Walkers (law firm)
Encyclopedia
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Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
based offshore
Offshore financial centre
An offshore financial centre , though not precisely defined, is usually a small, low-tax jurisdiction specializing in providing corporate and commercial services to non-resident offshore companies, and for the investment of offshore funds....
law firm
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 about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
. Although the firm now has offices in a number of jurisdictions, over half its staff remain based in the Cayman Islands.
History
The firm was originally founded by Bill Walker (under the name W.S. Walker & Co.) shortly after JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n independence in 1962 (whereupon Cayman, which had previously been administered as part of Jamaica, was separated and remained as an independent part of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
). Walkers is generally accepted as being the oldest Caymanian law firm, older than rivals Maples and Calder
Maples and Calder
Maples and Calder is the largest law firm in the Cayman Islands. As at January 2008, it is also the largest offshore law firm in the world....
by about two years.
Walkers has been regarded as one of the Cayman Islands top two law firms since it was founded.
In the Cayman Islands Wayne Panton is also the Global Chairman
In 2008 Walkers was crowned Firm of the Year – Offshore Law Firm of the Year at the 2008 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards.
Multi-jurisdictionalism
Walkers was an early participant in the trend towards multi jurisdictional offshore law firmsOffshore magic circle
The offshore magic circle refers to a number of law firms practicing in offshore jurisdictions which are considered to be amongst the leaders in the field. The term was adopted as an imitation of the more well-recognised London Magic Circle law firms...
, acquiring by merger British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
law firm, Barkers, in 2001. It subsequently acquired Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
law firm, Crills, in 2005. The firm also has further offices in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
The Chambers and Partners legal directory has rated Walkers as one of the top tier of multi-jurisdictional offshore law firms.
Merger talks
In late 2007, discussions became public about a proposed mergerMergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
between Walkers and Jersey based Mourant du Feu & Jeune. Although mergers between offshore firms are relatively common, such a merger would be the first merger between two of the major global offshore players, creating by far the largest offshore law firm in the world. However, in February 2008 the two firms announced that they were no longer pursuing merger talks.