With a substantial, dedicated regulatory and compliance practice in the Cayman Islands, Maples Group stands out for its wealth of experience across both contentious and non-contentious matters in the practice area. The gamut of investment funds, banks, trust companies and virtual asset service providers populate the client base of the department that is led by Christopher Capewell. He has broad knowledge an experience in matters including FATCA and CRS issues, the securities investment business law, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, and the OECD country-by-country reporting regime, among other areas. Tim Dawson is another senior figure of note and comes with client praise, as does Adam Huckle, who is the name to note for litigation in this field. The ‘extremely knowledgeable but also very approachable‘ Patrick Head is another key team member.

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.

Clients of Conyers‘ see it as being ‘at the forefront of all regulatory and compliance developments‘, looking to the team for day-to-day advice, as well as in investigations by CIMA. The latter has been a recent growth area for the practice, particularly as regards its insurance sector client base. Cryptocurrency and fintech matters have been an area in which the firm's reputation has increased, receiving a number of referrals for regulatory advice in such. April 2024 partner appointment Róisín Liddy-Murphy leads the practice and is a specialist in regulatory advisory, investigations and disputes. Robert Lindley, the head of the firm's trusts and private client offering, is also a key contact here, and Derek Stenson is a senior contact for insurance matters. Sarah Howie, who was promoted to counsel in April 2024, is a reliable choice of counsel across CIMA licensing and registration, economic substance, data protection, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing; and the team strengthened in February 2024 with the hire of associate Wayne Flanagan.

Admired for its 'excellent understanding of their area of expertise', the regulatory and compliance law team at Mourant is a robust choice for the range of financial regulation matters, assisting investment funds and fund managers, fund administrators and banking businesses both within and outside the Cayman Islands. Two lawyers jointly coordinate the practice: the 'pragmatic and supportive' Sara Galletly, who is widely well regarded in the market, particularly for regulatory developments impacting fund, finance and corporate structures and regulated entities; and Catherine Pham, an investment funds specialist and leader of the wider corporate law practice. Litigation partner Hector Robinson KC is a contact to note in the contentious matters in this area, while Alastair Lagrange is the more junior lawyer to note.

Seen by one client as ‘refreshing in the industry‘, the regulatory and compliance offering at Ogier sees a sizeable group of dedicated experts on Grand Cayman assisting with core cases in the practice area, as well as aspects of complex cases, collaborating with the investment funds, banking, corporate, virtual assets and dispute resolution practices. The department is sub-divided into more specific aspects of regulatory law with corresponding group heads. Joanne Huckle serves as the chair of the broad regulatory team and is well recognised as one of the key names in the field on the island. For corporate regulatory, Martin Byers, who comes with client acclaim for being ‘fantastic to work with’, is the key figure. Banking regulatory is led by James Heinicke, while Jennifer Fox oversees contentious work in the area. Cline Glidden leads the local client regulatory sub-group, and at more junior level Megan Mcluskie stands out in the private wealth regulatory space.

A key port of call for banks, corporates, and investment managers, Carey Olsen’s broad caseload encompasses anti-money laundering and virtual asset regulation. The practice, which is praised for its ‘wealth of knowledge’ is led by Jarrod Farley, and he is notably experienced in the establishment of investment funds. Chris Duncan is lauded for his ‘expertise and attentiveness to clients’ and is proficient in cryptocurrency, digital asset, and FinTech matters. Other key members of the team include Richard Munden and Trevor McCabe.

Appleby is particularly proficient in a number of areas of regulatory law, including the insurance and reinsurance market, dealings with the CIMA, and the emerging technologies, virtual assets and data management sectors. Within that, data privacy and cybersecurity are notable strengths. Leading the practice group is Menelik Miller, who is well versed in assisting a diverse range of stakeholders in this area, from banks, investment firms and fiduciaries, to insurers, alternative lenders funds and fintech companies. Clients show great admiration for Miriam Smyth's 'incredibly valuable' regulatory and compliance practice, and she is a frequent advisor on complex cross-border issues, license applications, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, and financial institutions' M&A. Further key names include privacy and data protection specialist Peter Colegate, Simon Raftopoulos, who leads the local corporate law department, and Jacob MacAdam, who has a broad practice across financing and transactions.

Campbells is especially strong on the contentious side of regulatory matters and is the counsel of choice in such for numerous banks, investment funds, insurance companies and company service providers. CIMA enforcements, administrative fines, examinations, controllerships, appeals, and judicial reviews are all in the wheelhouse of the department that is co-headed by head of the litigation, insolvency and restructuring group, Guy Manning, and corporate practice leader Alan Craig. Another name to note on the contentious side is Paul Kennedy, while Jeremy Durston is a strong choice for cross-jurisdictional treaty requests and white-collar fraud mandates. James Austin-Smith is a further key figure.