Offshore Magic Circle
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Offshore Magic Circle
The offshore magic circle is the set of the largest multi-jurisdictional law firms who specialise in offshore financial centres, especially the laws of the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands, and the Crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey. The same firms are also increasingly advising on the laws of onshore financial centres, especially Ireland and Luxembourg. Definition The term is a derivation of the widely-recognised London 'magic circle' of top law firms, and is widely used in the offshore legal industry. The term has also become used to describe the offshore legal industry in a more pejorative sense (e.g. when the general media reports on Paradise Papers–type offshore financial scandals), and is therefore more sparingly used, or found, in major legal publications (e.g. ''Legal Business''). There is no consensus definition over which firms belong in the offshore magic circle. A 2008 article in the publication ''Legal B ...
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Law Firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other matters in which legal advice and other assistance are sought. Arrangements Law firms are organized in a variety of ways, depending on the jurisdiction in which the firm practices. Common arrangements include: * Sole proprietorship, in which the attorney ''is'' the law firm and is responsible for all profit, loss and liability; * General partnership, in which all the attorneys who are members of the firm share ownership, profits and liabilities; * Professional corporations, which issue stock to the attorneys in a fashion similar to that of a business corporation; * Limited liability company, in which the attorney-owners are called "members" but are not direct ...
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Bedell (company)
Bedell Cristin is an offshore law firm that provides legal services in financial jurisdictions for corporate clients, financial institutions, and private clients. It has offices in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, London, and Singapore. History Advocate George Bedell set up his practice at 21 Hill Street, St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ..., Jersey in 1939. He had previously been commissioned to introduce income tax to the island and was appointed the first Controller of Income Tax for Jersey in 1928. After moving back to England during the war, he returned to Jersey and set up in partnership with another prominent lawyer, Dick Cristin. Founding Bedell and Cristin, as it was then known, in 1958. Dick Cristin helped pio ...
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Matheson (law Firm)
Matheson (previously Matheson Ormsby Prentice), is an Irish law firm partnership based in the IFSC in Dublin, which specialises in multinational tax schemes (e.g. for clients in Ireland such as Microsoft, Google and Abbot), and tax structuring of special purpose vehicles (e.g. Section 110 securitisation SPVs). Matheson is estimated to be Ireland's largest corporate law firm. Matheson state in the International Tax Review that their tax department is: "significantly the largest tax practice group amongst Irish law firms". Development While Matheson's website traces their history back to 1825 and notes that their offices were burnt in the Irish Easter Rising of 1916, it wasn't until after the creation and initial development of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre (or IFSC) that Matheson emerged as a small but standalone law firm with 14 partners and over 50 solicitors (or lawyers) in 1991. It moved to its current IFSC offices, 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay ...
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Recruitment Consultancy
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One of the oldest references to a public employment agency was in 1650, when Henry Robinson proposed an "Office of Addresses and Encounters" that would link employers to workers. The British Parliament rejected the proposal, but he himself opened such a business, which was short-lived. The idea to create public employment agencies as a way to fight unemployment was eventually adopted in developed countries by the beginning of the twentieth century. In the United Kingdom, the first labour exchange was established by social reformer and employment campaigner Alsager Hay Hill in London in 1871. This was later augmented by officially sanctioned exchanges created by the Labour Bureau (London) Act 1902, which subsequently went nationwide, a mov ...
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The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as ''The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of nationa ...
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Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and, although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor have they ever been in the European Union. They have a total population of about , and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207, respectively. "Channel Islands" is a geographical term, not a political unit. The two bailiwicks have been administered separately since the late ...
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Harneys
Harney Westwood & Riegels (or Harneys) is a global offshore law firm that provides advice on British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Bermuda and Anguilla law to an international client base that includes law firms, financial institutions, investment funds, and private individuals. They have locations in major financial centers across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean. In 2016 Harneys was named Offshore Law Firm of the Year by '' The Lawyer'' in its annual awards. History Harneys is the oldest and largest legal practice firm in the BVI. Combined with its affiliated fiduciary services business, Harneys is the second largest private employer in the BVI. The firm began in 1958 when Harold Harney formed the first resident legal practice firm to be set up in the BVI. He was joined by Neville Westwood in 1967 and Michael Riegels in 1973. Notable Harneys alumni include: * Michael Riegels QC, inaugural chairman of the British Virgin Islands Fina ...
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Maples And Calder
Maples Group (previously Maples and Calder) is a multi-jurisdictional firm providing legal and financial services, headquartered in the Cayman Islands. It has offices in many financial centres around the world, including several tax neutral jurisdictions. Its law firm is a member of the offshore magic circle, and specialises in advising on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, across a range of legal services including commercial litigation, intellectual property, sport, and finance, in which the firm has a focus on the structuring of tax efficient legal structures (or vehicles). History MacDonald and Maples was founded by Jim MacDonald and John Maples. MacDonald later retired and Douglas Calder joined as a partner, resulting in the name of the firm being changed to Maples and Calder. Today it is referred to simply as Maples and is headquartered in Ugland House in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands office was opened in t ...
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Walkers (law Firm)
Walkers is a Cayman Islands head-quartered offshore law firm. Walkers provides legal, corporate, compliance and fiduciary services to global corporations, financial institutions, capital markets participants and investment fund managers. Walkers practices the laws of six jurisdictions ( Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and Ireland) from ten offices globally. It is a member of the offshore magic circle. History The firm was founded by Bill Walker (under the name W.S. Walker & Co.) shortly after Jamaican independence in 1962. Walkers is generally accepted as being the oldest Caymanian law firm, older than rivals Maples and Calder by about two years. Merger talks In late 2007, discussions became public about a proposed merger between Walkers and Jersey-based Mourant du Feu & Jeune Mourant is an offshore law firm headquartered in Saint-Helier, Jersey. Mourant is one of the largest offshore law firms, with just under 60 partners and 50 ...
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Ogier (law Firm)
Ogier is a law firm with offices in the BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey and Luxembourg. It is a member of the offshore magic circle. History * 2022: Ogier merges with Irish law firm, Leman Solicitors, to form Ogier Leman. * 2022: Ogier launches Beijing office. * 2021: Ogier launches Singapore office. * 2017: Ogier launches Ogier Global to create an integrated corporate administration team. * 2015: Ogier launches new brand identity focused on law. * 2014: Ogier launches Dispute Resolution into Hong Kong. * 2014: Management Buy-out of Ogier Fiduciary Services. * 2013: Ogier Fiduciary Services opens an office in Luxembourg. * 2012: Ogier becomes the first offshore law firm to open an office in Luxembourg. * 2011: Ogier opens an office in Shanghai, making it the first offshore law firm to operate out of mainland China. * 2007: Ogier merges with WSmith based in BVI and Hong Kong. * 2005: Ogier & Le Masurier becomes Ogier. * 2004: Ogier creates the first trans-Atlantic of ...
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Mourant Ozannes
Mourant is an offshore law firm headquartered in Saint-Helier, Jersey. Mourant is one of the largest offshore law firms, with just under 60 partners and 500+ staff. It is a member of the offshore magic circle. History Mourant is the result of successive mergers of various law firms, most recently that of Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes in 2010. In the same year, the Mourant group sells Mourant International Finance Administration to State Street, Mourant Private Wealth to RBC and Mourant Equity Compensation Solutions to HBOS. In 2018, it changed its name from "Mourant Ozannes LP" back to "Mourant LP". Offices While primarily based in Jersey, Mourant has offices in other jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second large ...
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Maples Group
Maples Group (previously Maples and Calder) is a multi-jurisdictional firm providing legal and financial services, headquartered in the Cayman Islands. It has offices in many financial centres around the world, including several tax neutral jurisdictions. Its law firm is a member of the offshore magic circle, and specialises in advising on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, across a range of legal services including commercial litigation, intellectual property, sport, and finance, in which the firm has a focus on the structuring of tax efficient legal structures (or vehicles). History MacDonald and Maples was founded by Jim MacDonald and John Maples. MacDonald later retired and Douglas Calder joined as a partner, resulting in the name of the firm being changed to Maples and Calder. Today it is referred to simply as Maples and is headquartered in Ugland House in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands office was opene ...
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