Maitland announces the launch of a new office in the Cayman Islands and the appointment of former Walkers partner Sara Collins to head the operation.
The office, which opens on 1 September 2008, will extend Maitland's international footprint to 12 offices worldwide and boost the firm's strong reputation in cross-border work.
Sara, who joins the firm from 1 July, will establish a Cayman presence for Maitland, offering legal services initially with the intention of growing the business to offer private client, investment funds and trust and corporate services.
She will also be building the Cayman team in the coming months.
Maitland further plans to establish a fund services offering in the Cayman Islands. This will provide a local point of contact for investment funds administered from our low-cost back-office operation in Cape Town.
Client demand
As with most areas of our business, expansion to the Cayman Islands has been driven by client demand. International clients, both private and corporate, look to us increasingly for a truly global presence.
Cayman continues to be the leading offshore jurisdiction for hedge fund formation and administration, offshore private equity structures and private and commercial trusts.
It has demonstrated the robustness of the industry in the face of recent global economic stresses, with recent record-setting months for fund registration.
In addition, the jurisdiction has a reputation for high quality dispute resolution, another area of strength for Maitland.
Sara Collins - a profile
Sara Collins has over 13 years experience as a leading litigation and contentious trusts practitioner in the Cayman Islands.
Her academic qualifications are outstanding. She graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the London School of Economics in 1993 and was admitted to the bar in 1994.
An illustrious career with Walkers in Grand Cayman followed from 1995 up until March 2008 (as a partner since 2003).
During this period she was:
- Head of the trusts disputes group (STEP Offshore Legal Team of the year in 2006);
- Managing partner of the commercial disputes group (shared responsibility for Walkers' litigation teams in the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Jersey).
Interested?
If you would like to find out more about how we can assist you in the Cayman Islands, please call or email your usual Maitland contact or Sara at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it