Alexander Hawkins joined Bedell Cristin as the firm's new Head of International Private Client in Guernsey in March this year. In this Q&A, he talks about trends in private client work, why he chose to join Bedell Cristin, and about his plans for building a team in the jurisdiction.
Alexander is recognised by both Chambers & Partners High Net Worth Guide and Legal 500 for the quality of his work and client service standards. He works with Guernsey trustees on the use of Guernsey structures for succession planning and asset protection for a global client base.
What's your new role?
I am very pleased to have joined Bedell Cristin as the new Head of International Private Client in Guernsey. I was presented a fantastic opportunity to lead the team here in the jurisdiction, to really focus on building the Guernsey part of our international practice and building our brand here. It is the 20th anniversary of Bedell Cristin setting up in the jurisdiction and I think we've got a great story to tell.
Why join Bedell Cristin?
Putting aside the fantastic opportunity to lead a team and build a practice, the firm has a stellar name in offshore private client work, and I wanted to be a part of this. The global practice now has six partners across Guernsey, Jersey, Cayman Islands and BVI, which is double the size of my previous firm. Nancy Chien and Andrew Miller are two of the highest-profile and most respected private client lawyers in the offshore world, and there is a great team that sits alongside them – not to mention a litigation practice that has a great name in trusts litigation.
There is also the brand – the "Plain Speaking, Smart Thinking" brand works so well for a private client practice, where it is imperative that clients understand the advice and the reasoning that has led to it.
Bedell Cristin is one of the few firms that has international private client work front and centre of its strategic outlook, and that matters to me too. The team here is not a bolt-on to a London or New York funds-focused business, there is a real sense that this business understands private clients and is committed to growing and building this part of the business.
Finally, I get a sense of it being a firm of good people with good values, and that is crucial to me. There are teams and professionals here that like each other and respect each other, and that's so important: it makes the experience of working here better, and it also drives people to do better work.
How does Guernsey sit relative to competitors as a private client jurisdiction?
Guernsey is a fantastic jurisdiction in which to practice. I have lived here for six years, have a family here now, and I will qualify as a Guernsey Advocate later in the year. I am certainly committed to the Island. I think what makes Guernsey special, apart from its people, beaches, cliffs, and culture, is the quality of professional advisers – not just lawyers, but also trustees, accountants, bankers etc. Adding to this quality is the fact Guernsey is in the same time zone as the UK, only a 45-minute flight from London, the laws are very similar to the laws of England and Wales, the language is the same, and a lot of people have trained or had experience in firms and companies in the UK. I think, particularly for clients and advisers with a connection to the UK or Europe, Guernsey must be one of, if not the, offshore jurisdiction of choice from a wealth structuring perspective.
And then in terms of what distinguishes us from our sister Island, Jersey, my view is that Guernsey is a more trustee focused jurisdiction. We have so many excellent trust companies and fiduciary businesses, and a lot of them are still independent, which remains important to a lot of my clients. I know a lot of trustees personally, and they are not only good friends, but excellent people and true professionals. The quality of Guernsey trustees is unrivalled in my opinion. I think clients also appreciate that because the Island is small, all the advisers generally know each other personally, which means we can pick the phone up and have a sensible conversation to resolve matters promptly and at a minimum cost for clients.
How have things changed in private client work since you started out?
I've been doing this work for just over ten years, but I started out as an onshore lawyer in Queensland, and I can assure you that's very different!
The honest answer is that clients are better informed – not just on price but also on the substance of the law. They’re more likely to use Google or ChatGPT to test the advice they have been given.
Also – and this is very relevant – the Great Wealth Transfer of founders passing on their wealth to the next generation is well and truly upon us, and so we are often advising a second generation of a client family who haven't known us very long, and where we have to build new relationships and understand their goals.
This has been an ongoing trend for some time, but tax is far less of a driver than it was. In some cases we have seen onshoring of structures because some clients don't feel negatively about paying tax. What clients are much more interested in is arrangements for succession planning and family governance in the context of wealth passing from generation to generation – and that's really important and detailed work that requires practitioners to fully understand the desires and motivating factors for clients.
What's the goal for you?
To build the practice, and to build the team. Our private client practices in Jersey and Cayman Islands are excellent – multiple partners, gifted and hardworking associates, and above all, outstanding reputations within the industry. It would be nice to build a team in that image. Short term, however, it will be a case of making smart hires, defining the practice by reference to some core pillars, and then selling this. I am going to build a team that I think my local and international clients really want. A team that is sensible with its pricing, that completes work promptly and is always accessible, and that puts the client relationship, in particular the relationship with the local trustee, first and foremost.
Location: Guernsey
Related Service: International Private Client
