William Peake, an Irish litigator who moved early in his career to the Cayman Islands, took on the role of global managing partner at offshore firm Harneys in January. 

Now Peake, who is 45, finds himself working to meld a firm culture across Harneys’ 11 offices, which are spread around the Americas, Europe and Asia. Though Harneys was founded in the British Virgin Islands, it currently employs nearly the same number of commonwealth-qualified lawyers there as it does at offices in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.