About Us

THE FIRM

The Firm is one of the oldest and largest commercial law firms in Trinidad and Tobago and traces its origins to the practice of Oliver Fitzwilliam who first started practicing in 1912 after a gift of $5000 was bestowed upon him by his great uncle, Jules Larry. Oliver Fitzwilliam was later joined by Stanley Stone in 1919 after the end of World War I and this two man operation began carrying on their practice as "Solicitors and Conveyancers" under the name "Oliver Fitzwilliam & Co". Their practice was one of the first firms in Trinidad and Tobago to formally register its business name in 1923 (its business name certificate is numbered forty four), pursuant to the passage into law of the then Registration of Business Ordinance in that same year.
Oliver Fitzwilliam & Co. was later succeeded by "Fitzwilliam, Stone & Alcazar" which, in 1979, was then renamed "Fitzwilliam, Stone, Furness-Smith & Morgan". The Firm has steadily grown both in size and expertise over the course of its existence and today enjoys a well-established and enviable reputation in the legal profession.
The Firm has a large client base which includes numerous international corporations and financial institutions, as well as domestic clientele across multiple sectors. It is a full service commercial firm with expert capabilities in all major commercial areas of practice and is broadly organized into five practice areas, these being, Commercial, Real Estate and Land Development, Advocacy and Litigation, Intellectual Property and Estates and Trusts. The Firm's departments and internal administration is generally overseen by its Managing Partner, which position is currently held by Kurt Miller, with each department having a further specific Partner head. The Commercial Department is also headed up by Kurt Miller and perhaps covers the widest range of practice areas. It has extensive resource centres in banking and finance, energy, oil and gas, downstream industries, foreign investment, non-contentious tax, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, securities, employment and labour, marine and other general commercial areas of law.
Tara Allum heads up the Real Estate and Land Development Department which addresses a variety of real property matters ranging from traditional conveyancing and trustee work to complex property development, finance and condominium schemes. The Advocacy, Litigation and ADR Department, which is supervised by Colin Kangaloo SC, encompasses all types of commercial matters, from significant money claims, personal injury and fatal accident insurance claims to complex commercial disputes (including contentious tax, employment and admiralty matters) before the courts, specialist tribunals, arbitrators and mediators for international and domestic clients. Mandisa Regrello heads the Intellectual Property Department which advises on all areas of intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, industrial designs, geographical indications and copyright. Our Estates and Trust Department advises generally on estate planning, trusts, applications for grants of representation and the administration of estates. The Firm's deep commercial know-how and commitment to quality service has led to its being consistently listed in Band 1 of "Chambers Global, The World's Leading Lawyers for Business" since 2003.
Over the years, the Firm's clients have consistently commended the quality of its legal services and client reviews published in Chambers Global praise the Firm for its "highly commercial approach", "extremely efficient advice", its "promptness of response, thoroughness and attention to detail, legal acumen and good business sense" as well as its "unparalleled expertise in navigating clients through complex business issues in Trinidad". Clients have also cited the Firm as being a “local powerhouse” that is “the go-to firm for clients in the energy sector and has excellent experience in upstream and downstream mandates” and also as having “outstanding finance and commercial practices with expertise in large-scale projects”. The 2017 edition of Chambers Global notes the Firm as "a stellar law firm" and a leader in commercial and corporate law. It cited the Firm especially for its prowess in financing arrangements and syndicated loan deals.

WE REMEMBER

DANIEL JOHN FITZWILLIAM

The Partners and Staff of the Firm of Fitzwilliam, Stone, Furness-Smith & Morgan regret to announce the death of our former Senior Partner on Monday, May 22, 2017. Daniel (Danny) John Fitzwilliam had been in the practice of law for over thirty seven years in Trinidad and Tobago. Born in 1954, he was educated at the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario (BA Hons, 1975), the University of the West Indies (LLB Hons, 1977) and the Hugh Wooding Law School (Legal Education Certificate of Merit, 1979).

Mr. Fitzwilliam was admitted to practice as an attorney-at-law in 1979 and became a Partner of the Firm in 1982. He retired as a Partner and Head of the Firm’s Commercial Department on December 31, 2008 but continued to work with the Firm as a Consultant until his death. During his career, he was an Associate Tutor of the Hugh Wooding Law School from 1981 to 1986 and served on the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Judicature from 1988 to 1994. He also gave generously of his time to the St. Anthony’s legal aid clinic for more than twenty years.

His legal career over many years gave him unequalled experience in almost all fields of law. He was particularly recognized for his unparalleled expertise in the energy sector.