Offshore law firm Walkers believes that forthcoming legislation enhancing the British Virgin Islands' trust company laws and new rules governing the legal profession, along with the development of the Caribbean’s first Commercial Court and the appointment of a Managing Judge for the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, will improve the islands’ position as an offshore financial centre. Substantive private trust company legislation came into force on 15 January 2007 with the enactment of subsidiary regulations specifying which companies will be exempt from licencing requirements and other provisions of the Banks and Trust Companies Act due soon. Another step is the development of the first commercial court in the Caribbean, as part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Legal Profession Bill, which makes provision for the fusion of the barrister and solicitor branches of the legal profession and promotes legal education and the discipline of legal practitioners. Walkers said that it has already seen the impact of these changes through an increase in major institutional work for the BVI office, including sophisticated, high-value corporate transactions and complex international litigation cases and has added to its workforce in the jurisdiction as a result.