In a momentous week for the Walkers ‘Articled Clerk Training Program’, Walkers is delighted to announce the admission of four new Caymanian attorneys at law.

On 12 March 2012, Tracey Touhey and Chantelle Day were both admitted as attorneys, with the admissions of Gloria McField-Nixon and Venesha McLean taking place on 13 March 2012.  All of the admissions were moved by Walkers partner ,Colette Wilkins, before Mr Justice Williams at the Grand Court in Cayman.  This is the first time that Walkers has admitted four new Caymanian attorneys in the space of just one week.
“We place great importance on the training of our articled clerks and Walkers wishes to congratulate Tracey, Chantelle, Gloria and Venesha on their achievement. We are delighted to see these four ladies qualify as attorneys, having successfully completed the rigours of the firm’s articles programme and we are certain they will prove valuable assets to the profession in the Cayman Islands,” said Diarmad Murray, Global Managing Partner of Walkers.

Tracey Touhey is a recipient of the 2007 Walkers legal scholarship.  She began her career in education before taking up a position at Admiral Administration Ltd. as a senior Corporate Administrator.  Tracey commenced her legal studies at the Cayman Islands Law School part time in 2005 and after being awarded the Walkers legal scholarship, she was able to study on a full time basis.  Tracey obtained her LLB (Hons) in June 2009 and went on to complete the PPC in 2010 with distinction and was awarded the O.L. Panton Memorial Prize for best overall performance on the PPC.  During her years of study, Tracey worked at Walkers as a legal intern.  Articled to Neil Lupton, Tracey commenced her Articles with Walkers in September 2010 and completed her 18 months of training on 5 March 2012.  Walkers is very pleased that Tracey has accepted an offer to join the firm’s Corporate and Finance Group in Cayman as an Associate where she will focus on corporate and banking work.

Chantelle Day is a recipient of the 2006 Walkers legal scholarship, Chantelle studied at the University of Bristol, completing her LLB (Hons) in 2009 and LPC with commendation at the Bristol Law School in June 2010.  During her years at University, Chantelle also spent her summers working at Walkers as a legal intern.  Articled to Sheryl Dean, Chantelle commenced her Articles with Walkers in September 2010 and completed her 18 months of training on 5 March 2012.  Walkers is very pleased that Chantelle has accepted an offer to join the Investment Funds Group in Cayman as an Associate.

Gloria McField-Nixon commenced her Articles with Walkers in September 2010 and was articled to Ingrid Pierce.  After completing her secondary education on island, Gloria obtained a BA in Communications from Howard University in Washington DC and has held various senior-level positions with the Cayman Islands Government including Chief Officer for the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce and Chief Officer for the Portfolio of the Civil Service.  Gloria undertook her legal studies at the Cayman Islands Law School and obtained her LLB (Hons) and completed the PPC with distinction whilst working full time.  Gloria completed her 18 months of training on 5 March 2012 and is returning to the Cayman Islands Government where she will resume her position as Chief Officer for the Portfolio of the Civil Service.  Walkers wishes Gloria every success for the future.

Venesha McLean attended Holborn College and University of Westminster in London and The College of Law in Guildford from which she obtained her LLB (Hons) and LPC.  She has previously worked as a Trust Administrator with Citco Trustees (Cayman) Limited and as a Corporate Administrator with Citco Fund Services (Cayman Islands) Limited in both their Cayman and London offices.  Venesha was employed by Walkers Corporate Services Limited as a Corporate Administrator in August 2007 and in July 2008 was seconded to Walkers Hong Kong office for two years.  Venesha returned to Cayman to commence her articles with Walkers in September 2010 and was articled to Heidi de Vries.  Venesha completed her articles on 5 March 2012 and Walkers is delighted that she has accepted an offer to join the Corporate and Finance Group in Cayman as an Associate where she will primarily focus on asset finance work.

“On behalf of the Trainee Committee in Cayman we are delighted that Venesha, Tracey, Gloria and Chantelle have now been admitted as attorneys after all of their hard work during their Articles,” said Anthony Partridge, Deputy Chairman of the Trainee Committee.  “We have been lucky enough to have another truly exceptional group of trainees and this is an extremely significant occasion for the Trainee Committee as it is the first time we have had four Articled Clerks admitted as attorneys in the space of one week.”

Walkers was the first firm in the Cayman Islands to establish a comprehensive ‘Articled Clerk Training Programme’ and Walkers’ methods have developed and been refined over more than 25 years to benefit Caymanians seeking a career in the legal profession. Each year a number of Walkers scholarship recipients go on to become articled clerks with Walkers and eventually fully fledged attorneys.