Victoria is a Jersey advocate with more than 20 years' offshore legal experience specialising in corporate and non-contentious trust law.
Experience
Victoria has significant expertise advising on the establishment, administration, financing, disposal and termination of a wide range of Jersey trust and corporate structures. She has particular expertise in commercial trusts and real estate investment vehicles, including JPUTs, having acted for several sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and private equity firms on their indirect investment in UK commercial real estate utilising Jersey entities.
She also advises major trust company clients and family offices on the establishment and administration of complex structures for high net worth individuals looking to create comprehensive estate plans, including family unit trusts and limited partnerships.
Background
Victoria begun her legal career with Crill Canavan in 1998 and qualified as a Jersey lawyer with the firm in 2001. She then joined Ogier where she became a partner in 2013 before establishing her own law firm in 2014.
She graduated from Exeter University in 1998 with a first class degree in Law, qualified as a Jersey solicitor in 2001 and was sworn in as an advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey in 2005.
Victoria was a Committee member of the Jersey Association of Trust Companies for a number of years and is a full member of STEP.
Recent awards
Victoria is ranked as a Leading Partner by Legal 500 UK for private client trusts and tax and has been recommended in the categories of corporate and commercial and banking and finance.
She has also been recognised as one of the world's leading practitioners in the Lexology Index: Private Client & Offshore Services 2025.
She is ranked in band 2 by Chambers UK within offshore trusts.
She has extensive knowledge of her practice area and is able to provide efficient, pragmatic advice which takes into account the commercial needs of her clients.
Client feedback
Victoria Yates is a great addition to the Collas Crill team.
Chambers High Net Worth 2025
Victoria has a good market following in Jersey.
Chambers UK 2023
Victoria has the ability to explain complex legal matters in a straight forward manner.
Legal 500
Commercial, pragmatic and technically strong.
Client feedback
Victoria is an exceptional practitioner.
Client feedback
Personable, approachable and knowledgeable.
Legal 500
Victoria will go above and beyond in order to reach an agreed deadline; nothing is too much trouble for her.
Client feedback
Victoria Yates is excellent. I have no hesitation in working with her because she is a pleasure to deal with, personable and has a great reputation in the market.
Chambers High Net Worth 2025
Victoria is very good, with a steady reputation and high quality of work.
Chambers UK 2023
Victoria Yates is fantastic. I do not hesitate to recommend her to colleagues when a reliable and knowledgeable lawyer is required.
Chambers High Net Worth 2025
Victoria Yates is practical, sensible, commercial and understands private client work. She is superb.
Chambers High Net Worth 2025
Expertise
We provide fast, cost-effective and sensitive advice on all types of will-related disputes during what is often an extremely upsetting and distressing time for those concerned. We regularly act on multi-party actions for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Alongside companies and wills, family trusts are still a very popular tool for estate planning and asset protection – perhaps even more so in the light of the envisaged changes to the UK non-domiciled regime. Family foundations are proving to be a popular new tool for families looking to ensure their wealth and assets are protected for future generations. We establish trusts and foundations for local and international families to preserve family businesses and ensure appropriate succession planning. We work closely with tax advisers in order to ensure that any new family trust or foundation fits with a family's overall tax position and will be a workable long term, cost efficient structure. Discretionary trusts are still the most popular but we can also advise on fixed trusts, will trusts and pension trusts.
Many individuals think of the traditional trust as being the best way to manage their estate planning needs and are unfamiliar with the alternatives that are available. These include foundations, private family funds, and increasingly, the family limited partnership (FLP). While initially developed offshore, the FLP was harnessed and developed offshore in the Channel Islands as a flexible investment structure and a viable alternative to the traditional trust due to its ability to transmit wealth to younger generations while allowing family heads to retain a sensible level of control. This is particularly important for clients using the FLP to transfer the family business or 'golden egg', where a loss of control is undesirable. An FLP is flexible enough to allow a very bespoke agreement to be out in place to meet the often very detailed and personalised demands of clients.
Whether set up for asset protection purposes, as part of succession or tax planning, or for family governance or confidentiality reasons, offshore private wealth structures are common and often large and complicated.
We assist wealthy individuals, family offices, family-controlled businesses and entrepreneurs, often working alongside their trustees, bankers, tax advisors, accountants and other professional advisers, with the legal support needed within private wealth structures. We work with a broad range of vehicles including family investment companies, family limited partnerships, trusts and foundations.
We can assist with all legal aspects of establishing, operating, restructuring, funding/leveraging, relocating and winding up such vehicles.
We advise internationally based companies and trustees on the establishment and operation of employee incentive schemes.
We address issues such as the funding and structuring of awards as between sponsoring employer and trustee, treatment of dividend entitlements for share awards and the formulation of the beneficial class of employee benefit trusts (EBTs) having regard to international legal and taxation requirements.
When considering a move offshore, it's essential to seek advice from experienced advisers who know the market inside out.
Our partner-led real estate team regularly helps newcomers to Jersey in acquiring new homes and/or business premises and guiding them through the relocation process with advice on obtaining residency, high-value residency applications, and work and business licence applications, all on a strictly personal and confidential basis. We act for many high-net-worth individuals and high-value residents.
We believe that communication and responsiveness are the key to a stress-free experience which is why we're always on hand to listen, offer assistance and pick up the phone to keep you informed at every stage of your move. We are consistently praised by clients for our calm, proactive and hands-on approach, ensuring all transactions are completed as swiftly and smoothly as possible.
Some of our people have first-hand experience of relocating themselves, affording them a unique insight into the challenges and opportunities you are likely to face.
As the global legal and regulatory landscape becomes ever more complex, managing wealth across generations, succession planning and transferring control of assets has never been more challenging. That's why it's important to work with lawyers who can offer solutions that are tailored to your unique circumstances.
Successfully navigating the modern global business environment, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise while avoiding legal and regulatory pitfalls, is a challenge for any entrepreneur, business or corporation, during all phases of the corporate life cycle.
The property sector is critical to the economic landscape in any jurisdiction and, whatever's going on in the market, every transaction requires lawyers who can act proactively, adapt and deliver in an ever-changing environment.
There's little doubt that for every challenge in the current market, an opportunity emerges. Having the right team to exploit these opportunities gives you a definite advantage. At Collas Crill we work with our clients to take advantage of opportunities at all stages in the investment lifecycle.
Our uniquely diverse practice regularly assists with the establishment of both open and closed-ended fund structures. In addition to traditional Channel Island private equity and real estate structures and Caribbean hedge funds, we have advised on a number of alternative and esoteric classes. We work alongside our clients to understand their investment thesis and provide bespoke drafting to build the fund they want as opposed to generic template structures and documentation.
We advise clients at every step of the process, including preparing offer documents, investor negotiations, the preparation of agreements, and in the closing of transactions.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world. With diversifying markets and governments keen to enact strategies and legislation to bring further innovation, MENA is primed for further transformation and growth.
The demand for professional advisers who understand this rapidly changing environment and the opportunities and challenges it brings has never been higher or more important.
Regional clients with worldwide investments as well as international clients conducting business in the area trust Collas Crill to guide them through their business dealings and wealth planning, with expertise in Shariah-compliant products allied with decades of experience using traditional structures to meet the needs of clients wherever their focus lies.
The Middle East is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world. With diversifying markets and governments keen to enact strategies and legislation to bring further innovation, the region is primed for further transformation and growth.
The demand for professional advisers who understand this rapidly changing environment and the opportunities and challenges it brings has never been higher or more important.
Regional clients with worldwide investments as well as international clients conducting business in the area trust Collas Crill to guide them through their business dealings and wealth planning, with expertise in Shariah-compliant products allied with decades of experience using traditional structures to meet the needs of clients wherever their focus lies.
