On 13 March 2013, the Hon. Justice Henderson admitted Kaneesa Ebanks to the bar as an attorney-at-law in the Grand Court, before a large audience of her family, friends and colleagues. Shortly thereafter, on 8 April, Kaneesa took advantage of the opportunity to travel to Dublin, Ireland for a six week secondment at Avolon, one of the world’s leading aircraft leasing and management services firms.

Kaneesa obtained her LL.B with honours from the University of Nottingham in 2009. She first joined Maples and Calder in 2008 as a law student, and returned in 2010 as a law graduate. Maples and Calder sponsored Kaneesa’s attendance at BPP Law School, where she completed her Legal Practice Course in 2010 and went on to receive her LLM in Professional Legal Practice in 2011. Upon completion of her articled clerkship with Maples and Calder, Kaneesa joined the firm’s Finance practice group.

“I am very happy to have qualified as an attorney-at-law with Maples and Calder,” said Kaneesa. “The firm has a remarkable training programme which allows articled clerks to develop their technical skills during 18 months of seat rotations within the Corporate, Trusts, Litigation, Finance and Funds teams. Given the exceptional quality and variety of the Maples and Calder client portfolio, articled clerks receive the benefit of broad, well-rounded work at every stage of their training.”

The firm’s Global Managing Partner, Henry Smith added, “We are pleased to welcome Kaneesa as a fully qualified attorney at Maples and Calder. She is a driven and dedicated individual; qualities which have served her well in reaching this tremendous milestone in her career.”

During her secondment, Kaneesa will be working closely with Avolon’s internal general counsel, Ed Riley and his in-house team.

“I am delighted we were able to offer Kaneesa the opportunity to work directly with Avolon, who has been a key client of the firm for a number of years,” said partner Alasdair Robertson, Maples and Calder’s Global Head of the Finance group. “I have no doubt the opportunity to work directly on the front line with a client will be of great benefit to her in her future legal career.”

Maples and Calder has been committed to recruiting, training and promoting aspiring lawyers in the Cayman Islands for many years. Its scholarship program is one of the most successful and largest on the island, consistently fielding some of the most outstanding students this jurisdiction has to offer and has, through its Articled Clerk Scheme, enabled 21 Caymanian lawyers to be admitted since 2005, with another 3 currently in training.

Maples and Calder is one of a number of international law firms in the Cayman Islands which provide opportunities for Caymanians to qualify as Cayman Islands attorneys without having to train in the UK or elsewhere.

About Maples and Calder

Maples and Calder is a leading international law firm advising financial, institutional and business clients around the world on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Ireland and the British Virgin Islands. Maples and Calder has offices in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London and Singapore.

With a reputation as an innovative, entrepreneurial firm, Maples and Calder is known worldwide as a market leader with highly qualified lawyers who are specialists in their respective practice areas.

About MaplesFS

MaplesFS is a leading specialised fiduciary and fund services provider. MaplesFS has offices in the Cayman Islands, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Montreal and New York.

MaplesFS is led by a team of experienced professionals and is committed to providing a high level of service tailored to specific client requirements.