The Cayman Islands office of Rawlinson & Hunter was the sole presenting sponsor at the recent Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean Conference, in which five of the firm's 10 international offices were represented.
The recent three-day conference, themed "IFC's (International Financial Centres): The Essential Piece in the Global Economic Puzzle", attracted more than 300 delegates to the Westin Casuarina Resort.
At the conference, Rawlinson & Hunter was represented by a contingent from the Cayman Islands, the UK, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Switzerland. Simon Jennings, tax partner with the UK firm, was a featured speaker on the second day.
Commenting on the event, Cayman Islands senior partner Richard Douglas said: "This is the fourth year that Rawlinson & Hunter has been a sponsor of the STEP Conference - the first three years as gold sponsor and this year as the sole presenting sponsor.
"We are pleased to once again be involved with this conference, which has grown each year and has now established itself as a premier event at which the most influential players in the trust and offshore financial services industries come together to exchange insights and keep abreast of the latest industry developments."
Delegates attended from the Caribbean, the US, Canada, Central and South America, and Europe, and included more than 100 participants from Cayman-based organisations. This year's conference was the largest to date and was sold out weeks in advance.
The theme of the conference was selected to inspire discussion among trust professionals and to highlight the need for the onshore world to consider offshore centres as essential partners in international business.
Topics for 2007 included an extensive overview of the Levin Report: the modern family and multi-jurisdictional trusts and related entities.
The keynote address was given by Dr Jeffrey Rosensweig, an international and finance professor and director of the Global Perspectives Programme at Goizueta Business School of Emory. He examined the economic and global impact of baby boomers turning 60.
Douglas outlined the importance of the conference to Cayman, saying: "By hosting the STEP Conference, the Cayman Islands was able to emphasise the continued importance of the trust industry to the financial sector, and it allowed us to showcase the strength and diversity of our highly qualified and world-class trust professionals to the global market."
Next year's conference will be held in Panama City from 5-7 May 2008.
Rawlinson & Hunter has been providing professional services in the Cayman Islands since 1973. The practice specialises in providing trust, corporate (including directorships) and accounting services to high net worth individuals and corporations.