The protectionist view of some in The Bahamas is one that has emanated from the Bahamianization policy which was proffered by the government in the independence era. While it is important that we protect jobs for Bahamians, it is also important to create jobs for Bahamians. In a stagnant legal profession which has developed primarily in the absence of foreign specialists lawyers, our financial services have diminished to the bare minimum.
How many lawyers in The Bahamas do substantial offshore financial work with hedge fund managers in New York, Singapore or Hong Kong? Do the majority of our lawyers really have the experience in managing major offshore financial transactions, the likes of which take place on a daily basis in the Cayman Islands? The contrast between the lucrative legal profession in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas is clear. Lawyers in The Bahamas struggle to attract international business, which is what contributes substantively to an international financial center.
The international financial center of today requires a legal profession that moves with alacrity and is able to facilitate the work that will come. Foreign specialist lawyers are not interested in moving to The Bahamas for the measly work that exists at the local level. When a hedge fund lawyer coming from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand or Australia relocates to the Cayman Islands, it is likely that he or she is bringing a client base that otherwise would not have been in that jurisdiction. Moreover, their ability to attract more international clients will be predicated on their track record and experience in these specialist areas of law which currently have a limited number of practitioners in The Bahamas, because they do not have the connections to attract the client and/or the legislation in The Bahamas is antiquated and does not promote efficiency and business growth as does Cayman or Bermuda.
In tandem with looking at immigration reform as Sean McWeeney, QC, recently spoke of in regard to allowing foreign specialist lawyers to practice in our jurisdiction, there has to be a review of the monetary policy which explores the free flow of funds within the context of the internationally accepted rules. Our existing policy makes it extraordinarily difficult to have serious inflows of investment and stymies Bahamian business persons from sourcing international funding without the approval of the Bahamas Investment Authority and/or the Central Bank of The Bahamas. The same policy does not exist in progressive International Financial Centers where funding for business development and any legitimate purpose is abundant.
Having worked in the Cayman Islands, I have seen the substantial difference between the Bahamas' approach to financial services and that of the number five-ranked international financial services center in the world. It is like night and day and the progressive and open approach to embracing foreign specialists, within the context of ensuring that Caymanian attorneys have an opportunity to excel professionally while enjoying lucrative financial remuneration, is evident. How many Bahamian lawyers have considered looking to gain experience in another jurisdiction where their skill set can be honed to the changing demands of international clients?
It appears to me that the lawyers in The Bahamas are fighting for scraps when the bulk of the opportunity passes them by on the international market, because of the protectionist position that has kept foreign lawyers out. This position, no matter how enticing to the few naysayers who have no experience outside of this jurisdiction, is not sustainable for the growth and development of The Bahamas as a financial services center.
Bahamian law firms have been expanding to other jurisdictions in an effort to benefit from the considerable level of business opportunities. The trust, funds and securities business is an unbelievably large area of the financial services sector and The Bahamas is not anywhere near the reference point for what is an emerging business opportunity. A big contributing factor to this is the inability of foreign lawyers to practice in The Bahamas. I have spoken with exceptionally wealthy lawyers in other jurisdictions who advise clients to send business to Cayman, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) or Bermuda, while The Bahamas is ignored. This happens because if they are unable to benefit from the legal business if it is sent to The Bahamas, they will not direct work this way. If a client meets with an attorney in Hong Kong who has law offices in the BVI, Cayman or Bermuda, and asks for advice on where to establish a structure, it is likely that the attorney will advise based on the benefits of the jurisdictions mentioned. In addition to the obvious benefits to operating in those international financial centers, the attorney will likely want to ensure that the legal work generated is not farmed out to a jurisdiction like The Bahamas, where his or her firm has no presence and therefore is unable to benefit.
Whether we like it or not, every day these business opportunities are happening and clients are choosing on the advice of their attorneys to go elsewhere. No amount of chest beating, fist pumping, we are the smartest jurisdiction and nationalism, will get that business. Adopting the common sense approach presented by McWeeney is the only logical way forward if the Bahamas wants to generate wealth from untapped sources in the provision of legal services which constitute a part of the financial services offering. All who wish to bury their heads in the sand run the risk of one day looking around to see that we will have a country with the highest per capita lawyers who are looking for other careers because there is no business locally to sustain the quality of life that lawyers in successful international financial centers enjoy.
o John Carey served as a member of parliament 2002 to 2007.

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