Having lived in a number of large international cities – I for one know how daunting and challenging living in a big city can be. Rush hour traffic, long commutes, squeezing onto trains and buses like human sardines… the list goes on.
The beauty of offshore is that for one, long commutes don’t exist. For example, Cayman Islands is approximately 22 miles long with an average width of around four miles. Imagine all you could do with that extra time on your hands if you didn't have a lengthy commute...
In the Cayman Islands, the practice areas (usually) in demand are:
- Litigation
- Corporate/M&A
- Funds
- Banking and Finance
- Dispute Resolution
- Restructuring
To work in the Cayman Islands all prospective candidates must be common law qualified and most firms require that candidates have been qualified for at least 3 years. To obtain a visa you will also need to show that you have actually been offered a role by an offshore firm i.e. you have signed a contract. All of our clients are extremely helpful throughout this process and will guide you every step of the way.
Firms in the Cayman Islands are just as competitive as firms elsewhere. Teams tend to be a lot leaner, which gives lawyers the opportunity to gain invaluable partner time, as well as time to engage with other groups within the firm more frequently. Law firms in the Caymans have a high threshold for who they hire due to the complexity of offshore legal systems meaning that you will have the opportunity to learn and work with talented lawyers qualified in multiple jurisdictions.
Click here to listen to Luca Del Ciotto, an investment funds associate at the prestigious Kirkland & Ellis, who unravels the secrets behind his remarkable transition from Australia to the Cayman Islands and how this move offshore played a pivotal role in securing his current role at a BigLaw Firm in New York.
Remuneration & Tax
From a financial standpoint, working in the Cayman Islands is very lucrative. Most firms pay competitively in comparison to the top tier firms in Australia and the Magic/Silver Circle firms in the UK. The Cayman Islands are also widely regarded as an offshore financial haven, largely due to the fact that it is a tax-free jurisdiction.
Climate
The islands have a tropical climate and are warm year-round. August is the hottest month with temperatures averaging 30°C. January is the coldest month, but it is still warm with average highs of 25°C.
Location
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean Sea. They are made up of three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
From Sydney you can expect a flight time of approximately 22 hours to get you to the Caymans.
Miami, Florida is around a 70-minute flight from the Islands, and Cuba is only a 40-minute flight away.
5 Facts About The Cayman Islands
- The Islands are a diver’s paradise, with over 200 dive sites to choose from
- The Caymans have more registered businesses than people (population is around 60,000)
- There is a place called Hell on Grand Cayman, complete with its own velour-clad devil and a post office so that you can send postcards from Hell!
- The world-famous ‘Seven Mile Beach’ is actually only 5.2 miles long
- The Firm, starring Tom Cruise was filmed on Grand Cayman
