Taxing times

‘It’s been a win-win situation and we’ve captured a lot of business,’ says Maples and Calder partner Gus Pope of the firm’s expansionist model. ‘The one-stop shop is appreciated by the big institutions that need to structure things in different ways using different jurisdictions.’ This was always the rationale for the offshore firms looking to win a role on a greater share of major transactions. They saw the obvious benefits of being based in more than one country, making the firm, rather where it happened to be located, the main selling point to institutional clients and their advisers.

Those that have taken the plunge, establishing legal practices on both sides of the Atlantic, are Walkers, Maples and Calder, Appleby, Mourant, and Ogier. Unsurprisingly, these firms profess to be pleased with progress so far. Ogier, which has expanded out from a Jersey base, is a case in point. ‘How much the model has changed the market is difficult to tell – the offshore market is vibrant at the moment and most firms are doing well,’ says Ogier Group chairman Jonathan White. ‘However, we are definitely a much stronger practice than we were. We’ve seen substantial increases in revenue and partner profitability while maintaining meaningful growth. The model has moved us from a second-tier firm to a top-tier firm.’

So why do other leading offshore players – Bedell Cristin, Ozannes, Carey Olsen, Harneys, and Conyers Dill & Pearman – appear reticent to join the expansionists? Apart from British Virgin Islands (BVI) firm Harneys, they already practise the law of more than one jurisdiction. Bedell Cristin, Ozannes and Carey Olsen offer legal advice across the Channel Islands, while Conyers covers three jurisdictions: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the BVI.

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