Offshore roles

OFFSHORE BACKGROUND 

There has never been a better time to consider a position as an ‘offshore’ lawyer.  Internationally, these centres are viewed in a much more positive light ever since the OECD and the European Union ended their blacklisting process and consequently this has led to a ‘boom-period’. Furthermore, in most offshore locations, more robust laws have been introduced such as tougher laws on money laundering, tax evasion, preferential tax treatment and more efficient regulatory regimes have come into force. This change in legislation has coincided with a growth in international capital flows, investment funds business and structured finance techniques and all these factors combined have resulted in buoyant times for all offshore centres. 

CHANNEL ISLANDS 

Around half a dozen firms dominate the legal market in the Channel Islands. Whilst these firms do provide services for the local Channel Islands market, their focus is very much on the legal aspect in the Financial Services Industry. For those UK-based lawyers looking to relocate to the Channel Islands, the areas of law most in demand are:  

• Banking
• Securitisation/ Structured Finance/ Capital Markets
• Private Client(Tax & Trusts)
• Corporate
• Trusts litigators
• Pensions

The quality of work is outstanding(certainly equivalent to the quality you would find in the City) and you will find many of the lawyers currently practicing in Jersey come from highly regarded UK or International practices. There is a strong international flavour to both the matters undertaken and the clients you would deal with.  

Qualifications 

Your specialist area of law and your career aspirations will determine whether you need to undertake the examinations to become a Jersey or Guernsey qualified lawyer.  If you are a litigator and wishing to appear as an advocate in either the Jersey or Guernsey courts, then you must undertake the examinations appropriate to the jurisdiction in which you wish to practice(ie. either Jersey or Guernsey). 

If you wish to become a partner within a Channel Islands based law firm, you will have to become a qualified lawyer in either Jersey or Guernsey unless the firm you are with has an office in London. Under this scenario(and depending on the internal policies of the firm), most firms would simply make you a partner in the London office, but of course you would be based offshore.

 To re-qualify in Jersey you have to have been practising there for 2 years. The re-qualification process entails undertaking 6 exams from which you must secure 14 units. Further to this, the Conveyancing exam is in French. However, you will find that whichever practice you join, you will be given in-house training and all the support you need in order to successfully overcome the re-qualification hurdle. In Guernsey, you have to have been practising there for 3 years before you can embark on the re-qualification process. As with Jersey, you will be expected to sit 6 exams and accumulate 14 units in the process, however your course will also include a sojourn in Cannes of around 3 months. Work permits are not required for UK, EEA or Commonwealth candidates (as long as Commonwealth candidates possess ‘UK ancestry exemption’). 

Salaries 

The remuneration level in the Channel Islands is outstanding. Not only this, but the tax level is capped at 20% and the work/ life balance is significantly better than that enjoyed at most of the mainland’s commercial firms.  At a junior level, salaries sit on a par with most of the large commercial firms in the City, though marginally below those salaries paid at Magic Circle firms. At intermediate to senior level, the picture changes slightly in that salary levels catch up with those paid at Magic Circle firms and in some cases, you might find your pay in excess of this level.  

ISLE OF MAN 

The Isle of Man is an established international finance centre and has around a dozen commercial law firms with a predominantly international client base. Manx law, unsurprisingly, is closely based on English law and non-Manx qualified lawyers are allowed to practice as registered legal practitioners. However, you will have to re-qualify as an advocate if you wish to work within Conveyancing, Litigation or Probate. There is a healthy demand for lawyers in the following areas of law:

• Banking & Finance
• Securitisation
• Capital Markets
• Private Client(Tax & Trusts)
• Corporate

It is worth noting that all UK and Commonwealth citizens require a work permit, though British citizens have the right to live on the Isle of Man. Although the Isle of Man is a crown dependent state of the UK, it is not an EU member.

Salaries

You will find that salaries are commensurate with those rates paid at the larger commercial firms on the UK mainland. The higher rate of income tax is 18%.