Customs & Traditions

Linda Dacosta

Linda helped us review and update the end of life medical laws plus the wills and probate information in our Retiring in Cayman chapter. Linda heads up HSM’s busy property team, overseeing all aspects of their client’s real estate and conveyancing needs. Linda also specialises in the area of wills and estates including drafting wills and codicils, preparing applications for probate and the resealing of foreign grants of probate. As a 27 year veteran of Cayman’s legal services industry, Linda brings her trademark brand of thoughtful leadership to her partnership with HSM.

James Burch

James updated all our information on CLOs in our Global Financial Centre chapter including how the CLO market is doing in 2021. James is a partner in Walkers’ Global Finance & Corporate Group. He specialises in debt capital markets and structured finance with extensive experience in CLOs, securitisation and secured note programme structures as well as bespoke structured products. James also advises on a variety of banking and finance transactions including leveraged and acquisition financing, fund subscription financings and general secured lending.

JC Calhoun

JC, along with Claudia Subiotto, helped us update the Finding a Home chapter and gave us the ins and outs of the current Cayman property market. Due to his energy, experience, great reputation, and commitment to the industry, JC has not only been in the forefront of the real estate industry since the 80’s but has updated the Finding a Home Chapter for a number of years. Known for their in-depth market analysis, and regarded as solid advisors on real estate transactions, JC and the team of 13 sales agents that he leads, are recognised leaders in the real estate business, part of a growing physical and digital network.

Lucy Frew

Lucy updated the sections on Beneficial Ownership and Legislation to Meet Client Needs in the Global Financial Centre chapter. Lucy is a partner and heads Walkers’ Global Regulatory & Risk Advisory Group. She brings more than 18 years experience as a specialist financial regulatory and risk management advisory lawyer. Lucy’s clients are financial institutions across the international and domestic spectrum, including a range of banks, investment funds, administrators, investment managers, advisers, brokerdealers, arrangers, trading venues and insurance and reinsurance sector clients. She also has significant experience in advising on FinTech and virtual assets.

Louise Desrosiers

Louise wrote all the content in our Family Matters chapter including pre-nups, divorce, division of assets, child custody and more. Louise Desrosiers (Counsel, Travers Thorp Alberga) is a highly experienced family law and private client litigator called to the Bar (England and Wales) in 2006 and now practising in Cayman (2020). Before relocating with her husband and children, she practised as a barrister specialising in family law (Middle Temple, London). Louise is a divorce specialist and has an interest in cases involving autistic children/parents, or those with additional needs.

Claudia Subiotto

Claudia helped us update the real estate information in the Finding a Home, Investing in

Cayman and Running a Business chapters. Claudia has lived and worked in London, New York, Rio and Grand Cayman, and with her past career in pharmaceutical sales – working under technical and extremely competitive conditions – she has established a great foundation for real estate sales. At Coldwell Banker Cayman, Claudia is both real estate agent and Marketing Manager, where her strong attention to detail, great local geographical knowledge, and a keen sense of belonging to Cayman has helped her help her clients buy or sell their properties.

Nick Joseph

Over the years Nick has written, added to and updated our Immigration chapter - all of it! With a BA in Psychology and Languages, and an LLB (Hons) in Law, Nick was admitted as a Cayman Islands Attorney at Law in 1997. Today he is a partner at HSM Chambers and a leader of the firm’s Cayman Business Team, specialising in immigration, licensing and employment matters relating to the establishment of residence and conduct of business in and from within the Cayman Islands. He also teaches the Immigration Law course at the Truman Bodden Law School in Cayman.

Matthew Yates

Matthew used his extensive knowledge of Cayman’s financial services industry to help us update our overview of Cayman’s current financial outlook and what we can expect in 2022. Matthew is the Strategic Communications Officer for the Cayman Islands Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce. He has played an integral role in the communications activities of the Ministry, including media campaigns on the commencement of legislation such as the suite of intellectual property laws and the Non-Profit Organisations Act. Previously, he was a photojournalist.

Darren Trickett

Darren helped us research and update the information we have in the Investing in Cayman chapter about investing in a pension. Darren is the Pension Sales & Relationship Manager at Island Heritage and has over 25 years of banking, finance and investment experience working for a number of retail banks with roles spanning from IT Administration to Branch Management. In 2017 Darren joined Island Heritage to launch a new pension offering to bring greater strength, selection and transparency to employers. Island Heritage is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bermuda-based BF&M, with pension assets of over US$ 1.5 billion and 117 year history as a leading insurer.

Ingrid Pierce

Ingrid wrote and updated the section on Investment Funds in the Cayman a Global Financial Centre chapter. Ingrid is Walkers’ Global Managing Partner and heads the Cayman Investment Funds Group. Ingrid has over 20 years experience and is recognised as one of the world’s leading investment funds lawyers. She has particular expertise in advising funds on managing distress in volatile markets and has considerable experience with contentious matters having acted in connection with the acquisition, restructuring and winding down of various high profile funds.

David Pytches

David wrote and updated the Trusts information which we have in our Cayman a Global Financial Centre chapter. David is a partner in Walkers’ Private Capital & Trusts Group. He has over 20 years experience in wealth and succession planning. He advises institutional trustees, ultra-high-net-worth private clients and family offices on all aspects of Cayman Islands and BVI trusts and succession law, including the formation, administration and restructuring of trusts and foundations, private trust companies, charitable and philanthropic ventures, wills and estate administration.

Philip Paschalides

Philip suggested to us and then wrote the new section on Single Family Offices in our Cayman a Global Financial Centre chapter. Philip is a partner in Walkers’ Finance & Corporate practice and also in the firm’s Private Capital & Trusts practice, representing private clients and family offices on cross-border transactions. He also deals with the establishment of family offices and the relocation of individuals and businesses to Cayman. For many years Philip has been regarded by the legal directories as a market leader for structured finance transactions.

Rebecca Davidson

Rebecca has been sharing her amazing photography with us for 17 years! Her lovely photos grace many chapters in this issue. Rebecca Davidson is an award winning photographer based in the Cayman Islands. Arriving from the UK as a teenager, she quickly fell in love with the Island and learned her trade here among the people she grew up with. She now has 20 years worth of experience photographing newborns, families and doing commercial work, and she specialises in weddings. Rebecca books international weddings each year so that her family can travel and experience different cultures around the world.

Nick Dunne

Nick reviewed and updated all the legal information we have on Establishing a Business in our Running a Business chapter. Nick is a partner in Walkers’ Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Group. His practice focuses on major and complex international and cross-border commercial disputes and arbitrations with a particular interest in fraud and asset recovery. Nick frequently appears before the Grand Court and the CI Court of Appeal, and has experience of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Nick also heads the Cayman Islands Employment group and has significant practical experience dealing with both contentious and non-contentious labour and licensing matters.

Tony de Quintal

Tony helped us update the information in the Cayman a Global Financial Centre chapter on Reinsurance. As a senior counsel in the Regulatory & Risk Advisory Group at Walkers, Tony specialises in financial services regulatory law and risk management and he regularly acts for major banks, investment managers, fintech companies and corporate trustees. Tony is the regulatory lead on Cayman Islands insurance-related transactions, having advised on the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s insurance rules and standards, including the formulation of Solvency II rules and regulations during his time in the UK.

Tamsin West

Tamsin helped us write and update the section on Companies & Partnerships in the Cayman a Global Financial Centre chapter. Tamsin is a partner in Walkers’ Global Investment Funds Group, advising on a broad range of investment funds, corporate mergers and acquisitions matters. Tamsin has specialist experience in investment funds of all types, including private equity funds and hedge funds. An integral part of Tamsin’s practice involves advising global corporations, investment funds and other financial institutions in relation to joint ventures, acquisitions, disposals and restructurings.