Practice Areas

Counsel is given to companies, shareholders, directors, investors and entrepreneurs throughout the corporate life cycle. The practice includes company formation, corporate governance, shareholders’ and joint-venture agreements, mergers and acquisitions, share and asset sales, corporate reorganisations, due diligence and business succession.

We prepare and negotiate commercial agreements, including distribution, agency, supply, licensing, franchise, outsourcing, management and service agreements. For foreign investors, the work extends to market entry, local-content requirements, regulatory approvals and the establishment of appropriate operating structures in Guyana.

We act for lenders, borrowers, issuers, investors, trustees, security agents and guarantors on domestic and cross-border financing transactions. The work covers bilateral and syndicated lending, bond and loan-note issuances, private placements, acquisition finance, project finance, refinancing and corporate debt restructuring.

We prepare and review facility agreements, note instruments, debentures, mortgages, share charges, guarantees, pledges, agency agreements and other security documents. Instructions include perfection, priority, regulatory approvals, securities offerings, stock-exchange requirements, takeover regulation, security enforcement and the discharge and release of registered security.

We appear in substantial civil and commercial disputes before the High Court, Full Court, Court of Appeal and Caribbean Court of Justice. Assistance is also given with arbitration, mediation, negotiated settlement and the enforcement of judgments and awards.

The practice covers contractual and shareholder disputes, banking and finance litigation, tax and regulatory proceedings, property and construction claims, employment disputes, judicial review and urgent applications for injunctions, stays and other interim relief. Where specialist contentious representation is required, the work includes professional and clinical negligence, personal injury and other civil claims.

The Chambers has extensive experience in constitutional litigation, judicial review and disputes involving statutory bodies, regulators and public authorities. Individuals, corporations, public institutions and office-holders instruct us on the lawful exercise of statutory and constitutional powers.

Our work includes constitutional motions, applications for administrative orders, statutory appeals, challenges to regulatory and disciplinary decisions, public procurement issues, procedural fairness, legitimate expectation, statutory interpretation and the protection of constitutional rights. Public bodies instruct us on governance, decision-making and the legal limits of their authority.

Transaction tax analysis covers corporation tax, income tax, withholding taxes, value-added tax, property tax, stamp duties, customs and the revenue consequences of commercial and financing transactions, for businesses and individuals.

Representation extends to objections to assessments, statutory appeals, judicial review, applications for interim protection, enforcement proceedings and negotiations with the Guyana Revenue Authority. The work also covers the taxation of cross-border payments, financing structures, securities transactions, corporate reorganisations, employee benefits and the repatriation of profits and capital.

Our employment practice supports employers, employees, executives, representative organisations and service providers across the full employment relationship. We prepare and review employment agreements, workplace policies, consultancy arrangements, confidentiality and intellectual-property provisions, restrictive covenants and employer-of-record documentation.

Guidance is given on disciplinary proceedings, performance management, workplace investigations, discrimination, termination, redundancy, severance, employee transfers, trade-union recognition, collective bargaining, industrial disputes, social security and pensions. Where disputes arise, we represent clients before the courts, labour authorities and other relevant tribunals.

Clients instruct us on commercial, residential and development property throughout Guyana. The work includes title investigation, acquisitions and disposals, transports and transfers, leases, mortgages, assignments, subdivisions, deeds of gift, condominium and community arrangements, and the regularisation of title and ownership interests.

Instructions include construction and development agreements for developers, contractors, financiers and purchasers, together with stage-payment arrangements, certification, practical completion, defects liability, insurance, possession and handover. The contentious practice covers title disputes, specific performance, possession, boundary issues, mortgage enforcement, landlord-and-tenant claims and disputes arising from failed or delayed developments.

The practice is instructed by investors, operators, contractors, landowners and financiers participating in Guyana’s oil and gas, mining, quarrying, electricity, telecommunications and infrastructure sectors.

Our services include market entry, licences and permits, joint ventures, local-content arrangements, land access, project agreements, supply and service contracts, financing and security, environmental approvals and regulatory compliance. Representation extends to disputes concerning concessions, licences, access rights, overlapping interests, contractual performance and the exercise of statutory powers by sector regulators.

The practice includes the preservation, transfer and orderly administration of personal and family assets for individuals, families, trustees, executors and administrators.

Our services include wills, trusts, estate and succession planning, probate, letters of administration, deeds of gift, powers of attorney and the administration and distribution of estates. We also represent clients in matrimonial and family matters, including divorce, maintenance, custody, property settlements and disputes concerning family-owned assets. Our approach combines careful legal planning, confidentiality and sensitivity to the personal and financial circumstances involved.

The work covers environmental regulation, project approvals and the legal management of environmental risk for businesses, public institutions and international organisations. Our experience includes environmental permits, impact assessments, compliance and enforcement, pollution control, waste management, hazardous substances, biodiversity, forestry, wildlife, water resources and protected areas.

Instructions include climate policy and the domestic implementation of multilateral environmental agreements. The Chambers has substantial experience reviewing and drafting environmental legislation, regulations, compliance frameworks and institutional arrangements for government agencies, development partners and regional organisations.

The practice includes the protection, commercialisation and enforcement of intellectual-property rights. Our services include trade mark and patent registration, copyright, industrial designs, trade names, branding, licensing, assignment, franchising, confidentiality, technology transfer and infringement disputes. The Chambers includes registered patent and trade mark agency capability.

Our technology and communications work covers software and technology agreements, electronic commerce, digital signatures, data protection, cybersecurity, domain names, media law, advertising and online content. Telecommunications operators and service providers instruct us on licensing, regulatory compliance, infrastructure arrangements and dealings with sector regulators.

We assist companies, boards, financial institutions and regulated businesses in developing governance and compliance arrangements appropriate to their operations and risk exposure.

Our work includes board and shareholder governance, beneficial ownership, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing requirements, sanctions, anti-bribery controls, competition and consumer regulation, public-utilities regulation and industry-specific compliance. We also conduct internal investigations and handle regulatory inquiries, potential business crime, reporting obligations and responses to alleged breaches. Where enforcement action arises, we provide both strategic advice and representation.

The work covers financial distress, corporate restructuring and the enforcement of security for creditors, debtors, shareholders, directors, receivers and investors.

Our experience includes consensual workouts, refinancing, debt restructuring, receivership, liquidation, priority and intercreditor arrangements, distressed asset and share sales, creditor claims and the duties of directors and office-holders. Secured creditors instruct us on the appointment and conduct of receivers, the realisation of charged assets and pledged shares, and the procedural and regulatory requirements governing enforcement. We also prepare discharges, releases and statutory filings following repayment or settlement.

We act for insurers, reinsurers, pension-plan sponsors, trustees, administrators, custodians, financial institutions and corporate clients on insurance and pensions law.

Our work includes policy interpretation, coverage and claims disputes, insurance and reinsurance arrangements, regulatory licensing and compliance, pension trust deeds, plan rules, administration and custody agreements, plan amendments and wind-up arrangements. We also assist clients with submissions to the Bank of Guyana and other supervisory authorities, and with the governance and fiduciary responsibilities of trustees, sponsors and service providers.

Fraser & Housty serves as Guyana counsel to foreign investors, multinational businesses, financial institutions and international law firms. Instructions include corporate establishment, investment structures, regulatory approvals, exchange-control requirements, repatriation of profits and capital, local-content obligations, taxation and transaction execution.

Our experience extends to international trade, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, trade in goods and services, intellectual property, investment protection and the implementation of regional and international treaty obligations. We regularly coordinate Guyana-law aspects of multi-jurisdictional transactions and provide local-law opinions to overseas counsel, financiers and investors.

The Chambers provides specialist legislative, regulatory and public-policy services to government ministries, statutory agencies, international organisations and development partners.

We undertake legal and regulatory diagnostics, prepare policy papers, draft Bills and regulations, and assist with institutional and governance reform. Our experience spans trade facilitation, corporate regulation, telecommunications, intellectual property, public health, labour, disaster-risk management, environmental protection, biodiversity, wildlife, waste management and treaty implementation. We also support consultation processes, implementation planning and the development of compliance and enforcement frameworks.

We act for vessel owners, operators, financiers, port and terminal interests, maritime-service providers, cargo interests and logistics businesses on Guyana maritime law.

Our work includes vessel registration and finance, ship mortgages and security, chartering and carriage arrangements, port and terminal services, cargo and contractual claims, marine insurance, regulatory compliance and maritime safety. The practice also covers the development and interpretation of shipping legislation and regulations and the maritime aspects of energy, offshore and infrastructure projects.