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Legal services
We have a long track record of working with single and multi-family offices on their establishment and relocation to our jurisdictions, as well as the provision of offshore legal services to family office clients deploying private capital globally.
We work with the biggest and smallest family offices and private investment companies, and are equally comfortable acting as specialist counsel amidst the wider advisory ecosystem, to working as an "external in-house" legal function.
Our lawyers build deep relationships with our clients based on trust and insight, and have experience of advising multi-generational HNW and UHNW families from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas to achieve their governance, asset protection, succession planning and philanthropic goals.
Our work in this area covers two distinct streams: the establishment and relocation of family offices (including governance, structuring, residency, work permit, real estate and employment matters); and acting for established family offices on succession planning, governance, investment, regulatory and financing matters.
Our specialist partners have worked on many family office set-ups from the smallest to substantial teams, and we understand the processes and timelines, and can come together to make things work.
For our provision of services to established family offices, we apply the same rigorous standards of client service and technical advice that we apply to our work for global institutional clients. Our combination of BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey law advice covers the jurisdictions of choice for family office clients, and our expertise on investments (including digital assets), regulatory issues and cross-border financing enables us to offer a full service to family office clients.
Family offices worldwide are evolving in sophistication, particularly in governance, succession planning and asset protection. In recent years, the Cayman Islands foundation company (FC) has emerged as a compelling hybrid vehicle, founded in company law, but with elements similar to trusts law, thereby meeting the needs of ultra‑high‑net‑worth families and family office structures in particular.
We have worked with family offices and private investment companies of all sizes on their establishment and relocation to the Cayman Islands.
With a partnership including some of the most experienced Attorneys in the jurisdiction, we are able to advise on every legal element – from structuring and regulatory issues, to relocation of staff, work permits and real estate matters.
Whether we are working with a single or multi-family office structure, whether we are dealing with a handful of employees or a substantial operation, and whether the family's roots are in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East or Asia, we have the expertise and long-experience to make things work.
Our team comprise specialists from all relevant legal disciplines, and we and are equally comfortable acting as offshore counsel amidst the wider advisory ecosystem, to working as an "external in-house" legal function.
Most of us will know a Single Family Office (an "SFO") when we see one. In the Cayman Islands ("Cayman"), SFOs are variously defined and regulated (or exempted from being regulated) under a range of statutes and regulations.
Alongside our work as sponsor-side offshore counsel to investment funds, we also have specific expertise of buy-side advice – advising institutions, family offices and high net worth individuals on their investments into Cayman Islands funds.
We work with investors, typically alongside onshore counsel, based in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Asia and UK, to independently advise on matters of Cayman Islands law impacting fund documents including the jurisdiction’s evolving legal and regulatory framework.
The traditional view of the family office is that of a prudent organization, focused on conservative investment strategies and the preservation of family wealth.
Conversely, venture capital is viewed as high risk, driven by speculative investment, novel technologies and startup failures.
The two sectors seem misaligned, and yet family offices are increasingly engaged with venture capital.
As we have all seen in recent years, obtaining an alternative right of residence (in some cases citizenship), and an ability to leave one country and settle in another, is becoming increasingly important for our clients. Allied to this, as the world becomes ever more interconnected, so does the attractiveness and viability of making lifestyle choices about where to reside and conduct business.
Having established long relationships with families and their advisers, we act as trusted advisers not just on legal issues, but also on questions relating to governance and strategy where there is not always a direct link to a question on offshore law.
Daniel works with Family Offices on all aspects of their licensing, employment and property requirements in the Cayman Islands, and has worked with the biggest and smallest teams on their successful moves to the jurisdiction.
With almost 20 years of experience in private wealth practice, Fraser is one of the leading figures on regulatory questions within the Cayman Islands private wealth sphere, as well as on the establishment of new Family Office structures.
Stephen has advised on the full range of Cayman fund structures from global institutional funds to private funds established for families and club deal, and has been practising since 2003 in offshore, onshore and in-house legal roles.
Ian advises on all types of real estate matters under Cayman Islands law - he leads a highly efficient and client-focused team that was responsible for the largest real estate deal in the history of the Cayman Islands.
Tom qualified as an English solicitor in 2007 and practised in the City for four years before moving offshore - his recent work includes a Cayman trusts dispute involving trust assets stated to be worth $1 billion.
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