One of the leading guides to the legal profession, The Legal 500, was released yesterday and in its overview of the Isle of Man legal market it noted:

“The key development in 2016 is the entry of Keystone Law; having established itself in Australia and England, it is the only firm with both a presence in the Isle of Man (or, for that matter, any of the crown dependencies) and a substantial onshore presence.”

It has been less than two years since Keystone launched in Douglas and the results this year highlight the success of the firm, which was described as being “equal to or better than the long-established Isle of Man law firms”, “highly responsive”, and providing “an excellent service – it is hungry and energetic when other firms are asleep”.

Keystone’s lawyers saw praise from clients for excellent response times and their “extensive experience and an excellent approach to understanding clients’ needs, addressing them in a professional and proficient manner”.

The firm was recognised for its advice in Dispute Resolution, Employment, Insurance & Pensions, Corporate & Commercial, and Banking & Finance, and almost every lawyer in the team was individually recognised for delivery of legal advice. Director Gillian Christian, accompanied by colleagues Ben Hughes and Charles Coleman also gained the coveted Elite ranking of Leading Individuals.

Managing Director Geoff Kermeen, who was also ranked in the directory as “technically very good, commercial and responsive”, commented on the results:

“We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved rankings in all of our core practice areas. Establishing a new law firm in the Isle of Man was no easy task, but the comments and feedback highlight how we have remained true to our launch goal of attracting the very best lawyers and delivering an excellent level of service to clients with bespoke attention which is hard to find elsewhere. I would like to thank all the team and the ongoing support of our clients in achieving this fantastic result.”

KEYSTONE LAWYERS AND THE PRACTICE AREAS IN WHICH THEY ARE RANKED

Banking & Finance – Geoff Kermeen and William Margot

Corporate & Commercial – Geoff Kermeen, Sally Cranshaw and Stephen Rodd

Dispute Resolution – Gillian Christian and Rachel Berry

Employment – Gillian Christian and Rachel Berry

Insurance & Pensions – Ben Hughes