Grand Cayman – (February 2018) – On Wednesday 7 February, Walkers hosted a special Alumni Evening in honour of the many Articled Clerks who have undergone legal training with the firm over the years.

Walkers is celebrating a milestone in its training programme, having recently welcomed its 54th Articled Clerk into the programme. The firm is currently training the largest group of Articled Clerks since the inception of its training programme 35 years ago.

Deputy Governor, the Hon Franz Manderson, the Hon. Tara Rivers, the Hon. Roy McTaggart, the Hon. Joey Hew, Attorney General, the Hon. Samuel Bulgin and other dignitaries mingled with large numbers of former and current Articled Clerks at Walkers who gathered at the firm’s offices for the celebrations.

Alumni included now retired practitioners, those still practising law in the Cayman Islands and many others who have gone on to successful careers outside the law.

Mr Manderson, himself a former Walkers Articled Clerk, opened the reception with a welcome note that resonated with many of the young professionals in attendance and praised Walkers for the firm’s commitment to training Caymanians.

He remarked, “I am pleased to see so many Caymanians get an opportunity at Walkers. Walkers is not a special place because of its policies and systems, it’s the people that make it special, all working together for a common cause. The success of any country is determined by the quality of its people and Walkers plays a big part in this. When you think that 8 Caymanian Articled Clerks are being trained now, that’s an amazing feat that reflects well on the firm and we are very grateful for all you have done.”

Walkers has been training and developing the careers of Caymanian lawyers since 1983. Walkers was the first firm in the Cayman Islands to develop a comprehensive Articled Clerk Training Programme and since the formal establishment of the firm’s Trainee Committee in 2002, it has trained 46 Caymanian Articled Clerks, all of whom went on to be admitted as lawyers in the Cayman Islands.

“We are very proud of the Walkers Training Programme and the opportunities it provides to the next generation of Caymanian lawyers,” commented Caroline Heal, Head of the Walkers Training Committee. “It is testament to the work that Walkers has put into the programme since 1983 that we see so many friends returning today to celebrate their relationship with Walkers.”

Among the attendees were Walkers’ Cayman-based partners, along with the firm’s current intake of eight Caymanian Articled Clerks, who are due to be called to the Bar in 2018/2019.

Partner Dorothy Scott, who completed her articles with the firm, said she was extremely proud of Walkers’ reputation as a leader in the training and development of Caymanian lawyers. “It has been wonderful to share stories with so many talented individuals that also completed their legal training with the firm,” she said. “It is particularly pleasing for me to see such quality in the younger lawyers as they progress through
our ranks.”

Global Managing Partner, Ingrid Pierce, commented “I am extremely proud of our Articled Clerks and felt it was important to continue to honour their hard work and success with this special event. At Walkers we have always believed that people are what make a successful law firm and events like this reinforce that belief.”