Education: 1987 Utter Barrister, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, United Kingdom
1986 LL. B (Hons.) University of London
Bar Admissions:
England & Wales 1987
Trinidad & Tobago 1987
Practice: Debra joined M. Hamel-Smith & Co. in January 2001, after having spent 10 years in a corporate environment, mostly at a managerial level, where she gained considerable management skills and experience in insurance and corporate areas of law.
Debra is the Partner responsible for the corporate secretarial services . She is conversant of the changes and the implications of the amendments to the Companies Act as they relate to the corporate secretarial services and compliance obligations. Debra also practices in the role of senior instructing attorney. Her core practice areas are: litigation, commercial disputes in the financial, telecommunications, medical negligence, mortgages, and construction sectors, in addition to her involvement in arbitrations.
She collaborates closely with clients, meeting their needs in a practical, solutions-oriented manner. She is very comfortable with matters involving voluminous documentary evidence, discovery and inspection, local and international expert witnesses and tight deadlines. She has a special interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Recent experience includes representation of:
- Major construction companies in arbitrations;
- Trustee Banks in pension disputes;
- A finance house in a bond and securitization litigation.
- Large personal injury claims
Professional Memberships
The Law Association of Trinidad & Tobago
Publications
2019: Author: Directors Duties, Hamel-Smith Forum, Vol 11 Issue 1, August 2019, also featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper;
Presentation
Presented at the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (CCGI) and AMCHAM Conference on “Corporate Secretarial Services” – August 29, 2019.
