O'Neal Webster

Corporate, Commercial, Banking, Finance

Managing Partner

Vanessa King’s practice covers the major financial centers of the world, where her clients include international and domestic financial institutions, law firms, family offices, trust companies, and high-net-worth individuals. She is frequently instructed to establish or amend BVI trusts and various forms of corporate finance, such as bilateral and syndicated loans, project finance, property finance, and restructuring. As managing partner, she leads the law firm in strategic vision and growth, client satisfaction, process improvement, and other management initiatives.

Currently, Vanessa serves as deputy chair of the BVI Financial Services Commission Appeals Board and chairs the Caribbean and Latin America Region of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and the BVI STEP Branch. Additionally, she sits on the STEP Caribbean Conference Steering Committee and is a member and former secretary of the BVI Bar Association.

In 2023, she was elected as a STEP Worldwide Council representative for the Caribbean and Latin America Region. In this role, she represents the interests of thousands of STEP members across multiple jurisdictions, including the BVI, The Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman, Bermuda, Nevis, Anguilla, Saint Lucia, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and elsewhere.

In the community, she serves as the co-chair of the Board of Directors of Green VI Ltd., is the deputy chair of the Board of Trustees for Cedar International School, and contributes countless hours annually to pro-bono services.

In 2016, Vanessa was the global recipient of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ ninth annual Founder’s Award. In 2021, she was distinguished as the BVI Financial Services Awards’ 2020 “Lawyer of the Year.” She is the 2023 recipient of Citywealth’s Powerwomen Awards, Gold, Woman of the Year BVI.

Vanessa’s expertise is globally recognized by highly respected ranking bodies, including The Legal500, Chambers and Partners, IFLR1000, and CityWealth IFC.

DISTINCTIONS

“An excellent lawyer.” “Commercial Expert” “…significant experience advising major clients on a wide range of BVI corporate and commercial matters.” “Reliable and experienced legal adviser.” “Level of service is absolutely first class.”– Legal500

English

BVI Financial Services Commission Appeals Board, Member

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Member

STEP Worldwide Council, Representative for the Caribbean and Latin America Region

STEP Caribbean and Latin America Region, Chair

 STEP Caribbean Conference Steering Committee, Member

BVI Bar Association, Member

Green VI Ltd., Board of Directors, co-chair

Cedar International School, Board of Trustees, deputy chair

University of the West Indies, BA (Hons); LL.B (Hons) Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, Certificate of Legal Education