Walkers is pleased to announce the admission of Caymanian Francisco Hernandez, who was called to the Cayman Islands Bar on 20 August after successfully completing his legal training with the firm. He marks the 60th articled clerk to have trained in Walkers' Cayman Islands office since the inception of the firm's articled clerk programme in 1983.
Francisco was a recipient of the 2017 Walkers (Cayman) Legal Scholarship. Prior to this, he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Justice Political and Philosophical Law, with a minor in Religious Studies, from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In 2018 he went on to obtain his Masters in Law with Merit from the University of Bristol; and in 2019 the Legal Practice Course with Distinction at the University of Law, also in Bristol.
As with many other Walkers Legal Scholarship recipients, Francisco took advantage of Walkers' legal internship programme and spent two summers shadowing lawyers in the firm's Finance & Corporate and Investment Funds practice groups.
Before commencing his Articles of Clerkship with Walkers in January 2020, Francisco travelled for six months, studying Japanese in Tokyo and Kyoto. He also has a background of teaching English to elementary students in Hong Kong and Kosovo as a volunteer.
Walkers' Global Managing Partner Ingrid Pierce moved Francisco's application before the Hon. Justice Ramsay-Hale and shared: "Francisco has proven to be a diligent and hardworking young man, who has always sought new opportunities to learn and develop himself."
During his speech to the court and the Hon. Justice Ramsay-Hale, Francisco admitted his journey to law was not a straight course but that he was grateful for the mentorship and "superb leadership" he had received from Walkers. He thanked his mother the Hon. Angelyn Hernandez, a magistrate with the Cayman Islands courts, for "inspiring my interest in law."
Walkers' Partner and Chair of the Trainee Committee, David Collins congratulated Francisco on reaching this important milestone in his legal career, adding to Ingrid's sentiments that "Francisco will make a fine attorney."
Francisco was articled to Walkers' Finance & Corporate partner James Burch. As part of his articles, he spent a month participating in the Judicial Clerkship Training Programme at the Cayman Islands courts, where he sat with judges and observed cases. He joins Walkers' Investment Funds Group.