In December's issue of Global Turnaround the focus was on Cayman and Walkers provided commentary.

Cayman's status as a host for major cross-border litigation trials has been boosted by two recent mega cases: The Saad case and Primeo Fund vs HSBC.

The Saad court trial started in the summer and is slated to take six months. The Primeo trial is due to take place next year. Both involve huge numbers of lawyers, and are regarded locally as proof that the Cayman has truly come of age as a leading offshore litigation hub.

John O'Driscoll, a partner with Walkers, observed that the large number of funds with connections to the Cayman and BVI meant that there was a lot of this kind of work. "Because of the funds, we do get these massive insolvency and litigation cases. Some of them run on for years, like Lehman and Madoff. It's very high-end work."

Walkers itself is representing the liquidators of Saad, a team from Grant Thornton led by cross-border insolvency veteran Steve Akers, in the lengthy trial currently underway.

Paul Goss, a senior associate with Walkers who recently relocated from the Hong Kong office to London, said he had helped out on the discovery phase of the Saad litigation. "It was all hands to the pumps. We had multiple offices working on the process."

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