Harney Westwood & Riegels

Head offices of Harney Westwood & Riegels.

Harney Westwood & Riegels (or Harneys) is an offshore magic circle law firm headquartered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).[1] It also has offices in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Hong Kong, London, Montevideo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver, and an affiliated office in Mauritius. It offers advice in Anguillan, BVI, Caymanian, Cypriot and Mauritius law. The current managing partner is Peter Tarn.[2]

History

Harneys is the oldest and largest legal practice in the BVI.[1] Combined with its affiliated fiduciary services business, Harneys is the second largest private employer in the BVI. The firm began in 1960 when Harold Harney formed the first resident legal practice to be set up in the BVI. He was joined by Neville Westwood in 1967 and Michael Riegels in 1973.[3]

Notable Harneys alumni include:

The firm has worked closely with the government of the BVI over the years in relation to the development of the offshore finance industry in the Territory. Three of the partners of the firm formed part of the "gang of five" that drafted the original International Business Companies Act, and members of the firm were also closely involved in the drafting of subsequent key legislation including the Insolvency Act 2003, the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 and the Securities and Investment Business Act 2010.[3]

Offices

The firm expanded steadily in terms of new offices for many years, followed by a surge of five new offices in two years in 2014-2015. The first new office was opened in Anguilla (1998), followed by London (2002), Hong Kong (2005), the Cayman Islands (2008), Cyprus (2009), Montevideo (2010), Singapore (2014), Vancouver (2014), Bermuda (2015), Shanghai (2015) and Tokyo (2015). In 2013 the firm entered into a strategic alliance with BLC Chambers in Mauritius to give it Mauritius legal capability.[2]

Practice

Specialising in corporate and commercial law, the firm is especially well known for its corporate & finance, investment funds and commercial litigation practices. It also had dedicated practice groups relating to regulatory compliance (including tax information exchange) and sanctions.

Partners at Harneys wrote the first, and to date only, legal textbook on British Virgin Islands law: British Virgin Islands Commercial Law, published by Sweet & Maxwell, now in its third edition.[4]

Harneys is also one of only two law firms in the world (the other being Allen & Overy) which provides official opinions to ISDA on close-out netting for three or more jurisdictions (BVI, Anguilla and Cyprus).[5]

Rankings

Harneys is ranked in most of the jurisdictions in which it practices (normally in Band 1) of various international legal directories. As of 2014, Harney's ratings include:

Harneys Legal Directory Rankings (2014)
Jurisdiction Practice Area Ranking Position
Chambers Global
Anguilla General Business Law Band 1[6]
British Virgin Islands Financial & Corporate Band 1[7]
British Virgin Islands Dispute Resolution Band 1[8]
Cayman Islands Financial & Corporate Band 4[9]
Cayman Islands Dispute Resolution Band 3[10]
Cyprus Corporate / Commercial Band 2[11]
Mauritius General Business Law Band 1[12]
IFLR 1000
British Virgin Islands Financial & Corporate Tier 1[13]
British Virgin Islands Investment Funds Tier 1[14]
Cayman Islands Financial & Corporate Tier 4[15]
Cayman Islands Investment Funds Tier 3[16]
Mauritius Financial & Corporate Tier 1[17]
Legal 500
Anguilla General No rankings[18]
British Virgin Islands Corporate & Commercial Tier 1[19]
British Virgin Islands Dispute Resolution Tier 1[20]
Cayman Islands Corporate & Commercial Tier 3[21]
Cayman Islands Corporate & Commercial Tier 3[22]
Cyprus Banking and Finance Tier 2[23]
Cyprus Corporate and M&A Tier 2[24]
Mauritius General No rankings[25]

CSR and Philanthropy

Harneys is involved in a number of charitable and philanthropic causes, predominantly in the British Virgin Islands. Harneys sponsors and financially supports the Francis Lettsome Primary School.[26] The firm provides pro bono legal services to a number of organisations including Green VI, an environmental NGO, and Sir Richard Branson's Nature Conservation Project. Members of the firm also serve as non-executive directors of the BVI Humane Society, the BVI Paralympics Organisation, and Virgin Islands Search and Rescue.

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "British Virgin Islands: A Guide To Harney Westwood & Riegels". Mondaq. 18 February 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Harneys - About Us". Harney Westwood & Riegels. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Harneys - History". Harney Westwood & Riegels. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  4. ↑ British Virgin Islands Commercial Law (3rd ed.). Sweet & Maxwell. 2014. ISBN 9789626615294.
  5. ↑ http://www2.isda.org/functional-areas/legal-and-documentation/opinions/ (Login and password required)
  6. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/16/852/Editorial/2/1
  7. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/42/884/Editorial/2/1
  8. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/42/467/Editorial/2/1
  9. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/42/467/Editorial/2/1
  10. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/53/467/Editorial/2/1
  11. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/68/242/Editorial/2/1
  12. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/68/242/Editorial/2/1
  13. ↑ http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/27/British-Virgin-Islands.html
  14. ↑ http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/27/British-Virgin-Islands.html
  15. ↑ http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/33/Cayman-Islands.html
  16. ↑ http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/33/Cayman-Islands.html
  17. ↑ http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/82/Mauritius.html
  18. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/anguilla/directory
  19. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/british-virgin-islands/corporate-and-commercial
  20. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/british-virgin-islands/trusts-private-client
  21. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/cayman-islands/corporate-and-commercial
  22. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/cayman-islands/corporate-and-commercial
  23. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/cyprus/banking-and-finance
  24. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/cyprus/corporate-and-manda
  25. ↑ http://www.legal500.com/c/mauritius/directory
  26. ↑ http://www.bvihotpress.com/latest-news/item/4328-harneys-donate-20-computers-to-francis-lettsome-primary.html
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