By Anonymous

Copyright caymannewsservice

Concerned Caymanian Legal Professional writes: As a qualified Caymanian attorney, it is increasingly painful to witness our own legal profession becoming inaccessible to the very people it is supposed to serve. Caymanians are being overlooked, undervalued, and pushed aside — while foreign professionals are brought in, often with no real knowledge of our jurisdiction, and placed in positions we are more than capable of filling.

I have applied for numerous legal and legal-support roles in Cayman — many of which I was fully qualified for — and received no interviews, no feedback, and no acknowledgement. In one case, I contributed meaningfully during a fixed-term contract and was in active discussions about a long-term role. However, after raising concerns about harassment from a non-Caymanian colleague, I was abruptly dismissed. That individual remains employed.

To make matters worse, during my time at that firm, four other Caymanians were also let go before their contracts ended. This was not a small office — it was a sizable law firm — and the vast majority of its staff were expatriates. The imbalance was impossible to ignore. And this trend is not unique to that firm.

So how is this happening?

Recruitment agencies now dominate legal hiring in Cayman. These firms don’t just find candidates — many now offer immigration and work permit services, effectively packaging recruitment and relocation into a single commercial offering. This creates a clear financial incentive to bring in foreign hires, who generate additional billable services far beyond local applicants.

Caymanians, who often apply directly to firms, are easily bypassed. Some CVs may even be resubmitted through agency channels, further diluting local visibility. The result? Local applicants face a hiring process that is heavily tilted against them, even when they meet all criteria.

Legally, the current Legal Practitioners Law allows lawyers from any Commonwealth jurisdiction with three years’ experience to be admitted to practice in Cayman, once they have a sponsoring firm and an approved work permit. There is no requirement for local experience, and no obligation to prove that no Caymanian was available.

A long-overdue solution — the Legal Services Act (LSA) — was introduced by former premier Wayne Panton, who described the existing system as an “injustice to Caymanian lawyers”. But the LSA remains largely unenforced, and Caymanians continue to be excluded from meaningful opportunities in their own profession.

The current government, under Premier André Ebanks, has acknowledged that immigration and labour reform is needed, but no clear position has been stated on the issue of foreign lawyer admissions or the protection of Caymanian legal professionals.

Meanwhile, foreign hiring now extends beyond lawyers to include legal support staff, paralegals and administrative roles — many filled by individuals with no local knowledge or experience. Caymanians are being passed over for roles they are capable of performing, and often trained for, while firms outsource hiring decisions to third-party recruiters with commercial incentives to bring in work permit holders.

We must ask:

Why are Caymanians being excluded from roles they’re qualified to perform?

Why are recruitment firms, some offering bundled immigration services, allowed to control legal hiring in the Cayman Islands?

Who is enforcing Section 44(1) of the Immigration (Transition) Act, which legally requires that Caymanians be preferred over non-Caymanians where qualified?

This is not an argument against foreign professionals. It is a call for fairness, enforcement, and a legal profession that reflects the people it serves. Without transparency, oversight or meaningful reform, Caymanians will continue to be pushed to the margins of their own legal system.

I urge WORC, the Ministry of Labour, the Legal Services Council and the public to demand immediate action. Because the silence surrounding this issue is becoming as damaging as the practice itself.