A LAWYER has been called to the Guernsey Bar almost 15 years after leaving the Bailiwick. Marcel Cariou, who works for Carey Olsen, returned to Guernsey in 2001 after leaving in the 1980s to study for an honours degree in law at Essex Polytechnic.

Mr Cariou, who specialises in investment funds and corporate transactions, was originally called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1987.

Following this he travelled to Australia, where he worked for two years as a labourer. ‘I just needed to get away from it all for a bit,’ he said.

Mr Cariou then spent seven years in Japan, where he worked as a translator, learning the language from scratch. He said: ‘It was two years of intensive study to master the language.’

Putting his linguistic skills to good use, he moved to Canada and worked for the Nikkei news agency, translating news from Japan for British newspapers. He later worked for DNA Media Services in multimedia and software development. From translator and editor, he moved up to vice-president of the company.

Following his return to Guernsey, he joined Carey Olsen in 2002, working in the firm’s litigation department.

‘I just felt it was time to return,’ said Mr Cariou.

He worked for 18 months in the corporate transactions team, where he specialised in corporate law. Last year, he gained the Certificat d’Etudes Juridiques from the University of Normandy and completed his Guernsey Bar exams earlier this year.