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ARTICLE · 09 JUNE 2015

New BVI Legal Practitioners

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With a legal system based on English common law, the Virgin Islands ('BVI') is a highly regarded offshore jurisdiction with a proven track record in dispute resolution.

British Virgin IslandsLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Niki Olympitis
Niki Olympitis
Sara-Jane Knock
Sara-Jane Knock
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With a legal system based on English common law, the Virgin Islands ('BVI') is a highly regarded offshore jurisdiction with a proven track record in dispute resolution.

Traditionally, the jurisdiction has attracted both solicitors and barristers eligible to be admitted to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Virgin Islands Division), by satisfying the criteria of either having completed a legal education within the Caribbean or being admitted as a solicitor or barrister in the United Kingdom and being in current good standing.

However, over the past decade, commensurate with the growth of BVI legal services, these admission criteria have led to an influx of foreign lawyers being admitted but not remaining in the BVI to practise BVI law yet holding themselves out as BVI qualified. As a result, attempts to protect the practise of BVI law and at the same time to regulate the BVI legal profession have been threatened for the last five or so years, finally culminating in

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