD strategy, offering informal opportunities for professionals to network, compete and refer work in a more relaxed, social setting.
Cayman also hosts a range of high-profile conferences throughout the year. We are currently hosting the annual Captives Forum. In 2025, we will see Re-Connect, STEP, GAIM Ops Cayman and the Offshore Legal Week conferences all taking place. These events are vital for raising visibility, meeting prospective clients, and boosting the financial services sector in Cayman.
Our "Take It To Court" Beach Volleyball tournament was back in action in the Cayman Islands heating up the Kimpton Beach Deck! Nearly 200 enthusiasts gathered to compete for this year's trophy. Congratulations to Teneo who aced the competition and won! Thanks to everyone who joined us for a fun day out on the courts.