Practicing lawyer Dawn Smith appointed as new BVI London Office director

On Thursday, August 17, 2006 BVI Government announced the appointment of practicing lawyer Dawn Smith as the Director of the BVI London Office. Her duties in this post will be connected with representing the Government's interests in London and Europe.

The new Director of BVI European Office is a recognized specialist in the sphere of international business relations. This fact may be important for the successful development of the ongoing strategy of the BVI International Finance Centre, which is based on promoting and marketing the BVI finance sector to the outside world. The strategy of popularizing the BVI offshore and finance sector is executed mainly by the BVI Financial Services Commission and its Chief Executive Officer Robert Mathavious. We already discussed the role of his agency and his personal role in making BVI the leader of offshore industry both in the region and all over the world in the post BVI offshore marketing. The appointment of Dawn Smith may be interpreted as the step towards reinforcement of the promotion strategy.

Smith came to the government post from the offshore law firm of Conyers Dill and Pearman in the BVI, which engaged her as an associate attorney specialising in advising clients in multiple jurisdictions in commercial litigation and corporate law. Before this, she held the position of associate attorney at another BVI legal firm - O'Neal Webster O'Neal Fletcher Myers and Gordon. Her academic qualifications include a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA; a Bachelor's of Law degree from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados; and a Certificate in Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica. Also, she is a notary public of the British Virgin Islands.

Lorna Smith, the Executive Director of the BVI International Affairs Unit, said that she is delighted that Smith has joined Government as Director of the BVI London Office. She also said that Dawn Smith is a very competent and confident professional whose background in liberal arts and experience in the financial services industry mean that she will not only effectively represent the BVI at the "political" level but also in the field of international business.

Smith's service on a variety of government boards and committees including the Education Advisory Board, the Court Review Board, the Board of Referees for Income Tax, the BVI Bar Association and the Board of Immigration will give her possibility to speak with wide authority on Government's behalf.

Brian Obvi,
Offshore Analyst

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