A mid-sized Bermudian law firm has been nominated for a prestigious international award.

Marshall, Diel & Myers Ltd is among eight finalists for the Offshore Law Firm of the Year prize presented by the British legal publication, The Lawyer.

The Bermudian outfit is the only sole-jurisdiction firm to be nominated.

It is joined on the nomination list by seven large, multi-jurisdictional offshore firms.

Three of the seven have connections to Bermuda: Appleby, Carey Olsen, and Maples Group. The other nominated firms are Bedell Cristin, Campbells, Harneys, and Ogier.

Mark Diel, managing director, said: “We are thrilled to be in such company. They are all impressive global firms — it’s a feather in our cap.”

Catrin Griffiths, editor at The Lawyer, said it is “pretty rare” for a mid-sized, sole-jurisdiction firm to be nominated in the category.

“Most of the offshore law firms that feature at The Lawyer Awards tend to have globalised quite rapidly over the past decade,” she said.

Mr Diel says his firm has a total complement of 30 staff, including 15 lawyers. Only three staff members are in Bermuda on work permits. “We are not, by international standards, a large firm,” he said.

The firm has, in the past year, appeared before the Privy Council in London on behalf of the Corporation of Hamilton, as well as being involved in a multimillion-dollar liquidation matter, and high-profile judicial review applications.

“The nomination for such a prestigious international award is great recognition of the important work we have been doing,” Mr Diel said.

“Our majority Bermudian firm is going from strength to strength, and we have had an amazing and exciting year with numerous high-profile cases, in all areas of law, which has captured global attention for the firm and for Bermuda.

“Of course, none of this could happen without a very competent and dedicated team at all levels. I am proud of each and every one of them, and very proud to be the only single jurisdictional firm to be nominated.”

Appleby has deep roots in Bermuda, and now has ten offices worldwide, including a significant presence here.

Michael O’Connell, group managing partner at Appleby, said: “We are pleased to have been recognised for our ability to draw on specialist expertise from our local and global network of practices to consistently provide a strong and experienced team for our clients.”

In a statement, the firm said it has acted in a number of landmark and high-profile decisions over the past year, including: Jasmine Trust in Jersey, Hastings Bass in Guernsey, Seadrill in Bermuda, The Carlyle Group in Hong Kong and Cunningham Lindsey in Cayman.

Carey Olsen, with nine offices worldwide, carries on business in Bermuda via Carey Olsen Bermuda Ltd. The firm won the award in 2014, 2017 and 2018.

Michael Hanson, managing partner of Carey Olsen Bermuda said: “Given that Carey Olsen has won the award for the past two years, it is particularly gratifying that we have been nominated again this year. Our success last year was attributed to our ‘legal excellence, depth and breadth of expertise, commercial strength, market share, innovation and market-leading strategy’ which was most notably demonstrated by the opening of our affiliated office at the end of 2017, the rapid growth and success of which has exceeded all expectations.”

Maples Group, with ten offices globally, provides a suite of fiduciary services in Bermuda.

Shortlists for The Lawyer Awards were decided by more than 60 judges from across the industry who debated entries from law firms, companies and barristers chambers.

Billed by organisers as the “largest celebration of legal excellence in Europe”, the winning firm will be announced at Grosvenor House Hotel, Mayfair, London, on June 25.