Important Announcements
June 28, 2022
OFFICE CLOSURE – TROPICAL STORM WARNING
Please be advised that due to the Tropical Storm Warning issued by the Trinidad & Tobago Meteorological Services, the firm will be closed from 1:00 p.m. today Tuesday 28th June, 2022.
Our attorneys can be contacted via their email addresses and mobile numbers listed on this website. The firm will reopen at 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday 29th June, 2022.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
December 20, 2021
CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Kindly note, the firm will be closed on Friday 24th December, 2021 through Sunday 2nd January, 2022.
Our offices will reopen on Monday 3rd January, 2022.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
May 3, 2021
MHS COVID-19 TEMPORARY REMOTE OFFICE NOTICE
Over the past week we have noted with concern the rising number of daily cases and new variants. We have also noted the appeals of the Prime Minister and our public health authorities to take all reasonable steps available to mitigate the risk of further increases.
The health and well-being of our employees, clients, their families and the greater community remain our highest priority.
Accordingly, we have proactively taken a decision to implement our remote office protocol with effect from May 4, 2021 and continuing up until May 23, 2021. Our attorneys remain available via telephone and via email. The individual contact numbers and email addresses of each attorney are available on our website. As this dynamic situation develops we anticipate that we might need to make further adjustments and we will be sure to keep you advised.
We remain committed to continuing to service you, our clients, through this crisis. Having already had to make this adjustment for a period last year, we are confident that we can implement this measure without any loss of service to you.
We thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time. Best wishes for continued good health, well-being and patience as we face this public health challenge together.
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
December 22, 2020
Take advantage now!
EXTENSION – AMNESTY FROM PENALITIES FOR COMPANIES
The Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs has announced an extension of the Amnesty from late filing penalties for companies.
The Legal Notice No. 406 of 2020, serves to extend the period of the waiver of late filing penalties contained in the Companies Act, Chap 81:01 from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
December 7, 2020
DISRUPTION TO INTERNET SERVICE
Dear Valued Clients,
The Telecommunication Authority of Trinidad & Tobago (TATT) has advised that there has been disruption of the international cable link via Curacao.
This situation has affected internet connectivity to several providers in Trinidad & Tobago. As a result, the firm is currently without internet service and currently unable to confirm when the service will be restored. At this time, we are unable to access or respond to your email communication. However, you may contact our attorneys directly via the firm’s telephone number, (868) 299-0981 or their individual mobile numbers.
We are monitoring the situation and will provide an update when full service is restored. Your kind understanding is greatly appreciated.
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
April 30, 2020
UPDATE – MHS COVID-19 EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY OFFICE CLOSURE AND REMOTE OFFICE NOTICE
I hope that this finds each of you and your family members well.
Since my last update, we have continued to focus on delivering seamless client service despite our circumstances.
We have also been paying close attention to the updates being issued by the Ministry of Health and the Government. Like all citizens, we are relieved that the sacrifices that we have made so far, resulted in the number of reported cases in recent days remaining stable. However, we are keenly aware that such statistics are no cause for complacency. On April 25, 2020, the Prime Minister announced that: (i) the Stay at Home Order would be extended to May 15th, 2020; (ii) from Monday 27th April, there would be an increase in COVID-19 testing; and (iii) based on the results from increased surveillance tests, an announcement would be made by May 10th, 2020 to determine whether Trinidad and Tobago is in a position to relax restrictions.
Prioritizing the health and wellbeing of all of our employees, we have taken the decision to extend our Work From Home protocols until May 15, 2020. As before, we will exceptionally operate outside of our homes as our client requirements demand. In the days ahead, we will be focused on making appropriate arrangements to resume operations at our offices mindful of the need to continue to take prudent steps to mitigate the risks of the spread of the virus.
We will continue to keep you apprised.
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
April 14, 2020
MHS COVID-19 EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY OFFICE CLOSURE AND REMOTE OFFICE NOTICE
As you know, on March 27 the Government called on all citizens, save for those engaged in certain essential services, to stay at home until April 15, in the first instance. Despite law firms being designated essential we took the decision to shift the entire firm to work from home for that period. Our decision was qualified by the exception that as and when it became necessary to fulfil our obligations to you, our valued clients, members would leave their homes. As anticipated, such exceptional circumstances did arise and we were able to meet those challenges through the efforts of our frontline employees.
The Prime Minister last week announced an extension of his plea for citizens to stay at home until April 30, 2020. Accordingly, we have taken the decision to extend the work from home protocols to April 30, 2020.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 poses a threat to the economic survival of many businesses across the world. Trinidad is not immune. To mitigate the risks to you we commit to (i) continuing to anticipate your needs; (ii) responding to those needs in a timely and professional manner; and (iii) positioning ourselves to stay responsive to you and to meet your existing requirements and your new requirements, on the other end of this crisis.
Our attorneys are keen to support you through this crisis and are actively seeking out ways to do so. On April 3, we hosted the firm’s first Covid-19 webinar, a recording of which has been posted to our website, we have also created a dedicated Covid-19 Information Portal with information and resources to help you navigate this unprecedented situation. We will post to the portal legal updates on relevant local developments and matters of interest to you. We are also tuning in to guidance from other Lex Mundi firms responding to the crisis in different jurisdictions around the world.
Our attorneys remain available via telephone and via email. The individual contact numbers and email addresses of each attorney are available on our website.
This crisis is testing us all, it is reminding us of how closely connected we all are and it is calling on us to be our best selves. If we do so, together we will emerge stronger and more resilient than ever.
As things move forward, we will continue to keep you updated.
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
March 27, 2020
MHS COVID-19 TEMPORARY OFFICE CLOSURE AND REMOTE OFFICE NOTICE
As we at M. Hamel-Smith & Co. continue to monitor reports of the impact of COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, we remind you that we are with you in this and we remain committed to delivering outstanding business-oriented legal solutions and service and partnering with you through this crisis.
The health and well-being of our employees, clients, their families and the greater community remain our highest priority.
As the outbreak unfolded in Trinidad, we anticipated that further adjustments to our operations would likely be required to align with the guidelines of WHO and our local public health authorities and we proactively took steps to ensure that our entire organisation would be able to work remotely.
Accordingly following the Government’s announcement yesterday urging non-essential employees to stay at home from midnight Sunday March 29 until April 15, we have taken a decision to close our offices and to shift entirely to our remote office protocol throughout the prescribed period.
Our attorneys remain available via telephone and via email. The individual contact numbers and email addresses of each attorney are available on our website.
We thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time. Best wishes for good health and well-being as we face this public health challenge together.
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
March 19, 2020
MHS APPROACH TO COVID-19
As we at M. Hamel-Smith & Co. continue to monitor reports of the impact of COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, we want to assure you that we remain committed to delivering outstanding business-oriented legal solutions and service and partnering with you through this crisis.
The health and well-being of our employees, clients, their families and the greater community is our highest priority and we are proactively taking measures and adjusting our operations to align with the guidelines issued by the WHO and our local public health authorities.
We have promoted the measures that public health authorities have identified to reduce risks of transmission. We have discouraged all non-essential client visits to our offices and have shifted to on-line meetings and video conferencing. Our attorneys have the tools to work remotely and remain available via telephone and via email. The individual contact numbers and email addresses of each attorney are available on our website.
Given the dynamic nature of this situation we anticipate that further adjustments may be required, and we stand ready to make them and to keep you advised.
We thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time. Best wishes for good health and wellbeing as we face this public health challenge together.
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
February 20, 2020
It has been brought to our attention that the below email message has been sent to certain individuals in a phishing attempt. This message was not generated by this firm.
Please advise individuals at your firm who may have received the message to disregard and not click any associated links. Please provide to your internal IT department, so they can take appropriate action.
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
September 12, 2018
M. Hamel-Smith & Co. responds to Fake News
A message purporting to be a statement from our Firm on the ability – or rather the inability – of male police officers to arrest female citizens at night is being circulated via email and WhatsApp. This message asserts that “it is a procedural issue that a woman can be arrested between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. only if she is arrested by a woman officer and taken to an all-women police station. If she is arrested by a male officer, it has to be proven that a woman officer was on duty at the time of arrest.”
This message did not originate from our Firm. Unfortunately, our name came to be falsely associated with this message approximately 10 years ago when it was being circulated via email. Regrettably, despite our efforts to disown the message, it has reappeared and is now being circulated via WhatsApp.
Aside from the concern that our Firm has been falsely associated with advice that we have not given, it is doubly troubling that the advice itself is wrong.
Under the Police Service Act of Trinidad and Tobago there are no limitations on a police officer’s exercise of his or her power of arrest along the lines asserted in the fake message, whether based on the gender of the arresting officer or that of the alleged offender, nor is there any such limitation with respect to the time of day when the officer may make an arrest.
The message is fake news. Its association with our Firm is deeply regretted.
Nicole Ferreira-Aaron
Managing Partner
M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO.
Careers
If you are a client-focused, creative, solutions-oriented thinker, with excellent technical and interpersonal skills, as well as a proven team approach, we would like to hear from you. We offer exciting career prospects in a collegial work environment.
Please send C.V. to mhs@trinidadlaw.com or careers@trinidadlaw.com. Your application will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Kindly note, only suitable applicants will be considered.