Walkers continues to be a standout choice in the Cayman Islands for financial services regulatory advice, instructed on a regular basis by multinational financial institutions, insurers, banks, and fintech and virtual asset companies. An already strong practice on Grand Cayman was bolstered in April 2024 by the return to the office on the island of the ‘very effective’ Colm Dawson, who had previously been based in Hong Kong. At the helm of the practice, Lucy Frew is one of the most experienced practitioners in the market, including having worked in-house at the regulator, and now assisting with the full range of financial regulatory matters and investigations. Andrew Howarth is heavily involved in the full range of the team's financial regulatory work, while more senior partner Ian Mason provides further support, with particular expertise in fintech and crypto assets, as well as financial crime, AML and market conduct issues. Another up-and-coming figure in the market is Juliana Tang, whose practice covers licensing, investigations, and compliance frameworks, and she is well known for cross-border reorganisations and transactions. There is robust support for the partners from Charlie Griffiths, but the firm did see the departure of Tony De Quintal in January 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
- Social
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘We depend on Walkers' deep expertise in Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands financial services laws. Walkers clearly thinks critically about all the relevant legal issues while being commercial and practical in their advice. We also greatly appreciate their responsiveness.’
‘We recommend Lucy Frew and Charlie Griffiths.’
‘We worked particularly closely with Lucy Frew and Callum Wright, who were both responsive, helpful, pragmatic and gave good advice on a complex regulatory change in control process on a significant global transaction. We very much appreciated their attention to this matter.’
‘The team is pretty professional on the regulatory matters, provide us with specific and useful analysis. The suggestions would be practical and tailor-made for the client, which is the biggest strength of the team.’
‘Colm Dawson is very effective, has great leadership.’
‘The team is responsive and a pleasure to work with. They possess a depth and breadth of practice that we can count on. They provided critical assistance in our successful pursuit of a VASP license and in standing up our treasury management structure.’
‘Juliana Tang is very responsive and has solid knowledge in the Cayman regulatory landscape.’
'Lucy Frew - super efficient and expert in all matters.'
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next generation partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Andrew Howarth
Juliana Tang
Practice head
Lucy Frew