- Offshore magic circle
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The British Virgin Islands office of Walkers.
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. The concept of an offshore magic circle was first suggested in the wake of a series of cross-jurisdictional mergers and expansions by various firms.
Although there is some disagreement over exactly who should constitute the offshore magic circle, a recent article in Legal Business[1] suggested that an offshore magic circle might constitute the following firms:
- Appleby
- Bedell Cristin
- Carey Olsen
- Conyers Dill & Pearman
- Harneys
- Maples and Calder
- Mourant Ozannes
- Ogier
- Walkers
Contents
Criticism
The concept of an offshore magic circle has been criticised by the wider legal community and within the offshore legal sphere itself.
- In the wider legal community, it has been suggested that label is a little self-aggrandising. Not only does the proposed offshore magic circle seem fairly big (with ten firms, as opposed to the five firms in the original magic circle), but it also appears to contain a fairly high percentage of the total number of offshore firms, including almost all the significant Channel Islands firms. But the combined population and economies of all the principal offshore financial centres combined still only amount to a tiny fraction of the United Kingdom, and the magic circle contains an infinitely smaller percentage of the law firms in the United Kingdom.[2]
- Within the offshore legal community, critics have also suggested that the principal criteria for inclusion appears to be for a firm to operate in more than one offshore jurisdiction (thereby excluding a number of single jurisdiction firms, such as Cains (the winner of the Legal Week Offshore law firm of the year 2007)[3] and Hassans), rather than the quality of the practice. In some cases, low quality practices are acquired in a target jurisdiction, and then rebranded as a top flight firm without any change of personnel. The approach is slightly ironic as a member of the real magic circle, Slaughter and May, has eschewed the multi-jurisdictional approach and focuses purely on excellence within a single jurisdiction.
- It is also highly Anglo-Saxon centric, ignoring all of the major firms in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
Edward Fennell, a legal columnist for The Times, has expressed slightly irreverent views of law firms designating themselves as part of an offshore magic circle.[4] However, the concept of an offshore magic circle has gone down very well with some of the firms involved, and the concept is actively promoted by legal recruitment consultants who earn substantial fees by persuading city lawyers to spend a few years working in an offshore jurisdiction.
Endorsement
Although not expressly endorsing the term, the Chambers legal directory in its 2008 edition recognised the move towards multi-jurisdictional offshore firms, and including a new ranking for offshore firms globally rather than by jurisdiction.[5] Arguably this was the first formal attempt to frame a defined offshore magic circle, although the directory pointedly did not use the term.
That list included all the same names as the list produced by Legal Business for the putative offshore magic circle. The directory expressly stated that single-jurisdiction firms, no matter how good, would not be considered.
The Lawyer magazine produces a comprehensive list of the top twenty offshore law firms, published each February.[6]
Multi-jurisdiction firms
The following table sets out the offshore jurisdictions in which the principal multi-jurisdictional offshore firms have offices (correct as at October 2008). The table does not list "onshore" offices, such London, Zurich or Hong Kong. Dubai and Dublin are treated as "offshore" in this table.
Multi-jurisdiction offshore law firms Firm Bermuda BVI Cayman Dubai Dublin Guernsey Jersey Other "Home" jurisdiction Appleby Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Isle of Man, Mauritius, Seychelles Bermuda Bedell Cristin Yes Yes Yes Jersey Carey Olsen Yes Yes Channel Islands* Conyers Yes Yes Yes Yes Anguilla, Mauritius Bermuda Harneys Yes Yes Anguilla, Cyprus British Virgin Islands Maples Yes Yes Yes Yes Cayman Islands Mourant Ozannes Yes Yes Yes Yes Channel Islands* Ogier Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Jersey Walkers Yes Yes Yes Yes Cayman Islands * Carey Olsen was formed by the merger of two roughly equivalent sized firms from Jersey and Guernsey. Mourant Ozannes was also formed by a merger of firms from Jersey and Guernsey respectively.
Footnotes
- ^ Issue 181, Offshore Review, February 2008.
- ^ The combined populations of the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man add up to 372,000, against the population of the United Kingdom, which is estimated at 59,800,000 (2004 estimated figures). In terms of GDP, the aggregate of the offshore jurisdictions is US$15 billion, as against US$1,860 billion in the United Kingdom (2005 estimated figures).
- ^ http://www.incisive-events.com/public/showPage.html?page=660347
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,28012-2208456_2,00.html
- ^ Chambers and Partners : Chambers Global Guide Offshore
- ^ http://www.thelawyer.com/regions/offshore/
External links
Categories:- Offshore finance
- Offshore law firms
- Offshore magic circle
- Finance
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