HSM LAW
HSM Shines with Gold Medals from Best of Cayman 2025
The HSM Group is proud to share its outstanding success where it achieved gold medals across multiple categories: Law Firm Immigration Law Estate Law Family Law The Best of Cayman Islands is a vote-based contest focusing on and highlighting the best Read more +
HSM Welcomes Two Full-Time Hires from Internship Programme
The HSM Group is pleased to announce that they have recruited two of their interns from the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) Internship Programme. Azaria Ruiz-Bodden and Ahmoya Morrison have both joined as Immigration Services Administrators. They originally joined Read more +
Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in the Cayman Islands
As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention“), the Cayman Islands has adopted a robust framework for enforcing foreign arbitral awards, encapsulated in the Foreign Arbitral Awards Read more +
Privy Council Clarifies Status of Land Use and Property Rights in the Cayman Islands
In the matter of Cayman Shores Development Ltd v The Proprietors of Strata Plan No. 79 [2025] UKPC 27, the Privy Council issued their judgment confirming that property rights attached to resort facilities remain valid and binding, even where documentation Read more +
Cayman’s Virtual Notary Regulations Due To Expire 16 April 2022
The Coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns, required timely amendments to many Cayman laws and regulations to enable the business community to continue to function. One such innovative change was the passing of the Notaries Public (Virtual Conduct of Notarial Acts) Regulations, 2020 which when combined with The Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment Act), 2020 enabled persons to sign property related deeds or instruments remotely and removed the need for their physical presence before the notary.
HSM Property Partner Linda DaCosta explains that through video conferencing (Zoom, Teams etc.), lawyers in the Cayman Islands were for the first time permitted to meet virtually with clients to present passports and sign documents without compromising public health and safety. The amended law allowed unprecedented continuity and facilitated transactions effectively ensuring business generally and property transactions were still taking place during lockdown.
Unfortunately as of 13 April 2022, the Notaries Public (Virtual Conduct of Notarial Acts) Regulations, 2020 were stated to only be in effect for a period of 2 years and will expire on 16 April 2022. Whilst COVID related issues continue, it can only be hoped that the Regulations will be extended. Even in a post-COVID world the need for such a provision to assist the elderly and disabled is obvious. Further in a Green Cayman it cuts down on at least a few otherwise unnecessary car trips to the lawyer’s office.
There is still opportunity for further improvements. The amendments did not effectively allow for statutory documents to be executed remotely by a person located outside Cayman, we would like to see the scope extended to at least cover Caymanians overseas.
HSM stands ready to assist any clients with any appropriate notarial assistance and count five notaries amongst our team members. Notarial acts can be done either at our offices or remotely if the Regulations are extended. In cases of urgency or where clients are unable to attend our offices, we can also notarise documents at our client’s homes or at a hospital.
HSM hope that the Government will extend the Regulations and make the change a permanent one, embracing the electronic world we now live in.