Hélène is a national of Trinidad and Tobago and English qualified lawyer of more than twenty-five years who has been practising in the BVI since 1990. She is the Founding Partner of SimonetteLewis a boutique law practice that serves as BVI legal advisers to private banks in Europe and Asia as well as to private wealth advisers and high net worth individuals onshore. Mrs Lewis’ practice includes advising on property, trust, probate and corporate matters involving BVI structures. With her Litigation Partner, she has also appeared in several high value trust and civil litigation matters in the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands and the OECS Court of Appeal. She has presented to several conferences on Trust, Compliance and Corporate issues and is a member of the organising committee of one of the trust industry’s most successful conferences – the STEP Caribbean Conference which she has chaired twice in her capacity as Chairman of the BVI Branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (“STEP”).
After admission to the Bar at Gray’s Inn the former Hélène Anne Simonette returned to Trinidad where she was at various times, State Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers, Legal Advisor to the Ombudsman and to the Leader of the Opposition. After having been the Senior Crown Counsel and sometimes Acting Attorney General of the Turks and Caicos Islands, she joined a prominent BVI law firm but established her own practice (SimonetteLewis) in February 2007. Mrs Lewis has served as President of the B.V.I. Bar Association, of which she was previously Secretary for seven years and has also served as Vice President and Treasurer of the OECS Bar Association, a regional association of the Bar Associations of the nine countries which comprise the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. She has served as a member of the STEP Worldwide Council and Board of Directors and had the distinction of being elected in November 2012 to be Chairman of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She was re-elected to the post in November 2013 and stood down in November 2014. She currently services as a Vice President of STEP Worldwide and ChairmanoftheBranchDevelopmentCommittee. Mrs.Lewisisalsoadmittedtopracticein St. Kitts & Nevis.
