Conyers Expands BVI Litigation Practice, Appoints New Corporate Manager for Codan Trust

Posted 03/09/2009 • Under Press Releases

Multi-jurisdictional law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman has added Dawn Smith and Tameka Davis to its British Virgin Islands Litigation practice and named Sarah Zanon as Corporate Manager of affiliate Codan Trust Company (BVI) Limited.

Dawn Smith, a BV Islander, was previously Director of the BVI Government office in London, acting as the jurisdiction’s official representative in the United Kingdom and wider Europe. In this capacity, Dawn worked closely with the BVI International Finance Centre and Financial Services Commission to promote the jurisdiction’s financial services industry. She also advocated for BVI interests with government agencies, departments, parliament and interest groups in the United Kingdom and Europe and with the diplomatic community.

Tameka Davis specialises in commercial and corporate litigation and joins Conyers from Webster Dyrud Mitchell in Anguilla, where she advised on all aspects of civil procedure and appeared in a number of complex and high profile cases, almost exclusively in the High Court. Tameka has worked with Conyers’ litigators on high profile cases such as the Bacardi and Danone matters.

Sarah Zanon has joined as Corporate Manager of Codan Trust Company (BVI) Limited. Sarah was previously Senior Legal Counsel at Babcock & Brown in Australia, where she was responsible for maintaining Babcock & Brown's portfolio of companies.

Mark Forté, Head of Litigation in Conyers’ BVI office, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Dawn and Tameka to the firm. Dawn’s return to the BVI legal community will help to further bolster the BVI’s reputation as a leading jurisdiction for dispute resolution. Both Dawn and Tameka are excellent litigators. We have doubled our litigation team in BVI in the past three months and remain committed to providing the highest quality responsive, timely and thorough legal service to our clients.”

Dawn said of her return to BVI: “I am delighted at the opportunity to rejoin Conyers, and look forward to working with its internationally renowned team. Conyers’ litigators have appeared as lead counsel in a number of significant cases before the newly established commercial court, and I look forward to working alongside them again.”

Commenting on the hire of Sarah Zanon, Robert Briant, Managing Partner of Conyers’ BVI office said: “Sarah is a great fit for us. Her combination of legal practice experience and company management is perfect for the portfolio of companies that she will be managing for Codan Trust. We are very excited to have her on board. We are also very excited by the additions to our litigation practice and look forward to future growth across the office as the British Virgin Islands continues its development as a leading offshore jurisdiction.”

A graduate of Middlebury College, Dawn also holds an LLB from the University of West Indies in Barbados, a Certificate of Legal Education from Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, and has sat on various committees within the financial services industry.

Tameka holds an LLB (Hons) from Holborn College, London, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Training from BPP School of Law, London. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales in July 2003 and admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Anguilla Circuit) in November 2005.