180 lawyers identified

The allegations were made during a debate of the proposed Legal Practitioners Bill, which some believe would provide a back door to legalise lawyers practicing Cayman Islands law from abroad. At the briefing it was estimated that 180 lawyers were practicing and advising on Cayman law from overseas without local certification or licensing.

Calls for investigation

In a statement, the group called for an investigation into such practices before moving forward with the draft bill. ‘We felt that this jurisdiction cannot simply move forward to ignore these very serious accusations made against some law firms and to blindly licence certain practices, which may be, at this point in time, illegal, without at the very least, the various allegations being properly investigated and ventilated in the Legislative Assembly,’ it continued.

Misconduct ignored for years charge

It was also alleged that concerns of misconduct had been ignored for years by government, the Caymanian Bar Association and the Cayman Islands Law Society, which ultimately meant that Caymanian lawyers had been denied opportunities for advancement to the benefit of foreign attorneys and those based in international offices.

Law Society denies accusations

However, the Cayman Islands Law Society denied accusations laid out in a private members’ motion which accused unnamed Cayman Islands law firms of ‘intentionally ignoring and deliberately circumventing’ the Legal Practitioners Law and the Immigration Law.

Private investigators

The members also alleged that private investigators had been hired to follow them but they did not who they were or to what end.

Source: https://www.caymancompass.com/2017/02/27/mlas-law-firms-owe-millions-in-fees/