CML is the only financial services focused recruitment agency in the Cayman Islands. We have been placing lawyers for over 15 years and we have direct links with all of the leading funds lawyers in the jurisdiction.
Why Cayman?
Cayman has been the leading jurisdiction of choice for many of the world’s leading investment funds. There are close to 15,000 regulated funds (mostly hedge funds) domiciled in Cayman along with circa 30,000 unregulated fund structures (many in the PE space). These funds and their onshore service providers rely on key strategic advice from Cayman lawyers on the creation, ongoing maintenance, and variation of these structures.
Quality of work
If you are currently an onshore funds lawyer then you will likely have interacted with or directly instructed offshore counsel so you should have an idea of the role that Cayman funds lawyers play. Typically you will be acting as offshore counsel to the onshore lawyers (usually in the United States) who are advising their investment manager client on a new fund launch. In most cases you will not be ‘project managing’ the deal/matter, so you will find that your working hours are more predictable than they are onshore.
What experience are employers looking for?
Ideally, you will have onshore fund formation experience gained in your home jurisdiction. The type of funds you have dealt with isn’t that important. There is a learning curve for every new lawyer here and the law firms do not expect you to hit the ground running from day 1. There will be comprehensive training for every new recruit. If you have experience with hedge funds, PE funds, RE funds, Superannuation funds, UCITS or QIAIFS then you will be very marketable in Cayman.