Law firm adds to services and trophy cabinet

(CNS): Owing to market demand from high net worth individuals offshore legal and fiduciary service firm Ogier has announced the creation of a new string to its bow. Aimed at providing personalised wealth planning services to the ultra rich and family businesses Ogier Private Wealth, will provide a wide range of tailored solutions.

The services will include the establishment and administration of trusts and private trust companies, the creation and administration of employer-funded structures, real estate advice and the formation and administration of investment funds – particularly in the area of private funds.

Jonathan White Ogier Group Chairman said that Ogier already has an outstanding track record in the provision of legal and administration services to the private client market.

“Through the launch of Ogier Private Wealth we are bringing together a number of related services and forming a dedicated team that will focus on providing our clients with the widest range of wealth planning solutions,” he added.

Ogier Private Wealth will comprise 20 lawyers and 50 professional administrators across Ogier’s nine offices, a network that serves all time zones and major financial centres. Ogier said that it is unique in the offshore world in that it is the only offshore firm that has a substantive presence in each of the four leading offshore centres – BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey.

Philip Norman, Partner and Head of Private Client Administration at Ogier explained what had driven the creation of the new service.

"We have seen an increasing number of individuals and families with significant wealth creating new structures, often involving a private trust company utilising a number of jurisdictions, either for succession planning purposes or for the receipt of contributions from their employers, as well as Eastern European and Middle Eastern clients investing into western markets, through real estate or fund vehicles,” he said.” A significant number of these clients are expressing a strong preference to work with an independent trust company and we believe Ogier Private Wealth fulfils that need.”

Meanwhile the firm’s Investment Funds Team walked away with a coveted hedge fund industry award last month. The Hedge Fund Journal awarded Ogier “Offshore Law Firm of the Year 2008” by a panel who judged contenders for the award based on innovative transactions and ground-breaking work. Ogier picked up this award for the 2007 Absolute Capital restructuring, which was the first fund restructuring of its kind to be carried out in thepublic eye.  Rod Sparks, publisher of The Hedge Fund Journal congratulated Ogier on the win, noting one of the main reason for the panel’s choice.

“In giving our Offshore Law Firm award to Ogier we seek to acknowledge the very significant strides taken by Ogier to build-out its hedge fund practice in the top offshore centres," he said.  "Mention should also be made of the work done by Peter Cockhill and his team who executed a significant fund restructuring, which has signalled a change in the way hedge funds react to liquidity issues brought on by accelerated redemption requests.”

James Bergstrom and Peter Cockhill, co-heads of Ogier’s Global Investment Funds practice were delighted to accept the award, presented at the Guggenheim museum in New York.  “Receiving The Hedge Fund Journal in both the European and the North American markets in a single year, based on our team’s ability to provide innovative solutions to our clients is important to us,” they noted. “Our strength across continents and our sustained and steady growth has continued to gain us these awards from industry commentators and our clients and it is a tribute to our entire investment funds team to receive it.”