Charles & Associates is a full-service law firm that has offices in Valsayn, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis. Practice areas include divorce and custody, access, company searches, litigation, corporate secretarial and governance, mortgages and conveyancing, probate and estate planning and management, real estate, intellectual property, banking and finance, and more.
Principal Attorney Derriann P. Charles is admitted to practice in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis and is a Notary Public within the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis. In addition to years of experience and substantial academic credentials, she has an advanced understanding of the Spanish language.
Charles & Associates focuses on providing reliable and timely legal services that are affordable for clients. Ms. Charles is dedicated to being accessible and service-oriented with the goal of client satisfaction through favourable resolution of their legal matters.
We, at Charles & Associates, practice in the following areas:
- Banking and Finance matters
- Business and Commercial matters (registering businesses and company incorporation)
- Contentious civil litigation (breach of contract, negligence, personal injury, insurance claims, debt recovery, wrongful death)
- Civil settlements
- Company searches and apostilling of documents
- Corporate Governance and Compliance
- Corporate Secretarial
- Employment
- Environment and regulatory
- Estate Planning and Probate
- Family and matrimonial matters
- Financial Services regulations and investigations
- Immigration
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property (patents, copyright and trademarks)
- Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute resolution
- Personal Injury
- Projects
- Real Estate and conveyancing
- Citizenship by Investment (St. Kitts and Nevis)
Practice areas
Family
Our Office has represented and supported our clients through Divorces and (Legal) Separations, Annulments, Custody and Access applications, Maintenance of children, Spousal Support, Marital Property Settlement, Adoption, and international disputes regarding children (including cross border location of children during parental disputes or relocation). We have also assisted numerous fathers in enforcing their parental rights.
Business
From incorporating companies to starting businesses, foundations and trusts, we assist clients in searching for available Business Names, reserving those names and securing approval and carrying out all processes until a Certificate of Registration or Incorporation is issued. We also assist with post incorporation/registration services such as registering for BIR, Social Security, P.A.Y.E., Health Surcharge, Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Levy, VAT). We also facilitate the legalization or apostilling of corporate documents.
Intellectual Property
Recognizing the value of intangible creations and the need to protect against infringement is central to our practice. For this reason, we assist inventors, artists and creators alike in making the relevant applications (from trademarks, to patents, to copyrights, industrial designs and geographical indications) to guard against abuse of one’s right in their work.
Real Estate
Conveyancing (Land and Property) and AssetsClients who are embarking on the sale of land, or land and building or any form of asset (from vehicles to heavy equipment), we assist in preparing the Sale Agreement and drafting and preparing the relevant instruments to facilitate the sale, gift or transfer.
Elder Law
We assist clients in planning for their estate and the distribution of their assets after death, by drafting and preparing their Last Will and Testament. Collating, preparing and submitting Probate Applications and/or Applications for Letters of Administration to the Probate Registry for processing, with the view to having a Grant issued for the estate of the Deceased, are also services we offer.
Lawsuits & Disputes
Civil Litigation and Dispute ResolutionWe provide a broad range of litigation services to clients in the areas of corporate, commercial, partnership, construction, environmental, estate and human rights issues, trespass, breach of contract disputes, debt collection, injunctions, medical malpractice and other professional negligence, employment issues (unfair termination, wrongful dismissal and benefits claims), products liability, personal injury claims and insurance law matters. Where necessary, we employ alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as mediation, arbitration and negotiation.
Our Partners and Associates
Derriann P. Charles
Attorney-at-Law
Derriann P. Charles, our Principal Attorney, was born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. She is admitted to practice in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis. Practice areas include Family law, Divorce, Intellectual property, corporate and commercial law, construction, hotel and real estate law, civil litigation, probate, and real property matters. C&A also does a lot of work in apostilling documents for foreign use and registering foreign judgments.
Ms. Charles attended the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus initially and thereafter the Cavehill Campus, graduating therefrom with a Bachelor of Laws Degree (Hons). She then proceeded to the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad, where she completed and acquired her Legal Education Certificate.
Later, she read for a Master’s of Law in International Business Law (with Distinction) at the Robert Kennedy College in collaboration with the University of Cumbria. Ms. Charles is also the holder of a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, in Psychology with a minor in Gender and Development studies (Hons). She also specialises in corporate governance, compliance and corporate secretarial matters, having held and continuing to hold the position of Corporate Secretary for many companies.
Ms. Charles is also a Notary Public within the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis. In addition to the above diverse areas of practice, she has an advanced understanding of the Spanish language.