Vanessa Schrum
Vanessa Schrum
Partner | Appleby
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Planning
Trusts & Trusteeship
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Vanessa Schrum is a Partner and group head of the private client & trusts practice group in the Bermuda office of Appleby. She qualified as a UK solicitor and is admitted to the bars of Bermuda and BVI. Vanessa advises on a range of trust and estate planning matters including Bermuda private and commercial trust structures, PTCs and the administration of estates. She is a director of several trust companies (both private and licensed) and a protector. Vanessa is a member of STEP, ITPA (serving as editor of the Bermuda section of ITPA Portfolio of Laws) and the Bermuda trusts law reform committee. She is on the editorial board of The International Family Offices Journal. Vanessa is ranked Band 1 in Chambers Global High Net Worth Guide, listed as a Legal 500 Leading Individual and included in the Private Client Global Elite directory. She has received two Citywealth Powerwomen awards.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Barracuda Grill, Bermuda
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Stay current – the world is constantly changing as are the needs of private clients. Retain connections and network.
What was your first job?
A summer job at AS Cooper & Sons in Bermuda, selling china and crystal
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
I can't choose just one
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
More automation, virtual conferencing, no files
Shan Warnock-Smith KC
Shan Warnock-Smith KC
King's Counsel | ICT Chambers
JURISDICTION
Cayman Islands, England and Wales, Bermuda, Hong Kong SAR, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
Cayman Islands
Short Biography
Shan is a prominent English KC and an international advisor and litigator specialising in trusts, other wealth structures and estates. She travels the world from her base in the Cayman Islands and is to be found "everywhere" according to the guides who also describe her as being at "the pinnacle of her profession and sheer class". Shan also acts as a protector, s director of a private trust company and a mediator of trust and estates disputes.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Caprice at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Never believe your own publicity
What was your first job?
riveting boxes in a metal box factory
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
More stress-testing existing structures in light of increased attacks on trusts from regulators and others
Richard Wilson KC
Richard Wilson KC
Barrister | Serle Court
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Trusts: Planning
Office Location
London, United Kingdom
Short Biography
Described by one of the legal directories as "... the all-around superstar of a barrister" Richard Wilson KC has an extensive multi-jurisdictional practice in trusts and estates matters, frequently acting for large professional trustees and UHNWIs. He has appeared in many of the leading cases in these fields, including the Wang dispute in Bermuda. He also advises on high value trust and succession planning.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Oswald's
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Do not pretend to know that which you do not
What was your first job?
Barman / waiter for a catering company (I can still do silver service!)
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Probably an increasing number of trusts and estates disputes!
Michael Neff
Michael Neff
MD for Bermuda and International Wealth | Butterfield
JURISDICTION
Bermuda
TOP SPECIALISMS
Family Governance and Business
Family Office
Trusts & Trusteeship
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Michael Neff is Managing Director of Bermuda and International Wealth, with responsibility for Butterfield’s Bermuda businesses. He was previously Butterfield’s Group Head of Wealth Management. Mr. Neff has over 30 years’ experience in financial services, having held senior roles in wealth management, client services, and business development functions. He began his career at Chemical Bank’s Private Banking Group. He later went on to Citibank’s Private in a senior relationship management role before leaving the firm to establish Monetaire, a leading provider of financial planning and investment advice software that was acquired by the RiskMetrics Group in 2004. At RiskMetrics, he initially served as Global Head of Wealth Management rising to become Co-Head of the firm’s Global Financial Risk Management business. Mr. Neff holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Harbourfront in Bermuda
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Be prepared to adapt, Change is the only constant
What was your first job?
Credit Analyst, Chemical Bank
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Leading by Sir Alex Ferguson
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Further growth in our Wealth Management platform targeted to serve UHNW international families.
Melissa Pope
Melissa Pope
AVP, Trust Services | Butterfield
JURISDICTION
Bermuda
TOP SPECIALISMS
Fiduciary
Trusts & Trusteeship
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Melissa Pope is an Assistant Vice President at Butterfield Trust in Bermuda, beginning her career in the fiduciary services industry in 2009 after obtaining her MBA. She joined Butterfield’s Trust team in 2016 and is responsible for the management of a portfolio of complex trust and PTC structures for ultra-high-net-worth clients primarily located in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Melissa is a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Matthew Paton
Matthew Paton
Barrister, Counsel & Attorney | 5 Stone Buildings
JURISDICTION
England and Wales, The Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands
TOP SPECIALISMS
Dispute Resolution or Arbitration
Estates: Contentious
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
United Kingdom, Bahamas
Short Biography
Matthew's practice encompasses all aspects of traditional and commercial chancery in the areas of trusts and estates, related company matters, insolvency (including cross-border issues), and civil fraud and he regularly appears in the higher courts in the UK. He is recognised as a Leading Individual in Private Client (Legal 500) and Top Ranked in Chambers UK Bar for all Trusts & Estates related matters. Matthew is also ranked as a Leading Individual (Legal 500) and Top Ranked in both Chambers UK Bar for Offshore and Chambers Global (The Bahamas), regularly advising and appearing on matters from all of the principal offshore jurisdictions, including The Bahamas (where he is also called), Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, the Channel Islands, and the Privy Council (acting as the highest appellate court for those jurisdictions). More recently he has done work in St Kitts & Nevis and Grenada. He has also acted as an expert on Bahamian law in the English and US courts (Florida and NYC).
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Holborn Dining Rooms at the Rosewood (London)
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Breathe...
What was your first job?
Not sure it classifies as a job, however it was a (non-taxable - I was 10) income generator - washing cars!
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
Sapiens - a Brief History of Humankind byYuval Noah Harari
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
a growth in multi-jurisdictional instructions with a Caribbean focus
Matthew Howson
Matthew Howson
Counsel | Harneys
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Estates: Planning
Probate
Trusts & Trusteeship
Office Location
United Kingdom
Short Biography
I specialise in BVI and Cayman trust law, general private client and estate planning matters. My clients include individuals and families, trust companies and family offices, as well as institutional clients such as banks. My current practice includes creating, administering and advising on often complex trust structures. I also draft wills covering BVI assets, and administers BVI estates. My work invariably has an international and multi-jurisdictional dimension. I am a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP). I regularly speak to small and large audiences worldwide about succession planning, and also assists in developing new BVI legislation. I have contributed to publications such as the STEP Journal, Trusts & Estates Law & Tax Journal, Private Client Adviser, and LexisNexis Seminars. Prior to joining Harneys in 2016, I worked at leading London private client firm Penningtons Manches LLP.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
When based in the BVI I had a couple of favourite jerk chicken stands that my UK visitors enjoyed very much! These days, probably Hazev Canary Wharf.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
To juniors, don't feel you have to spend your whole career in an onshore law firm if you don't want to. You can practise your private client law by Caribbean beaches or Asian skyscrapers. My offshore career has given me lifetime friends and many memories.
What was your first job?
Cinema popcorn selling which taught me a few skills transferrable into law.
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
One interesting aspect of offshore Private Wealth is that we follow events round the world. Every year we see different jurisdictions and different client bases finding new uses for offshore structures.
Louise Charleson
Louise Charleson
Partner | Ocorian
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Corporate Law
Fiduciary
Transactions
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Louise provides legal advice to Ocorian’s trust and corporate services businesses. She advises Bermuda and international clients on a wide range of trust, regulatory, corporate and commercial matters and has been involved in a number of high value trust litigation and court approved trust restructurings. She is currently Vice Chair of the STEP Bermuda Branch Committee and is a member of the STEP Caribbean Conference Steering Committee. Louise also acts as a non-executive director on a number of Boards of companies and has attained her Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors which is the first stage of a three stage process to becoming a Chartered Director.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Keith Robinson
Keith Robinson
Global Head of Trusts and Private Wealth | Carey Olsen
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Commercial Litigation
Estates: Planning
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Keith Robinson is global head of the trusts and private wealth team of Carey Olsen and head of the trusts and private wealth and dispute resolution practices of Carey Olsen Bermuda. He has over 20 years' experience in non-contentious and contentious trust and private wealth matters. He has particular expertise in high-value trust litigation and court approved trust restructurings, often with a multi-jurisdictional element. He has been involved in many of the major trust cases in Bermuda and advises on a wide range of non-contentious Bermuda trust matters and also acts as a Protector. He is recognised as a band one lawyer in Bermuda by Chambers HNW Guide, 2023 and as a leading individual by The Legal 500 2023 edition. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL) and of STEP.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What was your first job?
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
Hannah Tildesley
Hannah Tildesley
Partner | Appleby
JURISDICTION
TOP SPECIALISMS
Dispute Resolution or Arbitration
Trusts: Contentious
Office Location
Bermuda
Short Biography
Hannah is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team in the Bermuda office and the head of contentious trusts. She specialises in international commercial litigation with particular focus on banking and funds litigation, appraisal proceedings, director and shareholder disputes, and contentious trust disputes. Many of the matters in which she is instructed are multi-jurisdictional and frequently involve complex cross-border issues and conflict laws. Hannah often works alongside leading onshore law firms and barristers. She also advises on litigation aspects of corporate deals, including governance issues, director duties and enforcement and insolvency considerations. Hannah is recognised by both Chambers and Legal 500 for her expertise and was named a ‘Next Generation Partner’ by Legal 500 in 2023. She is also recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ by the Private Client Global Elite Directory 2023.
What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?
Clients: in Bermuda - Barracuda, in London - L'Entrecôte. Colleagues: Wherever has a happy hour.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
What was your first job?
Waitress. I'm very clumsy which produced some predictable results.
What is the book you recommend to everyone?
For Richer, for Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker by Victoria Coren MItchell
What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?
(i) An ever increasing number of queries relating to sanctions and (ii) cases relating to trustee duties to monitor the performance of trust assets.