London House Chambers places special importance on speedy and cost effective dispute resolution solutions, assisting parties to resolve their disputes with certainty and reliability. Our attorneys act as advocates and are available to sit as arbitrators in major centres of international arbitration worldwide, or under the auspices of domestic and international institutions. We also assist clients to draft iron clad arbitration agreements that give a distinct advantage to doing business in Guyana.
Our founding attorney, Dave Kissoon, over the course of his 15 year career, has participated in many mediations and arbitrations worldwide, obtaining an LL.M. from Cornell Law School with a focus on ADR. He was actively involved in several high profile disputes in the Caribbean arena, including those between the West Indies Players Association and the West Indies Cricket Board, and Christopher Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board. He lead WIPA’s team on various matters, mediating disputes on behalf of WIPA at the Caribbean Court of Justice, with the International Cricket Council and with various heads of Caribbean Government.
London House Chambers’ attorneys are able to quickly and effectively handle appeals only locally, but at the Caribbean Court of Justice and privy council. Our practice includes a former Caribbean Court of Justice deputy registrar and litigators with vast experience in handling appeals. No challenge is too great or matter to small. We readily embrace the widest possible array of issues.
The focus of our admiralty practice involves the representation of ship owners, insurers, charterers, manufacturers and other maritime related parties in the areas of contracts, casualty, ship arrests, pollution and salvage, energy, finance, and any related litigation. We routinely assist foreign counsel in matters pending abroad, and word closely with the lawyers in our ADR and litigation groups to achieve cost effective results.
Our banking and finance practice places special importance on satisfying the needs of financial institutions and large borrowers. We advise on all aspects of the relationship between bank and customer, including confidentiality and potential liability in negligence. Other areas of practice include loan transactions and related security both personal and corporate, guarantees, mortgages, swaps and derivatives, pertinent aspects of the law of insolvency, receivership and company law, constructive trusts and tracing of assets, letters of credit, performance bonds, letters of comfort, bills of exchange, and clearing through third parties. We negotiate, structure, and document all types of financing transactions, including project finance, securitisation and debt restructuring, working closely with leading international law firms to successfully close both domestic and international transactions.
London House’s insolvency attorneys represent clients in a range of commercial litigation and transactional matters, including domestic and international insolvency, creditor’s rights, bankruptcy, restructuring and reorganization. Our attorneys counsel management, investors, and secured and unsecured creditors and creditor’s committees in reorganization, foreclosure and liquidation proceedings, as well as out-of –court structuring, workouts and other commercial transactions. We also represent private and publicly held business debtors in all aspects and at all stages of the insolvency process, participate in large insolvencies and restructurings on behalf of lenders, and advise boards of directors of public companies.
London House Chambers is well poised to provide exceptional counsel to clients in Guyana, Barbados and Belize for whom the CCJ is the final court of appeal, and to clients throughout CARICOM, who engage in regional activities within the regime of the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas. We routinely advise clients on all aspects of trade and competition law.
London House’s corporate department handles a wide spectrum of corporate matters including matters relating to company formation, dissolution and corporate governance. Our attorneys routine advise on mergers and acquisitions, secured and unsecured loan agreements, joint ventures, compliance issues, distributorship, licensing, technology transfer, franchise and operating agreements, with a special focus on foreign investors doing business in Guyana. Our clients include entrepreneurial startup companies, mining companies, financial institutions and corporate clients, partnerships, closely held companies and public companies, from large multinational conglomerates to local and regional businesses. They operated in a diverse range of industries and sectors, including aviation, energy, manufacturing, banking, insurance and financial services, private equity, venture capital, retail, gaming, hospitality, technology and pharmaceutical. We also represent nonprofit organizations, professional organizations, and families and individuals of high net worth.
London House also specializes in all aspects of corporate dispute resolution, including handling shareholder disputes and related litigation.
Working closely with our corporate and environmental department, London House provides exceptional service in this practice area related to energy exploration and production. We handle acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas producing properties, simple and complex contract matters, all aspects of pipeline operations, condemnation, right-of-way disputes, contractor and surface owner disputes, title examination, drilling and production agreements, operating agreements, energy loans, leases, and acts as counsel for independents in all phases of operations. We also advise on all aspects of dispute resolution.
We advise a sophisticated client base that includes public and municipal utilities, renewable energy producers, suppliers, and distributors; manufacturing, technology, and managed-services companies; real estate developers and lenders; energy consumers; and energy investors. Our attorneys capably handle the full range of regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters. We support environmental and regulatory compliance, negotiate acquisitions and new project development, and represent clients in all types of administrative hearings and environmental and energy litigation.
With its heavy emphasis on mining and related activities, London House has developed significant expertise in the area of environmental law, due in part to the increase in regulations governing the management of hazardous materials. We are trained to spot potential environmental issues as well as to assist with disaster sites. The practice, which began with environmental issues affecting the mining industry, has expanded to include work for clients engaged in a broad range of manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, electricity, banking, oil and gas and other business pursuits. We provide clients with traditional legal services, including environmental regulatory counselling, and re
Guyana’s vast natural resources couples with affordable labour and attractive investment incentives has enabled it to become one of the fastest growing Caribbean economies. From mining and manufacturing, to agriculture and energy, foreign investors place a special role in Guyana’s development. London House, comprising of global lawyers, immediately recognize the need for investors to be provided with reliable advise and risk management, and routinely advise clients on all aspect of investing and doing business in Guyana. We act a direct liaison between our clients and Guyanese authorities and individuals, providing a seamless business experience.
Our professionals also offer investors a full complement of government-affairs services, including legislative and executive branch advocacy, policy analysis, assistance with government procurement and funding programs, and crisis management. We offer a unique combination of business savvy, political acumen, and policy mastery.
London House Chambers handles a wide variety of insurance and reinsurance litigation related matters. Our work on behalf of insurance industry clients encompasses every part of the industry (from life and annuities to property and casualty to financial guaranty), and every type of dispute in which insurance expertise is required, including government investigations, securities litigation, policyholder class actions, coverage disputes, and reinsurance arbitrations. Our founder, Dave Kissoon, commenced his career at Essex Court Chambers, where he was involved with “the Star Sea”, one of the formative cases dealing with an insurer’s duty of good faith. Coupled with our regulatory and transactional practice, we believe we are unmatched in our ability to field teams of highly sophisticated lawyers focused on the industry.
London House Chambers has one of the most experienced trademark and patent practices in Guyana. We offer a wide range of Intellectual Property Services in Guyana, including:
- Trademark registration
- Patent procurement
- Clearance and due diligence
- Patent, trademark and copyright enforcement actions
- Licensing arrangements and strategies negotiation
- Intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution
- Detailed portfolio management
- Formation of partnerships, joint ventures and outsourcing arrangements
By providing our clients with a central access point to our established network of Caribbean attorneys, London House Chambers also offers a comprehensive regional service for the registration and maintenance of trademarks and patents in most West Indian jurisdictions.
Dave Kissoon, who heads our intellectual property practice, gained substantial intellectual property experience during his 15 years of practice, advising on various matters involving Fortune 500 companies, major record companies, concert tour promoters, entertainers, musicians, photographers and authors with respect to a diverse range of intellectual property matters. In addition, he regularly advised the West Indies Players’ association with respect to sports related litigation and complex corporate transactions involving intellectual property issues surrounding player remuneration. His practice includes representation of a variety of clients in civil litigation involving claims of copyright and trademark infringement, counterfeiting, trade dress, false advertising, unfair competition, right of publicity, privacy, and defamation. Dave has advised on how to pursue cybersquatters in federal court, ICAAN arbitration proceedings, and in complex WIPO actions.
In addition, Dave counsels clients in regard to the risk assessment issues of trademark and copyright use and licensing, on-line business operation, branding, marketing partnerships and sponsorship agreements. He negotiates and drafts a variety of agreements including developer agreements, buy-sell agreements, recording, software license, joint venture, synch license, ringtone and mastertone, and trademark licensing. Mr. Kissoon also has a sophisticated trademark and copyright filing and prosecution practice. He is a licensed trademark and patent agent in Guyana.
London House Chambers’ attorneys have a regional reputation for representing clients in a broad spectrum of litigation matters in Caribbean Courts, U.S. Courts and foreign tribunals. Due to our depth of experience, strategic approach, trial advocacy skills, and record of success, we have attracted a wide range of clients who rely on us to aggressively represent them in high-stakes litigation. We handle a broad range of complex business litigation matters, including, contract, sports law, competition law, directors’ and officers’ liability, white collar and complex criminal defense matters, employee benefits and executive compensation, environmental claims, intellectual property, labor and employment, professional liability claims, trusts and estates, tax, real estate, and construction. These attorneys work closely with their clients to implement innovative, cost-effective, and efficient management of each case and, when appropriate, utilize alternative dispute resolution options in lieu of the traditional litigation model.
London House Chambers is uniquely placed to advise clients who wish to invest or operate in Guyana’s rapidly expanding mining industry. With a special emphasis on forming and safeguarding investments, London House’s attorneys quickly assess the viability and desirability of opportunities, and are able to advise on the risks and rewards associated with each enterprise. Working closely with our corporate department, we are able to advise on corporate formation, governance, and joint ventures, drafting iron clad agreements, reviewing prospecting licenses and performing reliable due diligence.
Moreover, our founding partner, Dave Kissoon, a skilled blaster, is exclusive supplier of explosives to the Guyanese Mining market, his company acting on behalf of Orica Explosives for more than 40 years. He has institutional knowledge and experience on all aspects of mining in Guyana, his formative years being spent in the Linden Bauxite mines. Accordingly, London House is able to offer not only text book advice, but strong practical advice on all aspects of mining in Guyana.
London House Chambers attorneys focus on matters relating to wealth preservation, succession planning, estates and trusts administration, and related litigation. We provide a high level of personalized service to ensure that our clients’ unique and personal goals are met. In addition to serving high-net-worth individuals and families, we advise corporations, corporate executives, philanthropists, business owners and real estate investors. We advise on both simple and complex needs. Whether a client simply needs to update a will or is involved in contentious trust administration litigation, we have the experience to resolve matters in a cost-effective and sensitive manner.
London House’s attorneys routinely act in administrative and judicial review matters, providing advice and litigation on the powers of Central and Local Government, other public and regulatory bodies and those that deal with them on such matters as competitive tendering, public procurement, environmental issues and employment and discrimination law. Our attorneys have acted in some of the leading public law cases in the courts and can provide a comprehensive service in this important field. Our attorneys actively litigate public law matters in New York, Guyana and Trinidad, have litigated novel procurement law issues in Trinidadian Courts.
The attorneys in London House Chamber’s real estate group represent clients in all facets of real estate development, acquisition, disposition, financing, leasing, investing, land use, planning and zoning. Our clients include commercial and residential developers, including office building and multifamily developers, real estate investment trusts, management companies, real estate investors, banks and lending institutions, architects and building contractors. We routinely draft and execute agreements of sale, conduct title searches, register mortgages and handle other matters in Guyana and beyond.
London House has an established sports law practice and founding partner, Dave Kissoon, has advised many prominent names and organizations in Caribbean sport, including the West Indies Player’s Association and various established West Indian cricket players in litigious and non-litigious matters. Areas of practice include broadcast contracts, players/managers contracts, image right agreements, sponsorship and ticketing agreements and other commercial agreements. We have also represented sportsmen in arbitrations and disciplinary hearings for sporting regulators, contract disputes, drug offenses as well as on areas of employment law.
