Private client advocate John Rimmer presented a paper to the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (IAETL) at its annual meeting in Vienna.

Mr Rimmer shared a panel with David Brownbill KC, Nicholas le Poidevin KC, and retired judge Dr David Hayton, giving a review of trust and estate cases from common law jurisdictions.

HE spoke about recent international trust cases, highlighting key decisions from Jersey, Guernsey, and Bermuda, as a well as the Isle of Man.

Mr Rimmer began his writing and speaking interests in 1994, but things really took off in 1998 with a review of the treatment of trusts in divorce cases. He has since spoken on aspects of trust and succession law to audiences in London, New York, Toronto, Geneva, Shanghai, Jersey, Milan, Evian, Mauritius, and the Isle of Man.

Mr Rimmer said: ‘Given the challenges from the other Crown dependencies, and the exposure to international scrutiny, I believes it is important to keep up the legal profile of the Isle of Man in international circles, in order to maintain its commercial profile and technical and professional reputation.’

Mr Rimmer has practised as an English solicitor, and then as a Manx advocate, for more than 31 years. He writes in leading journals, and has lectured both on the island and internationally, on trust and estate law.

He established his Isle of Man practice in 2014. The team comprises John himself, and colleagues Hollie Ranscombe and another woman, and consultants Gill Christian and Rachel Berry.

John’s interests outside work include singing: he sang in five categories in the Guild a few weeks ago. Whilst at the conference in Vienna he also joined in the rather less formal IAETL ‘choir’, which sang four Vienna-focussed songs at the final dinner.