Bennett Jones Law Firm Launches In Bermuda
Bennett Jones [Bermuda] Ltd. announced the establishment of its law practice in Bermuda through a close association with the Canadian-based law firm of the same name, Bennett Jones LLP, as part of the firm’s ongoing international commitment to clients.
“We are excited to add the Bermuda office to our platform through our association with Bennett Jones [Bermuda] Ltd.,” says Bennett Jones LLP’s Chairman and CEO, Hugh MacKinnon. “Bermuda is of rapidly growing interest to our international clients who wish to operate in, and through, a highly sophisticated commercial and legal environment. Bermuda is the premier jurisdiction for those investments.”
With a 90-year history that began with former Canadian Prime Minister R.B. Bennett who was later elevated to the House of Lords, Bennett Jones now has more than 380 lawyers and business advisors based out of nine offices around the world providing a full range of specialized legal services.
The Managing Principal of the new local law firm, Bermudian Duncan Card, a former Appleby Legal Scholar, was a senior commercial partner at Bennett Jones in Canada before establishing Bennett Jones [Bermuda] Ltd. a few months ago.
Mr. Card has long-standing ties in the Bermuda business and legal communities, including his corporate directorship with the former Capital G Bank for 12 years, [where he chaired that Board’s Governance Committee].
In addition to several large commercial mandates that brought Mr. Card home to establish Bennett Jones [Bermuda] Ltd., he was also retained by the Cabinet Office to serve as legal counsel to Bermuda’s successful America’s Cup 2017 Bid Committee.
Mr. Card is also the exclusive Bermuda representative on the Advisory Board of the Association of Caribbean Corporate Counsel, and he was recently appointed to Bermuda’s Electronic Commerce Advisory Board.
“Bennett Jones’ investment in Bermuda is an exceptional opportunity for my firm to deliver world-class legal expertise and commercial experience across many specialized fields,” said Mr. Card, who has returned to the Island with his family as full-time residents of Bermuda.
Mr. Card is cited in many independent ranking services as one of the leading commercial lawyers in Canada [including the 2014/2015 “Canada's Best Lawyers,” Lexpert Magazine and American Lawyer Media’s “Top 500 Canadian Lawyers,” Law Day’s “Leading North American Lawyers” and “Lexpert's 2015 Guide To The Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Lawyers”].
“My firm is committed to bringing international clients and investment capital to Bermuda, and to growing our domestic legal practice to provide tier-one North American quality legal services in Bermuda and into the Caribbean,” he said.
In addition to Bennett Jones’ global expertise in corporate and commercial transactions, and recognized for its support to General Counsel on overflow assignments, the firm is known for its leadership in several highly specialized legal fields, such as: corporate governance best practices; cyber security, risk management and insurance; information technology procurement and contracts; Sharia law financing and insurance; labour relations; public-private sector partnerships and outsourcing transactions; critical infrastructure development and revitalization; gaming law and regulation; anti-money laundering laws and compliance best practices; consulting and advisory service transactions; privacy and data protection law; all aspects of telecommunications law and regulation [terrestrial and satellite]; banking law and regulation reform; public-sector pension administration and reform; healthcare law and governance; and all forms commercial contract drafting and negotiation.
However, for the foreseeable future, Bennett Jones is referring all of its litigation, real estate and trust & estate matters to other local law firms.
Welcome to Bermuda to the firm and welcome home to Duncan Card. This is a great vote of confidence in the island.