Ritch & Conolly

Ritch & Conolly attorneys are experts in Family Law, Divorce and Children Law and provide a full range of services which have the client at the centre of our work.

Family Law Services

We are highly experienced in dealing with clients with diverse situations and needs. The list below gives you an idea of just some of the services included. The services are tailored to your requirements and we deal with you on a one to one basis, to get the best result for your particular situation.

Divorce and Separation

The breakdown of a relationship can be very difficult time for a client. Whether it is the ending of a marriage or co-habitation, it is vital to seek legal advice. We work with clients to help them move on with life, in the knowledge that are being supported by an expert legal team who has their interests at heart. We deal with a range of issues, including:

• Separation Agreements
• Divorce
• Foreign Divorce
• Annulment
• Child Custody & Family Maintenance Payments
• Pension and Property Rights
• Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements

The firm acts for several of the international brand name hotels in the Cayman Islands, as well as for a number of Government statutory bodies, clearing banks and condominium associations (strata corporations).

We primarily provide employers with a full range of employment related services including preparing contracts of employment for new employees as well as advising on the provisions of the Cayman Islands Labour Law, National Pensions Law and Health Insurance Law.

We also appear on behalf of our clients before Labour Tribunals and the Employment Appeals Tribunal. In addition to our wide-ranging expertise on Immigration Law, the firm is also particularly experienced in advising clients on employment issues arising from acquisition of hotel properties and other businesses as going concerns.

The firm's highly experienced lawyers provide the full gamut of advice on immigration matters including relocations to the Island and advise daily on the following:

• Work Permits (temporary and full)
• Business Visitors Permits
• Business Staffing Plans
• Permanent Residence
  • 25 year Residency Certificate for Persons of Independent Means
  • Residency Certificate of Direct Investment
  • Certificate of Permanent Residency for Persons of Independent Means
  • Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence)
  • Residency for Spouses of Caymanians
  • 8 Year Residency with Employment Rights
• The Right to be Caymanian (formerly Caymanian status)
• Immigration Appeals
• Naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories Citizen

We invite you to read the following articles on Immigration law written by Jacqueline Conolly.

• Corporate Immigration Cayman Islands (Lawyer Monthly ~ July 2012)
• Professional Relocation to the Cayman Islands (Corporate INTL ~ June 2010)

Ritch & Conolly's real estate team is well established as the first choice for any property transaction in the Cayman Islands. The firm has been at the forefront of local real estate practice since the 1980s when it advised on large multi-use developments in Grand Cayman at that time. Our practice has evolved to meet the needs of our clients, which include leading developers, strata corporations, public authorities, financial institutions and private individuals. Examples of transactions handled by the firm include:

Advising and acting for the developers of the WaterMark, Watercolours, Grandview, Regal Beach Club, The Pinnacle and Water's Edge (all luxury condominium developments along Seven Mile Beach) from inception to completion

Acting for major commercial landlords, including public authorities such as the Cayman Islands Airport Authority and Port Authority

Acting for banks and borrowers on substantial loan facilities

Acting for the developer of the 200-acre mixed-use commercial and residential development known as Grand Harbour through multiple phases of development

Acting for high and ultra high net worth individuals in a variety of property-related contexts, including the obtaining of permanent residence in the Cayman Islands

Our team is ranked within the top tier of leading directory Legal 500, which recognises our longstanding reputation in the real estate field. Our attorneys are uniquely qualified through their extensive experience to handle any matter, regardless of value or complexity, with confidence.

The firm provides a range of insolvency & corporate recovery services and advice to clients, including:-

• Acting for Liquidators, Provisional Liquidators, Official Liquidators and Administrative Receivers.
• Attending Court to compulsorily wind up companies under the Companies Law (2004 Revision).
• Acting for Liquidators or Companies/Directors in respect of voluntary liquidations.
• Acting for Creditors generally including acting as a representative in liquidation and creditors' committees.
• Advising in relation to Schemes of Arrangement and Corporate Restructuring.
• Advising in relation to the winding-up of companies on the grounds of "public interest" and generally.
• Advising in relation to the avoidance of transactions pre-insolvency including preferences and transactions at an undervalue.

Ritch & Conolly was established in 1983 as a Cayman Islands law firm and undertakes a wide range of legal services for domestic and international clients. On 21 June 2021 it converted from Ritch & Conolly, a partnership, to Ritch & Conolly LLP, a limited liability partnership registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act of the Cayman Islands with Registration Number 601078. 

The firm has a respected international commercial litigation practice with extensive experience in cross-border litigation in trusts, corporate disputes, insolvency and asset recovery, enforcement of foreign judgments and conflicts of law.

Other areas of our litigation practice include banking, commercial fraud, anti-money laundering, contract, negligence, construction, administrative and public law, shipping, property, family, employment and arbitration.

We also undertake extensive non-contentious work including company, insurance, banking, real estate development and structuring, conveyancing, wills and estates, licensing, immigration and trademarks.

The firm has established links with other law firms and institutions worldwide.

Company formation and administrative services are provided by the firm's affiliated corporate administration company, Foreshore Corporate Services Ltd., which may be contacted at the law firm's address or by e-mail at [email protected].

Our commercial team provides advice to the firm's clients on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters including:-

• Company acquisitions and disposals
• Company reorganisations
• Joint ventures
• Partnership
• Standard terms of business
• Agency
• The sale of goods and supply of services