Appleby lawyers selected for Citywealth leaders list 2025

Appleby partners Carlos de Serpa Pimentel, Nicola Bruce, Garry Manley, senior counsel Vanessa Schrum and consultant Giles Corbin have been selected for the Citywealth Leaders List 2025.

The highly anticipated list recognises the most respected and recommended professionals in the wealth management and private client industry. Now in its 20th year, the Leaders List celebrates and recommends individuals who have demonstrated exceptional performance, innovation, technical ability and dedication to serving high net worth clients across the globe.

Now featuring over 1,800 professionals worldwide, the Leaders List is curated through a thorough peer-review process, client endorsements, and editorial research. It spans a wide range of specialties, including private wealth law, fiduciary services, tax advisory, private banking, accounting and philanthropy.

“The Citywealth Leaders List remains a benchmark of excellence in the private client industry,” said Karen Jones, Editor of Citywealth. “We congratulate all those featured for their exemplary commitment and look forward to seeing how they continue to shape the future of the wealth management and private client advisory.”

Carlos de Serpa Pimentel:

Carlos de Serpa Pimentel is a partner in the Cayman Islands Private Client and Trusts department of the Appleby Group.

Carlos specialises in all aspects of Cayman Islands trust law advice and trust litigation. He regularly advises trustees and ultra-high net worth individuals on the establishment, restructuring and administration of trusts, and the use of private trust companies as well as providing advice to Protectors and beneficiaries on a variety of trust related matters. He also advises on estate planning and administration of estate issues for high net worth individuals. Carlos has substantial experience in relation to Cayman Islands and BVI trust litigation matters, acting on behalf of trustees, beneficiaries and Protectors in Court proceedings. He regularly appears in Court on their behalf as counsel.

Nicola Bruce:

Nicola Bruce is a partner in the Private Client and Trusts department in Bermuda.

Nicola has a wealth of experience in offshore private client work, including many years practicing in Bermuda. She has acted for some of the world’s highest net-worth international families on complex matters including the establishment, amendment and restructuring of trusts, and transactions involving substantial business assets held in trust. Her experience also includes charitable and philanthropic trusts, and establishing and advising commercial purpose trusts, particularly in the insurance sector.

Having acted as a director of high-value trust and holding companies, Nicola has a deep personal insight into the complexities of acting as a trustee. She has extensive experience of trust litigation, in particular, court applications to restructure trusts and extend their perpetuity periods, and is experienced in giving legal opinions on Bermuda trusts and the ability of their trustees to enter into transactions.

Nicola also has extensive experience in pensions work, both onshore and offshore, having advised a pensions regulatory body and some of the largest pension schemes in the world. She has established and amended pension schemes, and sat on a working committee which advised the Bermuda Pension Commissioner on pension law reform. Nicola has also been involved with trust law reform initiatives and has advised the Bermuda government on new trust laws.

Garry Manley:

Garry Manley is a partner and Corporate Local Practice Group Head in the Isle of Man. One of the leading corporate and regulatory lawyers in the Isle of Man, he has extensive experience of advising high net worth individuals and corporate clients on a wide range of matters, including mergers & acquisitions, venture capital/private equity investments, debt financing transactions, investment fund formation & operation, corporate restructurings and debt/equity capital markets.

In addition to his general corporate practice, Garry is one of the Isle of Man’s pre-eminent regulatory lawyers, with a particular focus on insurance companies, banks & corporate service providers and on the formation and operation of investment funds.

Garry also advises on a range of novel and developing regulated industries, including payment services and cryptoassets. He is a thought-leader in respect of the regulated cannabis sector on the Isle of Man and is also distinguished in the area of economic substance, having been the only lawyer on the Isle of Man government’s public-private working group since 2019. He is experienced at supporting clients in contentious regulatory matters, from inspection all the way to enforcement proceedings and settlement with the regulator, working where necessary alongside colleagues in Appleby’s market-leading disputes team.

In addition to his advisory work, Garry frequently provides input into legislative developments across a broad range of topics. He was closely involved in the development of the Isle of Man’s merger control regime, and he has also been consulted about legislative developments in the areas of company law, cannabis regulation, economic substance and beneficial ownership.

Vanessa Schrum:

Vanessa Schrum is senior counsel in the Private Client and Trusts department in Bermuda.

Vanessa has extensive experience on a wide range of trust and estate planning matters. She regularly advises on the use of Bermuda private and commercial trust structures (including purpose trusts and unit trusts), pension trusts, trust restructuring often with a multi-jurisdictional element, the administration of complex and large estates and all areas of probate and equity matters in Bermuda, including applications to the Supreme Court of Bermuda. She drafts and reviews all forms of trusts and ancillary documentation, wills, enduring powers of attorney, health care directives and other estate planning documents and is responsible for general practice within the Private Client and Trusts team.

Giles Corbin:

Giles Corbin is a Jersey Advocate and a Consultant in our Private Client and Trusts team in Jersey.

He specialises in advising upon the advantages of and creating Jersey Trusts and Foundations for private wealth holding, charitable and mixed private and charitable purposes.

He has over two decades of legal experience, practising in all aspects of non-contentious Jersey trust and foundation law, with a focus on positively assisting trust companies on issues concerning indemnities, supplemental instruments to exercise a broad range of fiduciary and non-fiduciary powers, drafting reserved powers trusts and bespoke charters and regulations for Jersey Foundations.