Appleby Spurling & Kempe (AS&K) yesterday announced that Vanessa Lovell has been awarded a President's Prize by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) for her 2002 thesis paper entitled "Describe the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Regulations in Bermuda for Trust Companies and explain its impact on the administration of trusts".

Peter Bubenzer, Managing Partner of ASK, said, "on behalf of the entire firm, I am delighted to congratulate Vanessa on this accomplishment. This is a tremendous success in her professional development and one in which she should feel very proud."

Ms Lovell, an Associate in the firm's Trusts & Financial Structures Department and also a student member of STEP, specialises in trust and estate planning and is experienced in drafting wills, enduring powers of attorney and living wills and handles the administration of local estates and applications for probate.

Ms Lovell said, "It is an honour to receive this prize for it is both a personal and professional achievement."

STEP is the principal professional body for the trust and estate profession worldwide and was founded with the aim of bringing together all practitioners in the field. Membership into the organisation is by examination or for attorneys, by the thesis or experienced practitioner route. Each year thesis examiners review the papers of its student members and are asked to award special merit to those papers that are exceptionally good. A maximum of three from each jurisdiction are then further reviewed for special selection. Ms Lovell's was the only paper in Bermuda for which a prize was awarded.

AS&K is a leading provider of sophisticated offshore legal services, with almost 400 employees. The firm's principal focus is on the Corporate/Commercial arena; it also has substantial Litigation & Insolvency, Trusts & Financial Structures and Property Departments. Headquartered in Bermuda, the firm has offices in Hong Kong and London as well as affiliates in the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.