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ASSOCIATES if they did, they would first verify your identity, making sure you are who you say you are. Then they might file a sus- picious-transaction report, which would cause you to be investigated some time in the near future." Plenkiewicz began her legal career at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto. She en- joyed the work but after a few years real- ized it wasn't the type of job she wanted long term. "A law firm environment wasn't where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I didn't enjoy all the paper- work." So she did a master's in law and economics, a joint program of Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the Univer- sity of Bologna, which led her to a career back in Ottawa at the Office of the Su- perintendent of Financial Institutions. "I thought I could marry the two fields — law and economics and corporate law — in my job. That's how I got to OSFI." Then she decided to branch out. "I liked what I was doing," she says, "but I realized that in my line of work it was important to get international experi- ence. One day I found an ad online for the Cayman Islands position. I applied. I never thought I'd be considered. But I got a call back the next day." In December of last year, she flew down to start her new job. "I picked a good winter to escape," she laughs, add- ing that her Cayman Islands apartment has become the destination of choice for various friends and family visitors. "It's very nice here," she says. "There's a place called Seven Mile Beach, which is one of the most beautiful in the world." She also engages in volleyball, triathlon training, and riding her bike around the entire island, which can be accomplished in a day. "I like it down here," she says. "The pace of life is a lot slower. The people are extremely friendly. It's very pleasant." The most challenging aspect of her job, she says, is learning the specific proce- dures and processes that exist in the Cay- man Islands monetary regime. But the work can be very rewarding, she says. "I like doing research and coming up with a recommendation. It's really rewarding if it gets accepted and turned into a piece of legislation. If it makes it the whole way, it's great. I love what I do." For those who are looking for a change of pace — and warmer weather — the good news is there are a lot of potential jobs for lawyers in the Caymans. "There are so many opportunities here," she says. "There's a big shortage of professionals." Indeed, Cayman Brac — one of the three islands, the other two being Grand Cayman and Little Cayman — just saw the opening of its first law firm. There are 2,000 people living on Cayman Brac, and if you want to be one of them, check the legal job listings. Plenkiewicz adds that corporate law is the biggie here, but if you're into intellectual property, you're out of luck. "There's no IP protection here," she explains. "So you can buy a lot of 'designer goods' at low prices." Just don't try any financial hanky-panky. DD CL HRHLFC-N2 Print ad 5/7/08 4:00 PM Page 1 Are you an associate with an interesting story to tell, or do you know someone who does? E-mail the editor, gcohen@clbmedia.ca, and tell us about it. No job is too BIG Responsible Forest Management Cert no. SW-COC-002302 or too small * The business of printing solutions C We're upgrading our printing & graphic services with the latest in printing technology so we can offer more, faster and higher quality at competitive pricing than ever before. Watch for future details coming your way. *Dye & Durham is A Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd Dye & Durham is an FSC certified company making a commitment to responsible Forest Management dyedurham.ca 1-888-393-3874 U PREFERRED SUPPLIER E Fax: 1-800-263-2772 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JUNE 2008 15 a D Y I n E 9 N p d & 9 C n D R m a 1 H a A n M S a 8 W e ' r e y C i o a