Vanessa is a partner and is the Local Practice Head of Private Client & Trusts group in the Bermuda office. She joined Appleby in 1998 and became a partner in 2008.
Vanessa has extensive experience on a wide range of trust and estate planning matters. She often advises on the use of Bermuda private and commercial trust structures (including purpose trusts and unit trusts), the administration of complex and large estates and all areas of probate and equity matters in Bermuda, including applications to the Supreme Court of Bermuda. She drafts and reviews all forms of trusts and ancillary documentation, wills, enduring powers of attorney, health care directives and other estate planning documents and is responsible for general practice within the team.
Her published works are numerous and include contributions to the Bermuda sections in the 2010 European Lawyer Private Client Tax, Tolley's International Succession Laws, Tolley’s Planning and Administration of Offshore and Onshore Trusts, various OFC Reports and the STEP Directory. She has been a frequent contributor of articles to the ‘Legally Speaking’ column in the Bermuda Royal Gazette and often writes and lectures on trust and estate planning topics, both locally and internationally.
Vanessa has been awarded professional accolades throughout her career, most recently receiving a Best of the Best - Trusts and Estates Bermuda recognition from Expert Guides Leading Lawyers 2010 and an endorsement by PLC Which Lawyer? in the Private Client practice area 2010.
She was also recognised in the 2012 Citywealth 'Leaders List'. This annual list aims to highlight the best of those individuals working in the wealth management sector.
She is a member of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and was on the committee of the STEP Bermuda branch for three years.
Vanessa was called to the Bermuda Bar in July 1999. She is a commissioner for oaths and a notary public in Bermuda.