Harney Westwood & Riegels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harney Westwood & Riegels (or Harneys) was founded in 1960 when Harold Harney formed the first resident legal practice to be set up in the British Virgin Islands. He was joined by Neville Westwood in 1967, and then by Michael Riegels in 1974.
According to the firm's website: "Harneys is the oldest and largest legal practice in the British Virgin Islands, and is consistently ranked as the leading law firm in the jurisdiction by the major international legal directories." The firm's claim to be the leading law firm in the British Virgin Islands is certainly reflected by its size: it is by some distance the largest BVI law firm, having more BVI lawyers working in its head office in the British Virgin Islands than its three nearest competitors combined. Harneys is presently the only tier 1 firm in the British Virgin Islands in each of the Chambers, IFLR and Legal 500 directories.
The firm specialises in corporate and commercial law, although it has practice groups for all areas of civil law other than matrimonial law.
Apart from the firm's main office in the British Virgin Islands, it also has smaller offices in London, Hong Kong and Anguilla.
The firm has worked closely with the government of the British Virgin Islands 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.
The firm is also the largest employer in the British Virgin Islands after the government.
