Michelle Wolfe
+1 441 405 9870
Michelle Wolfe
Managing Director | Meritus Trust
OFFICE LOCATION
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Bermuda
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
The provision of the following services to high net worth families
1. Acting as trustee/fiduciary/trusted advisor
2. Governance and Education
3. Trust and PTC administration and Corporate Administration including the provision of directors
RECOMMENDED SPECIALISMS
Multi-National Families
Exotic Assets
CROSS-BORDER CLIENT EXPERIENCE IN
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
In a time of contraction of the offshore trust industry we continue to see business growth; taking on both new staff and new families.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
The private client industry is built on trust. Developing communication and relationship skills such as empathy, compassion, passion, and courage will help you to stand out amongst your peers and will assist you to develop long term trusted relationships with your families.
What sets you apart from your peers?
Meritus is unique as we are a female led, owner managed, independent boutique Bermuda trust company with a very high staff to client ratio which allows us to provide consistent, responsive and high quality service to our families.
What is your favourite quote?
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
Ashley Fife
Ashley Fife
Counsel | Carey Olsen
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Bermuda
NSW, Australia
England and Wales
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Private and commercial trusts
Family office
Regulatory
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
Becoming STEP Bermuda Branch Chairman
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
You can learn from those that disagree with you too
What is your favourite quote?
“Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist” George Carlin
Vanessa Schrum
Vanessa Schrum
Partner | Appleby
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
England and Wales
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Personal and estate planning
Administration of estates and trusts
Succession planning
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
Client referrals - it shows that the client has been impressed. Other attorneys/competitors referring clients or family members to me and/or hiring me for their own work.
Winning at the 2017 Powerwomen Awards for Woman of the Year Leadership (Professional Services) Gold. Our Private Client and Trusts Team winning awards through STEP, Citywealth, Legal 500 and others.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Stay current - the world is constantly changing as are the needs of private clients. Do not stagnate. Keep ahead of the game. Try to adapt to new innovations and technologies. Constantly learn, take new seminars and courses. Retain connections and network.
What is your favourite quote?
“You can never be overeducated or overdressed,” Oscar Wilde.
Keith Robinson
Keith Robinson
Partner | Carey Olsen
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Ireland
Northern Ireland
England and Wales
Bermuda
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Administration of estates and trusts
Dispute resolution
Asset protection
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
Building a reputation in the Bermuda market as the best trusts and estates litigator and the only true specialist.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Put client service above all else and subject to this, make every effort to write for publications as often as possible and no less than twice per year.
What is your favourite quote?
“To err is human; to forgive, divine,” Alexander Pope.
Fozeia Rana-Fahy
Fozeia Rana-Fahy
Director | MJM Limited
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Bermuda
England and Wales
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Administration of estates and trusts
Dispute resolution
Residency and domiciliation
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
Helping to settle several large, complex international family trust restructurings and disputes. Bermuda has seen a host of such complex matters and I have had the opportunity to be involved in many of the disputes involving high net worth individuals in matters covering important and ground breaking points of law.
Published highlights have included the 2017 Supreme Court of Bermuda case, Meritus Trust Company Limited v Butterfield (Bermuda) Limited which confirmed that outgoing trustees do not have the right to retain assets in respect of known actual or contingent liabilities or to require a contractual indemnity unless expressly provided for. I have also recently represented a trustee in the first significant matter in Bermuda addressing the issue of ante and post nuptial settlements in divorce proceedings involving trust assets. Other highlights have included In the Matter of an Application for Information About a Trust in the Supreme Court of Bermuda which dealt with the restrictive veto power to withhold information from beneficiaries as well as In the Matter of the Estate of PQR which addressed the validity of a forfeiture clause in a will consisting of assets worth multi million dollars. It is always a highlight, as in the latter case, to be able to provide clients with the support they need to face difficult emotional as well as complex legal hurdles.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Know your industry inside out. Network with attorneys from all the main jurisdictions. Keep up to speed with developments (both case law and legislative development) and take the time to understand the psychology of generational family wealth.
What is your favourite quote?
“Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend,” Hypatia.
Peter Pearman
Peter Pearman
Director | Conyers
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Bermuda
England & Wales (non-practicing)
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Trust Law Advice – Commercial & Private Trusts
International Estate Planning
Family Governance
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
What is your favourite quote?
Jeremy Kosky
+44 (0)207 006 8610
Jeremy Kosky
Partner | Clifford Chance
JURISDICTION
England and Wales
Bermuda
INDUSTRY ACCOLADES
The Legal 500 2017 – Contentious trusts and probate – Leading Individual
Chambers HNW 2018 – UK, Private Wealth Disputes (Band 1)
Chambers Global 2018 – Global-wide, International Private Client: Contentious (Band 1)
Chambers Europe 2017 – UK, Litigation (Band 4)
Chambers UK 2018 – London (Firms), Banking Litigation (Band 5)
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Administration of estates and trusts
Dispute resolution
Asset holding structures
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
The section 47 trust application in Bermuda. It started with a kernel of an idea at a trusts conference in 2015 and after 2 years careful thought, it was approved by the Chief Justice. The clients were delighted.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Empathise with the clients and the situations they find themselves facing. It is not just a commercial dispute, it may be a battle with a parent, a sibling or a cousin, which imbues the situation with an added dimension of personal dislocation.
What is your favourite quote?
“Seize the day.”
If you were not a lawyer what would your career be?
Secondary school teacher – I love the challenge of encouraging people with inquiring minds to develop and grow in confidence. I am a governor of a state school in Barnet and get some opportunities vicariously to experience this in action.
What is your favourite restaurant in the world and what dish would you recommend?
Le Merais, New York – steak and chips!
What do you do to relax?
Who is the most inspiring person you have ever met or worked with?
Al Gore – we were speakers at a private wealth conference in Hong Kong. He spoke about climate change – he held the room for 40 minutes and was utterly enthralling – the eye for detail to bring his subject to life and the passion were, genuinely, inspiring.
Outside of legal, what is your surprise expert subject?
Raising children, negligently.
Frank Hinks QC
Frank Hinks QC
Queen’s Counsel | Serle Court
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
England and Wales
Bermuda
Cayman
British Virgin Islands
Hong Kong
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Administration of estates and trusts
Trusts dispute resolution
Trusts expert evidence
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
Appearing in consecutive weeks in substantial trusts cases in the Commercial Court in BVI and then before Kawaley C.J. in Bermuda with 6 air flights in 10 days including 2 in tiny twin props: great fun.
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Hone your people skills as well as your legal skills: in the private client world the ability to get on with people from a wide variety of backgrounds is crucial.
What is your favourite quote?
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true,” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Dakis Hagen QC
Dakis Hagen QC
Queen's Counsel | Serle Court
JURISDICTIONS QUALIFIED IN
Gibraltar
England and Wales
Bermuda
TOP 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Administration of estates and trusts
Dispute resolution
Asset protection
What has been the highlight of your practice over the past 12 months?
The highlight of my practice in the last 12 months has been being part of the successful team in the Barker v Baxendale Walker appeal, a high profile negligence case about a defective tax scheme which used an offshore trustee. We won in the Court of Appeal after five long, hard years of litigation (having lost in the first instance). Though now there is an application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court...
What advice would you give rising stars/new lawyers in the private client world?
Humility is how you maintain your standards; never be arrogant about your skill; never (if you are in litigation) underestimate your opponent. Remember this is an area of law where personal interaction matters.
What is your favourite quote?
“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others,” Otto von Bismarck.