Offshore legal: private practice, fiduciary and in-house jobs

A range of Legal professionals enhance the business activities of OFCs. Specialists in trusts, funds and corporate finance are particularly in demand as they are pivotal to start ups and investors.

With the current market fluctuation, the call for experts in insolvency and litigation is on the rise. There is also a constant workflow generated by the need for fiduciary management of High Net Worth individuals.

Law firms Offshore are often classed using titles comparative to those based in the UK. The ‘Magic Circle’ firms have a profile in many of the OFCs and the majority of the firms here have a global presence. Consequently, work undertaken by Offshore firms is viewed favourably by the majority of top tier firms internationally.

Different jurisdictions require varying levels of post qualification for an applicant to be eligible. As a general rule, the firms in the Caribbean don’t recruit on an international scale at a level below three years post qualified; this is due to the risk of a work permit being refused by the relevant authorities. Elsewhere, the level of post qualification is relative to the demands of the position. Language skills are also essential as some documents will be written in the local vernacular. 

Common Law, derived from English Law, is practised in the majority of the OFCs.  Invariably, there is a period of adjustment for any Legal professional practicing in an OFC for the first time; how long this lasts is dependent on the efficacy of the induction process. Legal professionals wanting to specialise in contentious work need to take this into account as OFCs have individual requirements for admission to the bar.

Occasionally in-house opportunities become available within fiduciary companies that operate alongside law firms or in other financial institutions; there is a lot of competition for these roles from both local professionals familiar with the laws of that jurisdiction and those wanting to transfer from a relevant private practice area.