Life and Law on the Cayman Islands

Vicki Hazelden, partner at Walkers Global, reveals her life and work on the Cayman Islands...

Sunshine Vs Rain...

You are originally for the UK and worked at Clifford Chance in the securities group, what prompted you to leave your position and relocate to the Cayman Islands?

Like a lot of people I had never heard of the Cayman Islands. My room-mate at Clifford Chance was married to someone from Cayman and he told me a bit about it. To be honest it all sounded rather too good to be true. Through another contact I then met a Walkers business development partner for a coffee and they arranged an interview and I flew out to see Cayman in December 1999. After a particularly cold and stressful January in London , I decided to take the job.

Are you glad you made that step and would you ever consider returning to the UK or, if not, moving to another Walkers office?

Absolutely. I have never regretted it for a second. I was the managing partner of our Hong Kong office for 3 years between 2003 and 2006. This was a great career opportunity for me but made me appreciate Cayman all the more. I don't think I would enjoy living and working in the UK again.

There are, obviously, a number of law firms operating in the Cayman Islands. What skills or areas of expertise should a lawyer, ideally, be proficient in should they be considering leaving the grey skies behind?

The key skill we look for is excellent corporate law knowledge. Ideally a candidate would have had experience of a particular speciality related to our core business such as structured finance work, investment funds or private equity transactions. Our clients are the market leaders in such areas and we look to recruit lawyers who have had relevant experience from magic circle firms.

 How has you life/work balance changed now that you are based in the Cayman Islands

For a start, I actually have a life/work balance! Working in London was all-consuming and I began to find that work was becoming my life. I am the mother of two (and soon to be three) children and would never have dreamed of combining a career with children while working as a corporate lawyer in London. My daily commute is 10 minutes by car from my driveway to my parking space below Walker House. Usually I can manage my day to be home to see the children for a decent period in the evening and weekend work is very controllable.

Can you describe your typical day?

I'm generally woken up rather earlier than I'd like and spend some time with the children (and the dog!). The working day kicks off at 8.30am which took a bit of getting used to but it's light so early here that this isn't actually as bad as it sounds. I have a team of lawyers who work for me as well as a secretary and paralegal. I spend the day doing a mix of transactional work, partners meetings and marketing.

What do you think are the main benefits of moving to an offshore law firm?

I enjoy the challenge of dealing with a large number of matters as off-shore counsel rather than one or two as lead counsel. We work on the most interesting deals in the market with the best onshore firms in the world. As for going offshore to Cayman, the weather is unbeatable, the salaries are tax free and the standard of living is very high.

 Any negative aspects? Anything you miss?

I really struggle to find a downside to living here. Waitrose? Of course I miss seeing my family but they turn up here for long patches so even that isn't too bad.

 Is there a good support system set up for those wishing to make the move? Are there any specific packages or incentives designed for potential candidates?

Obviously Walkers pays for flights, shipping etc and we also provide accommodation and a car for a month for new lawyers to help in the settling in process. Cayman is a very friendly place so people tend to settle in very quickly. Finding somewhere nice to live is very easy especially if you've been used to a flat in London.

 How often do you get to visit friends and family back at home?

I get a generous holiday allowance so I have plenty of time to see people but I prefer to go somewhere different rather than the UK. I usually fly back to the UK once every year or so.

How often do you get to travel with your job and do you feel you have had any extra opportunities or privileges awarded to you which wouldn’t necessarily have been readily or quickly available if you practiced back at home?

We travel a lot particularly to the States. When I was in Hong Kong I travelled all over Asia. Generally I think the job offers much more than the life I would have had in London. Walkers have a progressive attitude and have treated me very well in terms of my career development. Much as this is something that should be changed, I am not sure that there are too many London firms that would offer a woman expecting her first child the opportunity to become the managing partner of a new overseas office, for example.


Vanessa Wozniak