That’s just my personal opinion though. If the move is right for you, including timing etc. then go for it. If you’re determined and hungry enough you can make things work.

Keep an eye on law society gazette jobs. Posts are available with government of Cayman Islands, BVI, Ascension, St Helena and Falklands.

Check the pay package especially if it includes accommodation or rental allowance.

Where were you offshore?

Quality of work just depends on where you’re working – in one job, I worked on really good, large transactions and developed my skills, in another it was quite dull and fitted the stereotype of offshore lawyers.

Coming back to UK was hard and it definitely slowed down my career progression. I’ve been in regional firms since and there was always a perception with recruiters and some partners that I worked with, that my offshore work wasn’t ‘proper legal work’ which was frustrating and inaccurate. Ultimately, those restrictions to my career have compounded over time and were a factor in deciding to move in-house.

A strong network and mentor might have eased my return to UK so in your circumstances, I would build my career a bit before going offshore. I definitely recommend going though!

Responding to ‘Burnout’ below:

– yes absolutely. 9-5 isn’t realistic but an average of say 9-7 definitely is. I think to make it work you have to like or at least tolerate –some– of what you do in London but want to make some moderate changes. So that still means having an interest in the underlying transactions and wanting to experience a broad spread of work.

– For me personally there’s plenty to do. Summers I think are objectively better here (especially as London feels more and more like a furnace with every year that passes). If ‘something to do’ means great restaurants, beach days, cliff walks you will be happy here. the caveat is that if ‘something to do’ means theatre a few times a month, the Royal Opera House, Premier League football most weeks you might not be. Personally I’m alright with the trade-off that I get on a plane when I want that. But if you fundamentally love city life you might not be.

– I think it is perfect for young families. So much safer, lower school fees. You will meet plenty people in the same position.

– Come and visit, preferably more than once. And not just for interview with firms filling your time. I am always surprised by people who turn up without visiting especially since it’s so near. Bring your partner if they’d be joining you and get a sense for the place.

Not ‘misinformed’ but by CIs I meant ‘Channel Islands’ not ‘Cayman Islands’, hence the potential confusion.

You clearly don’t understand how marginal tax rates work. £1 offshore is likely to be about £1.30, even for high earners.

If you go into it with your eyes open (i.e., it won’t be 9-5) do you think that makes it more manageable? What would you say average finish time is in a transactional department?

Is there much to do or do you get bored easily? We’re quite outdoorsy so looks like we’d enjoy it in summer. When the weather is crap in the winter, we have so many friends in London with spare rooms etc. we think we could get away from “island fever”?

With a young family, it seems to have more pluses than negatives compared to central London. Easy to make friends there or are they small town islanders?

“…BVI is the most authentic experience, as Ken says. However, it can feel very claustrophobic as it is very basic and not well served by flight connections.

Cayman probably offers the best money / most sophisticated lifestyle (and has direct flights to Miami, LA, NY, etc), but even then: (1) it’s not open to NQs; (2) your net position will not be appreciably better than a good London salary (notwithstanding 0% tax) because rent, groceries, etc are *insanely* expensive; (3) it’s a cultural desert where the main out of office activities are pickleball, alcoholism, or having an affair (look up the “Cayman curse”); and (4) as Ken said, it’s not a good looking island (the beaches are genuinely amazing, but otherwise it’s a splat of sand in the ocean).”

I would caveat that as follows (numbers reflecting those above):

(2) If you live carefully, you can control your costs. It is correct however that the cost of living is extremely high, and that is causing recruitment issues.

(3) Agreed that there’s not much to do. I don’t think the ‘Cayman curse’ (people getting divorced) is a major issue. Rather, I think people live under a microscope, so such divorces are more visible. There are however very few single people, so if you arrive single, expect to remain so. I would be wary of recommending it to people who haven’t lived live a little first. It’s ideal for those about to start a family though, because your horizons are going to shrink rapidly to nappy-changing and child-rearing, so you don’t care that options outwith your home are minimal.

(4) The beaches actually aren’t that great: the novelty wears off VERY fast. Cayman is great if you like scuba diving, living in a hot environment, proximity to the US (without the US tax obligations), and paying 0% income tax. It’s not great if you have lots of friends and family in the UK with whom you want to remain in close contact.

Cayman law firms are have increasing problems recruiting in the last few years:

1. Onshore law firms salaries have increased since the 2021 Covid madness, so Cayman firms can’t match them.

2. Work-life balance has improved, so escaping to the Caribbean (where you’ll be in thrall to client in both the US and Hong Kong time zones) is less attractive.

3. WFH means that people’s commute has typically reduced by 40% (i.e. 2 days/week), which again diminishes the relative attraction of Cayman.

4. Cayman politicians have famously mismanaged growth, with the consequence that the island is frequently a massive traffic jam, and one with an extortionate cost of living.

The accountants have had the same problems, but worse, because they’re less profitable and therefore can’t pay decent salaries. That’s why you’re seeing increasing numbers of Indians and South Africans, for whom Cayman salaries are still, on balance, worth it.

on the question re Jersey specifically, my view would be that it depends what you want and you have to decide that before you come.

The fundamental question for me was whether I wanted to live in London or not. I didn’t mind my job but knew pretty quickly day-to-day life there wasn’t for me. And crucially I knew that wasn’t going to change particularly with seniority / more money.

I knew for personal reasons I didn’t want to be far from the UK. Guernsey isn’t that well-connected whereas Jersey has good transport links. Went to visit and felt I could settle there. Even when you’re busy a walk down to the beach at lunchtime makes a real difference.

Work/life isn’t as good as some claim (or at least if you are actually building a career here it isn’t) but it is much improved. the issue is that especially in transactional areas you are on lots of different matters at once. that means that periods of complete calm are rare. The flipside is that because the offshore role on a good chunk of those transactions will be self-contained, periods of intense MC/US style hours are also pretty rare. You can settle into billing 25-40 hrs a week quite easily.

And what if you have a young family? Appreciate you were 1PQE

” your net position will not be appreciably better than a good London salary” – This is seriously misinformed. Yes your groceries are 700 quid a month rather than 200, but (at the top associate level) you’re clearing GBP 20k pcm rather than GBP 7k. Plus bonuses can be very good (circa 100k) which makes a massive difference tax free.

You are misinformed. I am here in Cayman, and the top-level pay is around US$200k for 5pqe, up to US$300k for 9-10pqe. And right at the very, very top, the equity partners at Maples are pushing eight digits.

Good work, boring location. I was living/working in Jersey over Covid as a 1yr PQE and got exposure to high quality work (that I would not have had exposure if I were in London). As soon as London opened back on I was gone. You can only go the same restaurant a certain number of times! Don’t regret the move but it was a means to an end. In hindsight, waiting until I was 3 PQE and moving back to Cayman (I spent a year there as a paralegal) would have been more profitable and fun.

What is the work/life balance like in reality?

I speak from someone who did go offshore as an NQ. I did OK but for sure I probably didn’t have as much legal skills as someone who has had experience onshore.

I did try to get back onshore after being offshore after 4-5 years but it proved impossible.

Yes it is possible to go back onshore, but its hard. From people who I have known who have gone back onshore they both had onshore post NQ experience and were basically in funds. So that’s why you benefit from having some onshore experience.

I would think the non-fit people would weed themselves out fairly quickly usually. The medium term returnees are usually because of family situations like ageing parents/grandparents etc. Or because of particular decisions about schooling kids. Very good schools in the Channel Islands both state and private. A lot of the private schools are significantly cheaper than the UK too.

As to partnership, I think if it suits someone to stick it out and they’re averagely competent or above, then the partnership odds are probably better than they would be for that person back in the UK.

Salaries aren’t comparable at junior to mid level with the nuts London salaries but with the lower 20% income tax, once you get to a more senior level the gap starts narrowing once you factor in the lower tax on the bonus as well as the base. Partnership can be pretty lucrative (equity levels are kept pretty hush) but people do very well and aren’t paying the tax they would be back in the UK, nor likely doing the same hours or thankless BD exercises to win work.

In the north, yes. But your income as a partner is probably less than my summer interns.

What is the overall feedback from people who have moved to the Channel Islands? Is the main driver for people coming back to the U.K. more a non-fit living on and island, rather than actually hating the work?

With people coming and going, do you think the possibility of making partner there if you stay is actually greater than if you stick it out in London due to reduced burnout risk etc.? Jersey e.g. looks tempting as a nice place to raise a family and still be within 2-3 hours of London to avoid island fever. Is there real potential to earn good money long term? Salaries seem low.