Our Lawyers
Vanessa displays an impressive range of skills and knowledge by serving clients in three different practice areas: wills and estates, real estate, and intellectual property law.
Families, both young and old, seek out Vanessa for guidance on their estate planning journey. She helps them with everything from the preparation of simple wills to the detailed process of complex trust planning for high-net-worth clients. Regular readers of Forever Young magazine recognize Vanessa as a monthly columnist on legal issues.
Buyers and sellers of property rely on Vanessa to complete the purchase, sale and refinancing of residential real estate. She has developed a particular focus in the growing sector of First Nations Land Development, and has written about the fascinating but complex issue of estate planning for First Nations in relation to reserve land.
Businesses of all kinds, from solo entrepreneurs to major corporations, call on Vanessa to provide a full spectrum of advice on intellectual property, technology, and distributorship. She frequently completes and files trade-mark applications as a Registered Canadian and U.S. Trade-mark Agent.
Vanessa came to Canada by way of England, where she earned a law degree from the University of Exeter in 2001, and Winnipeg, where she acquired her Canadian equivalency from the University of Manitoba in 2005. A Kelowna resident since 2006, she is extremely active in the community as a member of the Kelowna Estate Planning Society, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and the Kelowna Bar Association.
Vanessa quickly came to appreciate the many advantages of life in the Okanagan. She enjoys boating on Kalamalka Lake, as well as fishing, kayaking, hiking, picnicking, or just relaxing in her hammock with a good book. In the winter months, Vanessa can be found playing the piano or honing her pigeon Italian in the hope that on her next trip to visit her in-laws, she will be able to converse with them a little better. All year round, she enjoys family time, especially with her twin daughters.
