Given that the BVI is an international business and financial
centre, disputes usually have a cross-jurisdictional element to
them. As a result, parties often instruct overseas legal counsel in
addition to BVI practitioners. In such cases multiple firms and
jurisdictions may be involved, including different jurisdictional
offices within the same firm. Sometimes separate offices step in to
assist as a result of workloads, client requirements and time zone
considerations.
This does beg the question: what are the rules governing the
recoverability of costs? This question has become more urgent
following the introduction of the Legal Profession Act, 2015 (the
'Act').
The Act
The Act came into force in November 2015 and introduced a regime
under which it is likely that an offence is committed if an
individual undertakes or performs the functions of a legal
practitioner in the BVI without first having been admitted to do so
and having been added to the register of BVI
