Partner Anthony Partridge recently spoke at the STEP Cayman
conference on effectively managing relationships with settlors. One
of the recurring points of discussion was the importance of getting
the fundamentals right, from taking time to truly understand a
client's background and explaining how a trust works, to the
use of reserved powers and working effectively with onshore
counsel. In this Q&A, Anthony summarises the main points.
How important is it to ask about the client/settlor's
family background?
I think this is incredibly important for a number of reasons. As
private client lawyers we need to start building a rapport with the
client straight away, almost as soon as you meet them. When I meet
a client for the first time I know that I am going to get a lot of
information within a short space of time, and possibly not in the
most coherent way, so it's also necessary to be able to drill
down on the essential pieces of information that a potential
settlor is
