Bermudian Simon Payne is thinking big after establishing his new law practice, Limestone Law Ltd.

Having opened the firm in January, Mr. Payne is setting his long-term sights on building an organisation with subsidiaries in several countries and is already planning on how he can give back to the community when his firm becomes a major player.

He may have set himself a tall order, but Mr. Payne has already proved himself well capable of beating the odds during his 45 years.

As the Island's first Winter Olympian, Mr. Payne competed in the luge at the Albertville Games in 1992 and in Lillehammer in 1994.

The risk of leaving his secure job with international law firm Appleby to set up on his own pales in comparison to hurtling down an icy track on a sled at 80 miles per hour as the world watches.

Life-changing decisions are nothing new to the former Bermuda Police Service officer and British Army soldier, who just eight years ago abandoned his job and moved his young family to England to study for a law degree, having sold his home in Bermuda to finance his education.

His wife Maria - whom he describes as "my rock" - had their third child during the two years in which Mr. Payne was studying in Buckingham and their fourth child while he was studying for a third year at Bar school. They had no income for those three years and had to start afresh when they returned to Bermuda.

Since then he has served a pupillage at Wakefield Quin, worked at Isis Fund Services for a few months and worked for Appleby's insurance team.

The latest twist in his remarkable life story is Limestone, the second company to be established under a new law that allows law firms to be limited liability companies, after Wakefield Quin.

Based in an office at 22 Church Street, Limestone offers a range of legal services, that correspond with Mr. Payne's desire for variety in his work. As well as the corporate law side, Mr. Payne will also deal with litigation, such as matters of family, criminal and employment law.

"I enjoy corporate law, but the one thing that's missing is a lot of interaction with people and the real life issues that come with that," Mr. Payne said.

Currently, he spends part of his time consulting at Appleby, and part of his time in court and consulting clients about their particular problems. Much of the business on the litigation side has come through word of mouth, he said. On the corporate side, Mr. Payne has to appeal to potential overseas clients. For that, his website (www.limestonelaw.bm) has been his biggest marketing tool.

Mr. Payne said he had always wanted to work for himself and that inspired him to go it alone. The transition from working to a firm to setting up his own business is huge.

"I'm the head of marketing, the head attorney, the head of management, the file secretary and the typist," he said.

"The idea is that I will take on additional staff to do those tasks as we go on. Some people have questioned me setting up the firm during a downturn, but some of the biggest businesses were created during downturns, so I'm optimistic the business will continue to grow."

He added that Limestone will offer competitive fees, benefiting from its small size and low overheads.

His vision is for the firm to grow and to have offices in Australia and Europe, as well as North and South America. And he wants Limestone to grow as a good corporate citizen, giving scholarships and internships to young Bermudians, and supporting worthy charities.

Mr. Payne is already giving young Bermudians the benefit of some of his wisdom, as an adjunct lecturer on business law at Bermuda College.

On the corporate side, he rejects the notion that Bermuda may be losing its appeal to international businesses, amid the criticism aimed at offshore financial centres by powerful world leaders and efforts to clamp down on international tax avoidance.

"Bermuda is not losing its appeal," he said. "That's because of the infrastructure we now have in place. We have the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the independent regulators, we have the TIEAs (tax information exchange agreements).

"We have built up such a good base of business knowledge in Bermuda now that we continue to be extremely attractive."

For more information on Limestone Law, visit www.limestonelaw.bm or call 296-1848.