McKinney Bancroft & Hughes is proud to announce that Partner Alexander Christie will be a panelist at Hedgeweek’s Bahamas Spotlight event on Tuesday, March 22nd 2022.

The focus of the panel is ‘Innovative Legislation creating innovative investment opportunities in The Bahamas’ which will entail a discussion on the products and services provided that would be of appeal to foreign clients and how the Bahamian legal structure and specific legislation can benefit firms seeking to do business in The Bahamas.

Chambers and Partners is a world renowned legal directory and ranks the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in over 180 jurisdictions throughout the world. McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes is proud to have Chamber and Partners rank three of our Attorneys and designate two of our Attorneys as ‘up and coming’. In addition to the ranking of our Attorneys, Chambers and Partners highlighted our Firm’s wide acclaim in relation to our litigation, corporate and finance capabilities.

McKinney, Bancroft and Hughes has added another member of the Inner Bar to its roster. Partner, Timothy A Eneas K.C., was officially admitted to the Inner Bar by Chief Justice Sir Brian M Moree K.C. during a Special Sitting of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas on 25 February, 2022.

Legal 500, the renowned legal industry benchmarking organisation, has once again ranked McKinney Bancroft & Hughes as one of the best and most successful law firms in The Bahamas. The firm received the highest ranking (Tier One) and was recognised for several practice areas including Real Estate, Corporate Law and Dispute Resolution. Seventeen of our lawyers were singled out for individual praise, three Attorneys were included in the elite ‘Leading Individuals’ list and one Attorney lauded in the ‘New Generation Partners’ category.

We are delighted that our Senior Partner John F Wilson K.C. has once again been named as one of the top Wealth Management lawyers in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas by Chambers & Partners High Net Worth (HNW) Guide.

Law and Practice

1. General

1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System

The Bahamian legal system is based on the English common law, supplemented by legislation promulgated by the parliament of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Court proceedings in The Bahamas are conducted through an adversarial system of civil procedure. Legal arguments are made by a combination of oral and written submissions.

Click the following link to view the full article: https://practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/litigation-2022/the-bahamas

To access the PDF, click the button below.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS & THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE BAHAMAS – FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

The insolvency legislation in The Bahamas

In 2011 and 2012 the insolvency legislation in The Bahamas was completely revamped by the enactment of the following Act and Rules:

(i) The Companies (Winding Up Amendment) Act, 2011;
(ii) The International Business Companies (Winding Up Amendment) Act, 2011;
(iii) The Companies Liquidation Rules, 2012 (the “CLR”);
(iv) The Insolvency Practitioners’ Rules, 2012; and (v) The Foreign Proceedings (International Cooperation) Liquidation Rules, 2012.

The procedure for the liquidation of companies incorporated under the Companies Act of 1992 (as amended by the Companies (Winding Up Amendment) Act, 2011, the “Companies Act”) and under the International Business Companies Act of 2000 (the “IBC Act”) is now almost identical in that section 89 of the IBC Act (as amended) states that “[a] company incorporated under this Act may be wound up under any of the circumstances, insofar as they are applicable to a company incorporated under this Act, in which a company incorporated under the Companies Act, Ch. 308 may be wound up and subject to the provisions of this Part the provisions of the
Companies Act relating to winding up and dissolution shall apply
mutatis mutandis to the winding up and dissolution of the company”.
Accordingly, the CLR apply to both types of company.

Please see the attached link to view the full article.

The legislation that sets out the economic substance requirements in The Bahamas is the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act 2018 (CESRA). CESRA came into force on 31 December 2018.