Topic: Cayman Islands Law Society

The Legislative Assembly approved a bill that amended several laws as a result of the merger of the Caymanian Bar Association with the Cayman Islands Law Society.

The two legal professional associations, the Cayman Islands Law Society and the Caymanian Bar Association, are completing a merger later this month following approval by both memberships in June.

Attorneys Alasdair Robertson and Stephen Watler between them made a comprehensive case for Cayman’s legislature to pass a new Legal Practitioners Law this year.

As lawmakers in the United States gear up to debate President Donald Trump’s proposed overhaul to the country’s federal tax system, government has hired a multinational law firm to advocate for the Cayman financial sector in Washington D.C.

The domestic dispute over the Cayman Islands court system’s new restrictions on photocopying public records has ballooned into a potential international incident.

The Cayman Islands government has, once again, dropped plans to rewrite the law governing legal practitioners in the territory after repeated attempts to negotiate a compromise failed.

Concerned that government may walk back its earlier agreement on changes to the controversial Legal Practitioners Bill, members of the independent opposition on Friday fired a new salvo in the months-long battle over the legislation.

Chief Justice Anthony Smellie highlighted Cayman’s strides in separating government powers during a gala to honor the visiting chief justice of England and Wales.Roger John Laugharne Thomas, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, visited the Cayman Islands in early March.

Further allegations were made Thursday regarding local law firms hiring a private company to follow two Cayman Islands legislators.

The Cayman Islands Law Society has called for an end to “damaging speculation” from independent politicians who claimed this week they believed local law firms had hired private investigators to follow them.

Opposition members of the Legislative Assembly alleged Monday that Cayman Islands law firms have denied the nation $50 million in fees over the past decade by averting local licensing.

Unnamed Cayman Islands law firms are accused of “intentionally ignoring and deliberately circumventing” both the Legal Practitioners Law and Immigration Law, in a private members’ motion filed with the Legislative Assembly.

A snap public meeting has been called for Thursday night over the controversial Legal Practitioners Bill, just days before the legislation was expected to come before parliament for a vote. Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton said the Progressives-led government still expects to bring the amendment bill for a vote during the current meeting of the Legislative Assembly.

More than 75 percent of the members of Cayman’s two major lawyers associations urged lawmakers this week to approve the Legal Practitioners Bill, seeking to update a regulatory code for the legal profession that dates to the 1960s. The Cayman Islands Law Society said Wednesday that more than 80 percent of its members back the legislation.

The Cayman Islands Law Society and the Caymanian Bar Association have endorsed the anti-corruption statement released by U.K. and Irish professional bodies including The Law Society of England and Wales, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.