Commercial/Corporate/Finance

Banking & Finance

• Providing general advice on relevant legislation to banks and other financial institutions and in particular advising on regulations made under the Banking Act, Financial Institutions Act, Building Societies Act, Unit Trusts Act, Securities Act etc.
• Advising on Money Laundering legislation
• Representing lenders and borrowers in international and local commercial loans; preparing and advising on loan agreements, debentures and other security documentation, preparing opinion letters.
• Preparing documentation and advising upon hire purchase and chattel leasing transactions.
• Providing general advice on developments in E-Banking.
• Providing advice and drafting agreements relating to credit card business, data security, money transfer payments and other e-business.

Company and Business Formation and Compliance:

• Formation of Companies
• Registration of Foreign Corporations
• Drafting Board and Shareholder Resolutions
• Company secretarial services such as filing annual returns, return of allotment, taking board minutes.

Employment/Labour Law

• Employment aspects of all corporate finance transactions including Transfer of Undertakings Redundancies and dismissals.
• Service agreements, contracts of employment and staff handbooks.
• Employment policies ranging from performance, sickness and misconduct procedures to maternity and parental leave schemes.
• Boardroom disputes and severance claims.
• International employment issues including dual contracts.
• Collective issues such as trade union recognition and industrial action.
• General employment issues ranging from maternity rights to general contractual issues

Joint Venture & Partnerships

• Drafting Joint Venture and Partnership Agreements and advising in relation thereto.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Representation of clients in the acquisition of Jamaican-based businesses
• Share and asset transactions
• Advising on relevant rules and procedures and document indices, information books and bid documentation.

Pensions

• Preparing and registering Trust Deeds and Rules establishing Pension Funds and Retirement Schemes and advising regarding relevant legislation.

Securities

• Security offerings
• Handling initial public offerings as company counsel
• Private placement of securities in the Jamaican markets
• Representation of hostile bidders
• Implementation of shareholders’ rights plans and other defensive strategies
• Negotiations relating to bank guarantees
• Venture capital financing
• Debt financing

Intellectual Property

Copyright Law

• Providing general advice on the local copyright laws and their harmonization with International Treaties.
• Drafting licensing and protection agreements
• Preparation of Assignments for copyright and terms of use
• Drafting entertainment law contracts such as terms of engagement for graphic artists, appearance releases, engagement contracts, location and material releases.
• Giving advice on the mechanisms for protecting a variety of interests from literary works to computer programmes or software.
• Rights clearance

Digital Intellectual Property

• Trade Marks, domain names, design patents and databases
• Corporate and banking support
• Trade Mark, copyright and patent registration and licensing worldwide;
• Licensing and exploitation of intellectual property.

Patents

• Patent agents
• Prosecuting and defending patents
• Dealing with patent issues that arise in corporate transactions
• Assignment and licensing of patented technology.
• The conduct of patent related disputes, including patent litigation.
• Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

Trade Marks

• Trade mark registration, whether in the context of a company start-up through to the expansion of an established portfolio;
• Trade mark oppositions, both prosecuting and defending;
• Preparing licensing agreements for trade marks and brand co-existence
• Acquisition of trade marks, as part of a share or business acquisition, upon the insolvency of a company or as a discrete matter;
• Trade mark disputes, including court proceedings for the protection of registered and unregistered trade mark rights;
• Domain names registration, transfer and disputes;
• All trade mark and branding issues arising from intellectual property aspects of corporate transactions;

Litigation

• Our expertise in this area includes appearances at the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal:

Admiralty and Shipping:

• General advice on shipping and marine matters.
• Arrest and release of vessels in Jamaican waters
• Opinions on Jamaica's Shipping Laws including jurisdictional issues.
• Enforcing mortgage actions.

Commercial

• Providing advice on and preparation of the relevant opinions
• Defending breach of contract cases
• Enforcing contract liability
• Interpreting contractual terms and providing advice on the existence of contracts
• Complex commercial litigation involving the use of pre-emptive remedies such as injunctions, freezing and seizing orders, Summary Judgment and default judgments, enforcement of judgments

Debt Collection

• Preparing demand letters, or filing suit to recover debts.
• Utilising summary court procedures for speedy resolution of matters.
• Advising clients on how to avoid bad debts by drafting or advising on credit agreements and profiles and receivables policies

Defamation

• Preparing advice and opinions on advertisements
• Reviewing communications over carrier networks in the communications law context and advising on liability
• Issues relating to publication on the Internet and potential liability.
• Prosecuting and defending defamation claims

Employment/Labour Law:

• Employment Litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

Family Law

• Separation Agreements
• Divorce or Dissolution of Marriages
• Custody
• Spousal and Child Maintenance
• Division of Property disputes in mediation or litigation
• Child abduction and custody cases

Insurance

• Indemnity advice
• Public liability
• Product liability
• Workers compensation
• Fire
• Other property damage claims including motor vehicle third party property damage
• Personal accident and sickness
• Policy review and drafting
• Statutory and code compliance
• Commercial agreements

Personal Injury

• Preparing prosecuting or defending motor vehicle accident claims
• Industrial accidents
• Occupier’s Liability Claims
• Injuries caused from the consumption of defective products
• Injuries caused by fire
• Medical malpractice suits defending and prosecuting
• Seminars on medical ethics and medical evidence generally

Product Liability

• Risk identification and management counselling services, including advising clients on viability of products and potential new products, risk of product use based on medical developments, and creation of warning labels and product safety programs
• Our service includes all aspects of pre-trial, trial and appellate work
• Mediations, arbitrations and other types of alternate dispute resolution,

Real Estate

• Preparing, prosecuting or defending actions for specific performance or breach of contract
• Restrictive Covenant disputes
• Rectification of the Register Book of Titles
• Mortgage actions

Real Estate/Administration of Estates/Trusts

Administration of Estates and Trusts

• Preparation of Wills and Trust Instruments
• Preparation of documentation leading to the grant of probate or administration
• Preparing opinions on probate and administration actions for reference to the litigation department or for clients.

Real Estate

• Preparation and registration of transfers, mortgages, leases and all other documents relating to the creation and transfer of interests in land including rights of way and other easements.
• Preparation and registration of documents relating to the subdivision of land and the registration of strata plans.
• Advising regarding all aspects of the laws relating to real and personal property and rights therein.
• Advising regarding Town Planning, environmental matters and restrictive covenants.
• Preparation of documents and advice relating to housing schemes, hotels, factories, and other commercial buildings including financial aspects.
• Advising on all laws and regulations relating to the use of land including Land Development and Utilization Act, Agricultural Small Holdings Act, Land Acquisition Act, Land Taxation, Quarries Control Act, Mining Act, Hotels (Incentives) Act, Beach Control Act, Housing Act and other relevant legislation.
• Advising on all aspects of agriculture and agricultural crops, including bananas, sugar, coffee, citrus and other Jamaican produce.
• litigation related to estates and trusts
• representation of individual and corporate fiduciaries

Telecommunications and Technology

Telecommunications Law and Policy

Our areas of expertise include:

Competition in Telecommunications

• Preparing advice on competition issues in the context of the current regulatory framework
• The functioning of the Competition Tribunal
• Preparing submissions to the Competition Tribunal and the Office of Utilities Regulation.
• Presenting at seminars on the various competition issues that affect service providers
• Reviewing agreements in the context of Dominance and Interconnection issues

Internet Law and Governance

• Internet Interconnection and access issues
• Providing advice on and perusing agreements on Internet Interconnection in Jamaica
• Privacy and Data protection
• Providing advice on copyright and Trade Mark protection on the Internet

Legal Issues in Cyberspace

• Trade Mark and Copyright infringement on the Internet
• Data Protection and Privacy
• Providing advice and litigation support in domain name and Trade Mark disputes
• Providing litigation support or opinions on jurisdiction on the Internet, Privacy and the Protection of data, Electronic Intrusions, Consumer Protection

Online Commerce

• Providing advice on the E-commerce legislation and its impact on doing business
• E-commerce/M-commerce

Regulators

• Representation in litigation relative to their functions under the various statutes that detail their functions.

Service Providers

• Providing advice on the licensing and other regulatory requirements
• Preparing licence applications and giving advice on the licensing process
• Advising on the required corporate mechanism for doing business in Jamaica
• Representing service providers in competitive disputes
• Providing advice on access agreements
• Representation in litigation regarding the interpretation of the Telecommunications Act or the Office of Utilities Regulation
• Publications on the various issues that affect service providers.

Technology Law

• Preparation of computer software development and licensing agreements,
• Providing general advice on technology issues in various areas including Information Technology
• Litigation relating to all areas of technology law and practice
• Legal issues relating to the creation of and the rights to Databases
• Enforcing online contracts (“click wrap” and “web wrap contracts”)