Mourant

Mourant, an international professional services firm with law at its core, is celebrating the appointment of Joel Hernandez as the new Chair of the Jersey Funds Association (JFA), the representative body for Jersey's market-leading funds industry. Joel possesses over 25 years of industry experience and currently heads Mourant's thriving Jersey Investment Funds practice. He specialises in real estate, private equity and venture capital funds, as well as private joint venture arrangements. He regularly advises global fund promoters, joint ventures and international service providers across a variety of asset classes with a particular focus on overseas pension and sovereign fund investors. Before joining Mourant in 2005, Joel worked as a senior lawyer at Australia's largest investment fund manager, advising on areas of trust law, superannuation and managed investments for some of Australia's largest investment funds. Prior to his appointment as Chair, Joel was Vice-Chair and was also Chair of the JFA's Legal and Technical Sub-Committee. In Chambers and Partners UK 2025, Joel is ranked Band 1 in Offshore: Investment Funds, and named a Leading Partner by Legal 500 UK 2025. Joel commented: "I'm honoured to be appointed as Chair of the Jersey Funds Association and I would like to thank the committee and JFA's wider membership for their trust and support. It’s a privilege to take on this role within such a dynamic and respected industry body. "The Jersey funds sector continues to evolve at pace, and it’s an exciting time to help shape the future of our industry. As Chair, I look forward to working with industry, Jersey Government, Jersey Finance and the Jersey Financial Services Commission to ensure Jersey remains a leading jurisdiction for funds globally." In January, the Mourant Investment Funds team once again secured its position as the top legal adviser to investment funds in Jersey, according to leading independent fund industry research company Monterey Insight. Mourant's Jersey Funds team is also consistently placed at the top of the legal ranking tables, with the latest Chambers and Partners UK guide describing the team as enjoying "a formidable reputation."

Mourant has been named as one of the 2024 eprivateclient Top Offshore Law Firms, maintaining its Tier 1 position in the multi-jurisdictional firms ranking table for another year. The aim of eprivateclient's Top Offshore Law Firms list is to identify, recognise, introduce and promote the leading offshore law firms operating in the market. In deciding the rankings, eprivateclient reviews the number of private client partners, private client fee earners and private client staff in the department, as well as examining fee income and the number of jurisdictions the firm operates in. Mourant Global Head of International Trusts and Private Client, Ed Devenport, commented: "We are pleased to once again feature in the guide to the 2024 eprivateclient Top Offshore Law Firms. Maintaining our position at the top of the table is testament to the expertise of our talented lawyers and the excellent service we provide to our clients. Congratulations to every member of the team who contributed to us achieving this recognition." Earlier this year, Mourant celebrated impressive rankings in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide 2024, with its International Trusts and Private Client team maintaining a top tier Band 1 ranking in Offshore: Trusts in Jersey, and a Band 2 ranking in Offshore: Trusts in Guernsey. The Chambers High Net Worth Guide identifies the top legal talent in international private wealth. In addition, Legal 500 UK 2025, published earlier this month, saw both teams awarded Tier 1 rankings in Private Client, Trusts and Tax in Guernsey and Jersey. Overall, Mourant achieved 18 team rankings in the guide, 14 of which were in Tier 1, the highest ranking awarded by the directory.