The Cayman Lawyer: Recent Episodes
Harneys
On this episode of The Cayman Lawyer, Head of Trusts and Private Wealth Henry Mander and Counsel Charles Moore provide the top ten tips for reserved power trusts. Key Takeaways: The Cayman statutory framework for Reserved Power Trusts Key powers to consider reserving Appropriate allocation of duties between power-holders The dangers of excessive reservation of powers Potential use of Reserved Power Trusts in the ESG context
On this episode of The Cayman Lawyer, Litigation and Insolvency partner and director of the Harneys articled clerk programme, Katie Pearson is joined by associates and recent articled clerk graduates Natasja Levy and Moesha Ramsay-Howell as they discuss starting their legal careers, and their experience with the articled clerk programme. Key takeaways: “Attitude is king”. A willingness to learn, the ability to take feedback constructively and an open mind are invaluable attributes for any articled clerk. The Covid-19 pandemic caused unexpected disruption to both Moesha and Natasja’s articles but through good communication, both were able to continue training and learning through the period that the Cayman Islands were in lockdown. Both Moesha and Natasja benefited from undertaking the judicial clerkship, offered by the Cayman Islands judiciary in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association, which is a fantastic opportunity for articled clerks to obtain a different perspective on the legal profession in the Cayman Islands.
Harneys is committed to providing opportunities to Caymanians beginning their careers in law; those interested in internship, legal scholarship or articles of clerkship opportunities are asked to visit harneys.com/careers/students-and-graduates/cayman-islands or contact CAYHR@harneys.com.
In this episode of The Cayman Lawyer, Litigation and Insolvency Partner Paul Smith and Senior Associate James Eggleton discuss the ins and outs of the Private Funding Legal Services Act. The Cayman Islands has recently welcomed the Private Funding of Legal Services Act (the Act), bringing certainty and clarity to the availability and acceptable form of disputes funding arrangements in the jurisdiction, in particular with respect to contingency fee agreements, conditional fee agreements and third party funding agreements. Key takeaways: The Act repeals the old common law torts and criminal offences of maintenance and champerty which have long since been repealed in other jurisdictions such as England. In their place is a statutory framework for the entry into the above types of agreements. This is a welcome change because up until now, the law in relation to these agreements has been unsettled, and solely determined by case law. The Act brings together contingency and conditional fee agreements under one umbrella (i.e. they are now considered as one class of agreements where the lawyer’s remuneration changes depending on a successful outcome in the case). For a conditional fee agreement, the success fee is calculated as an uplift of the lawyer’s normal fees which cannot exceed (1) 100 per cent of those fees, or (2) in respect of money claims, 33.3 per cent of the total amount awarded. There is also a cap of 33.3 per cent for contingency fee agreements, where the lawyer’s fees are based on the damages or value of property recovered. The Act permits third party funding agreements, subject to certain conditions, including that the agreement is in writing, and that it complies with any requirements prescribed in the regulations. This makes funding agreements more attractive by removing the requirement for Court approval, and providing a general framework within which a funding agreement will automatically be lawful.
In our first episode Litigation and Insolvency Partner Katie Pearson and Corporate Partner Matt Taber outline the liquidation and restructuring options that are available to investors in Cayman Islands joint ventures.