Kimberly Crabbe-Adams: Harneys
Ms. Crabbe-Adams, a litigation associate, joined the firm in 2009. Prior to graduating law school in the United Kingdom, the Virgin Islander attended the BVI High School and H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. During her participation in Harneys’ Professional Development Programme, Ms. Crabbe-Adams initially was chosen to be a funds lawyer but pursued litigation instead out of a passion for the specialty. On July 19 she will relocate to Harneys’ Hong Kong office for a two-year posting to obtain further litigation experience.
You didn’t start off in litigation?
I loved funds. I got very good exposure. But I just didn’t think that was where I wanted my career to go. So I continued at every opportunity, subtly, not so subtly [laughter], to inquire about litigation. At the time there were two of us in the training programme: One of us was in funds and one of us in litigation. There was not capacity to take on two juniors at the time I wanted to go. But I didn’t give up.
What will you be doing in Hong Kong?
I’ll be working with the litigation department. Hong Kong is one of the commercial hubs of the world. Our Hong Kong litigation department is bigger than our litigation department here, interestingly. Hong Kong is where we derive most of our work, and in Hong Kong they do everything but go to court. So we have people on the ground that take the matter and go to court. But in Hong Kong they do the negotiations. In Hong Kong they meet with the clients. In Hong Kong they do the drafting of stuff. They do that over here as well, but in Hong Kong it’s on a greater scale. So from the very junior to the very senior you get that sort of exposure to the real world.
Are you concerned at all about culture shock, moving to China for two years?
No. Many people have asked me that and many people asked me that in relation to my travels to the UK even. I’m not worried about the differences in culture. It’s fascinating. I think an open mind helps the transition. I’m just looking forward to the experience and the exposure, really.
Prior to becoming a lawyer you served for a year beginning in 2004 as the administrative officer for the Constitutional Review Commission. What did you find interesting about that work?
I really am fascinated with politics: the analytical side; the way things are done; why things happen. The constitutional commission was for me a sort of bridge between politics and the law because there are a lot of political considerations that go into the Constitution. And it’s a very legal document. And there I was, bam squat in the middle of my two passions, really.
It also seems that you haven’t been afraid to seek out what you wanted professionally, seeking to become a litigator and now volunteering to go to Hong Kong. Why is that important?
Many BVIslanders, many belongers, what we do is we go away to university and then we rush to come back home. We don’t get work experience where we study. So many of us, especially the lawyers, we don’t practice in the UK for a couple of years. We’re fresh, we’re inexperienced, and then we come home. Then you have English attorneys coming to the BVI with three, four years, five years of experience. But their three years of experience compared to our experience stacks up very tall. You’re not going to get that here, and by the time you get to where they are, they’re no longer there. They’re always going to be above you. How do you get that experience? You have to go and get it.
This interview was conducted, condensed and edited by Jason Smith. Do you know of a businessperson who might make for an interesting profile? Please e-mail jsmith@bvibeacon.com.