Head offices of Harney Westwood & Riegels.

Harney Westwood & Riegels (or Harneys) is a global offshore law firm that provides advice on British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Bermuda and Anguilla law to an international client base that includes law firms, financial institutions, investment funds, and private individuals. They have locations in major financial centers across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean.

In 2016 Harneys was named Offshore Law Firm of the Year by The Lawyer in its annual awards.[1]

History

Harneys is a prominent legal practice firm in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), established in 1958 by Harold Harney. Along with its affiliated fiduciary services business, Harneys holds the position of the second-largest private employer in the BVI.[2]

In its early days, Harold Harney founded the first resident legal practice firm in the BVI, later joined by Neville Westwood in 1967 and Michael Riegels in 1973.[3]

Notable alumni of Harneys 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 several 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), 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.[4]

Practice

Specializing 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.[5]

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 analysis for three or more different jurisdictions (BVI, Anguilla and Cyprus).[6]

Rankings

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

Harneys Legal Directory Rankings (2014)
Jurisdiction Practice Area Ranking/Position
Chambers Global
AnguillaGeneral Business LawBand 1[7]
British Virgin IslandsFinancial & CorporateBand 1[8]
British Virgin IslandsDispute ResolutionBand 1[9]
Cayman IslandsFinancial & CorporateBand 4[9]
Cayman IslandsDispute ResolutionBand 3[10]
CyprusCorporate / CommercialBand 2[11]
MauritiusGeneral Business LawBand 1[11]
IFLR 1000
British Virgin IslandsFinancial & CorporateTier 1[12]
British Virgin IslandsInvestment FundsTier 1[12]
Cayman IslandsFinancial & CorporateTier 4[13]
Cayman IslandsInvestment FundsTier 3[13]
MauritiusFinancial & CorporateTier 1[14]
Legal 500
AnguillaGeneralNo rankings[15]
British Virgin IslandsCorporate & CommercialTier 1[16]
British Virgin IslandsDispute ResolutionTier 1[17]
Cayman IslandsCorporate & CommercialTier 3[18]
Cayman IslandsCorporate & CommercialTier 3[18]
CyprusBanking and FinanceTier 2[19]
CyprusCorporate and M&ATier 2[20]
MauritiusGeneralNo rankings[21]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Offshore Law Firm of the Year (2016)". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "British Virgin Islands: A Guide To Harney Westwood & Riegels". Mondaq. 18 February 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Harneys - History". Harney Westwood & Riegels. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Harneys - About Us". Harney Westwood & Riegels. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  5. ↑ British Virgin Islands Commercial Law (3rd ed.). Sweet & Maxwell. 2014. ISBN 9789626615294.
  6. ↑ http://www2.isda.org/functional-areas/legal-and-documentation/opinions/ (Login and password required)
  7. ↑ "Anguilla – General Business Law Lawyers & Law Firms – Global – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "British Virgin Islands – Corporate & Finance Lawyers & Law Firms – Global – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "British Virgin Islands – Dispute Resolution Lawyers & Law Firms – Global – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Cayman Islands – Dispute Resolution Lawyers & Law Firms – Global – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Cyprus – Corporate/Commercial Lawyers & Law Firms – Global – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 "British Virgin Islands - Jurisdiction IFLR1000 Review | IFLR1000". iflr1000.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Cayman Islands - Jurisdiction IFLR1000 Review | IFLR1000". iflr1000.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Mauritius - Jurisdiction IFLR1000 Review | IFLR1000". iflr1000.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "Anguilla > Anguilla > Law firm Directory". www.legal500.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "British Virgin Islands > British Virgin Islands > Corporate and commercial recommended Law firms, Lawyers". legal500.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "British Virgin Islands > British Virgin Islands > Trusts/private client recommended Law firms, Lawyers". legal500.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Cayman Islands > Cayman Islands > Corporate and commercial recommended Law firms, Lawyers". legal500.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Cyprus > Banking and finance recommended Law firms, Lawyers". legal500.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  20. ↑ "The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Cyprus > Corporate and M&A; recommended Law firms, Lawyers". Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Mauritius > Law firm Directory". legal500.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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