O'Neal Webster

Legal Services | British Virgin Islands
tel: +284 393 5800 | fax: +284 393 5808
Commerce House 2nd Floor, 181 Main Street | Road Town | Tortola | . | British Virgin Islands

Main Contacts

Vanessa King

|
Managing Partner

Kerry Anderson

|
Partner

Paul B. Dennis

|
Partner, Head of Litigation Department

Offices

Tortola, BVI | London, England

Overview

In 1989, O'Neal Webster was among the first law firms to establish exclusively in the BVI to serve onshore and offshore commercial, finance, banking, business, and property clients. Today, its practice includes robust expertise in additional areas of corporate, investment funds, intellectual property, insolvency, asset recovery, trusts & estates, and admiralty law. As such, the firm has accumulated a great wealth of knowledge and broad experience in addressing clients' transactional, regulatory, and adversarial matters in the jurisdiction.

Versatile, accessible, and collegial, the firm's lawyers provide sound, practical, and prompt advice from offices in the British Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, and United States. International clients include corporations, major banks, financial services companies, investment funds, high net worth individuals, and law firms. Domestic clients include banks, public utilities, communications companies, statutory corporations, individuals, and tourism sector businesses. Clients appreciate the firm's ability handle their complete legal and advisory needs, and to create opportunities through introductions to others with complementary interests.

With these deep roots in the BVI, the firm's ability to navigate local governing bodies, courts, administrative offices, and enforcement regimes is a definitive advantage for international clients. The firm's intimate jurisdictional knowledge and involvement in developing new BVI products and legislation are also particularly notable for maximizing client outcomes.

Of note, the firm is a BVI registered trademark agent, handling trademark portfolios for brands and companies throughout the world. In addition to providing registration, maintenance, and protection for BVI trademarks, the firm has expertise in handling significant transactions involving the large trademark portfolio acquisitions in chain of title and multiple transaction recordings for mergers and acquisitions.

O'Neal Webster lawyers give back to the community, volunteering their time to civic and cultural non-profit projects, schools and sporting activities, charities, environmental organizations, and pro bono representation for those who need but cannot afford legal services. In 2021, the firm was honored to receive the BVI Financial Services Award for "Best Corporate Social Responsibility" (2020). In accepting the award, Managing Partner Vanessa King explained, "The OW partners have always believed that its role in the community is to be more than a law firm. I understood this greater purpose from the day that I joined the firm, and this responsibility to our community is an essential part of what makes us O'Neal Webster."

Year this Office was Established: 1989
Lawyers Worldwide: 15
Languages: English

Notable

Areas of Practice

Representative Clients

Professionals

Partners

Paul B. Dennis

Paul B. Dennis

Partner, Head of Litigation Department
Vanessa  King

Vanessa King

Managing Partner

Associates

Jamealya  Fahie

Jamealya Fahie

Associate
Nadine  Whyte

Nadine Whyte

Senior Associate

Of Counsel

Other

Michelle  Aaron

Michelle Aaron

Paralegal
Feroza  Kartick

Feroza Kartick

Paralegal

Articles

Recording a Trademark Assignment in the British Virgin Islands

A registered trademark in the British Virgin Islands is transmissible in the same way as other personal or moveable property. Transmission can be completed by assignment, testamentary disposition, or operation of law. When a trademark is assigned, the owner’s right, title, and interest with respect to the trademark is transferred to the new owner. In general, prompt recording of assignment is important in order to secure your rights to the registered trademark and put the public on notice. Partial vs. Complete Trademark Assignment Under BVI law, a registered trademark may be partially assigned or completely assigned...

Free-Standing Freezing Orders in the BVI - Black Swan Verses Broad Idea

British Virgin Islands entities and structures are frequently used to hold assets located onshore, outside the BVI. Sometimes these assets represent the proceeds of wrong-doing including breach of fiduciary duty, breach of express trust, or pure fraud. The vast majority of the 400,000 active BVI companies on the register tend to be holding companies, holding real property, investments, or shares in other companies including shares in trading companies. As a result of these facts, BVI vehicles can often end up holding valuable assets onshore which feature in recovery litigation, whether the main proceeding is onshore or in the BVI...

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Press

O’Neal Webster Advises Masplay on its Acquisition of Nike de Chile Ltda

O’Neal Webster acted as British Virgin Islands counsel to Masplay, S.A. and its wholly owned subsidiary Equinox Los Andes SPA on its multimillion-dollar acquisition of Nike de Chile Ltda. Masplay is the leading Andean region marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities, including the exclusive distribution of Nike in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and now Chile. The transaction, which closed on August 17, 2022, was led by O’Neal Webster partners Vanessa King and Christopher Simpson, working alongside the Ecuadorian law firm of Pérez Bustamante & Ponce...

O’Neal Webster Acts for Kalo in Sale to Interpath

O’Neal Webster was pleased to act for Kalo in the British Virgin Islands aspects of the transaction of its successful sale to Interpath, the international advisory firm which launched in 2021 following a buyout of KPMG’s UK restructuring practice. The deal, which closed July 20, 2022, establishes Interpath’s foothold in the Caribbean and positions Kalo’s well-established insolvency and restructuring teams in the BVI, Cayman, and Anguilla to compete for the largest and most complex assignments worldwide...

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