Areas of Practice:

• Insolvency/Liquidations
• International Commercial Litigation
• International Commercial Transactions
• Real Estate & Development
• Foreign Direct Investment Council
• Commercial & Civil Litigation
• Corporate & Commercial
• Immigration
• Wills, Estate Planning & Probate

Every law office needs a Cheryl Cartwright, a soft-spoken, behind-the-scenes legal whiz consultant whose knowledge and grasp of the law and willingness to act as advisory counsel to other attorneys in the firm are as selfless as they are impossible to measure.

“I enjoy meeting young attorneys and mentoring them,” she says, in her typical understated way.

Over the last quarter of a century, Cartwright has seen the practice of law change in numerous ways. “Things are more instantaneous now. A client sends an e-mail and expects an answer immediately. The instantaneousness of our communications pushes to the background the time and thorough process that would go into a proper reply.”

She has also seen changes in academic preparation for a career in law. Historically, Cartwright says she worked with attorneys who studied largely in the U.K., now many are “home-grown,” graduates of the Eugene Dupuch Law School in Nassau. “Both have strengths so it is good that at Callenders, we have both.”

Cartwright also sees greater specialization with young attorneys earning advanced degrees to equip them to focus on specific areas of law.

“People say the Bar is crowded, but I don’t agree. There is always room for quality. Firms are always looking for those one or two analytical, bright, aggressive young attorneys. There will always be a place for the best.”

Cartwright is a popular lecturer in law having lectured in Civil Procedure and Practice among other subjects. As well as serving as a Pupil Master, she advises on multi-jurisdictional legal issues. Ms. Cartwright has served as an Acting Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, served as Chairman and Board member on various government bodies, and was the founding Vice-President of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers.

Education:

One thing that hasn’t changed is the tight-knit, family feel of Callenders, says Cartwright, who studied Philosophy and Sociology with a double minor in Political Science and Women’s Studies at the University of California, San Diego before going on to earn a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Buckingham and completing the Bar Vocational Course at the University of Westminster in 1993. She provides counsel for matters involving multiple internationally established corporations in the maritime, banking and financing sectors.