(CNS Business): The concept of conflict-free litigation has arrived in the Cayman Islands with the opening of a new specialist legal boutique focusing solely on litigation and courtroom expertise. US firm Kobre & Kim, which launched an office in the British Virgin Islands in May in response, it said, to increasing work in the jurisdiction from Asian clients, will be looking to train additional local lawyers to work here in Cayman to add to its new team. The firm says it has a unique business model that does not seek ongoing relationships and instead focuses on special engagements leading to conflict-free teams of advocates able to act against virtually any institutional entity, bringing a new specialism to the local legal landscape.

By avoiding repeat client relationships and the potential conflicts of interest that can come with them, the firm says, it maintains an independence that allows it to litigate against virtually any institution.

Leading this new initiative is London partner James Corbett QC, who is relocating from the BVI to the Cayman Islands to oversee the office, and James Stenning, who has focused on litigation in the Cayman courts for much of his career.

“This was a logical next step for our firm given our extensive involvement in company and investment fund disputes arising in the USA, Europe and Asia,” said Corbett, who was called to the bar in Cayman on Monday.  “The Cayman Islands are a leading jurisdiction for high-stakes financial and insolvency disputes.”

The new offices in the Cayman Islands and BVI give the firm full capability to litigate and advocate in two of the world’s leading offshore jurisdictions for complex financial, company, and insolvency disputes.

“This is more demand-led than speculative,” said Corbett, who will now be practicing full time in Cayman. “We have many clients and referral sources from Hong Kong and also Latin America and many of them have, as part of their corporate structures, companies in BVI and Cayman. We also deal with US-based hedge funds, which often have Cayman and BVI elements, too.”

Stenning, who has been made a partner at the firm, said he was excited about being an integral part of what he called a “leading litigation boutique for cross-border disputes".

"As a Caymanian I am also looking forward to the contribution Kobre & Kim will make to this jurisdiction’s economy,” he said.

Kobre & Kim also has offices in Hong Kong, London, Miami, New York, and Washington DC.