The Cayman Islands Law Society (CILS) has welcomed the gazetting of the Legal Practitioners Bill (LPB) by the Cayman Islands Government, in preparation for the upcoming sitting of the Legislative Assembly in early October.

The LPB repeals and replaces the current, outdated provisions of the 1969 LPB, which was passed when there were less than 30 practising lawyers in the Cayman Islands.

CILS President, Mr Alasdair Robertson, said that after 15 years of discussing the new provisions of the Bill, he was pleased it was one step closer to coming to fruition.

“We commend the hard work put in collectively by the Cayman Islands Government and those within our own legal profession, both the CILS and the Caymanian Bar Association, with whom we worked to move this piece of legislation forward to achieve a much needed modern replacement.”

The revised LPB will regulate the practice of Cayman Islands law, both in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere. It will also establish a self-regulatory Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association (CILPA) and modernize the framework to facilitate the entry of Caymanians into the legal profession, including with respect to the provision of legal education, as well as providing for a mechanism to deal with professional misconduct.

Once the bill has been passed, CILPA, together with the Legal Advisory Council, would be responsible for the promotion of the qualification, training and development of Caymanians as attorneys, in addition to ensuring that non-Caymanian persons with foreign qualifications are suitably qualified to practice Cayman Islands law.

CILPA will also have the authority to compel law firms to comply with strict business staffing plans, including provisions to ensure that qualified Caymanian attorneys are properly considered for promotion, both inside and outside of Cayman.

“There are now over 600 practising lawyers in the Cayman Islands, including over 240 Caymanians, and due to this positive growth and expansion of our legal sector, it is imperative the law be modernised in order to address the global nature of the legal profession in which we work, as well as maintaining high ethical standards of our industry,” Mr Robertson said.

“We will work with our members to review the final draft but believe that, from earlier discussions, this LPB will fairly and comprehensively serve all lawyers – current and future,” he added. “We will continue to support the Cayman Islands Government throughout this process and are optimistic about the future of Cayman law, both here in the Cayman Islands and internationally.”