Areas of Practice:

• Banking & Finance
• Corporate & Commercial Transactions
• Securities Law
• Administration Law
• Intellectual Property
• International Maritime & Admiralty
• Telecommunications
• Arbitration & Mediation
• Foreign Direct Investment Counsel
• Insolvency/Liquidation
• Private Client Management
• Real Estate & Development
• Trusts
• Tax Law

Lester Mortimer has been called the chief navigator of Callenders & Co., helping international clients wend their way through a maze of regulators and government obstacles, rationalizing the processes to facilitate prospective developments ranging from resort-related projects to providing services in The Bahamas including ship and project financing.

“The regulatory process for government approvals can be daunting,” says Mortimer, one of a small number of attorneys in The Bahamas designated Kings Counsel (KC), having been recommended for the same for his knowledge of the law.

Mortimer rattles off bureaucratic complexities that sound like alphabet soup – BIA, NEC, URCA, FIB — steps investors must take in order to operate in a virtual world or break ground in the physical environment. Among his specialties — the ever-changing intricacies of governmental policies. “We examine a proposed project thoroughly and determine whether it is straightforward or which regulatory approval would be required, the availability of concessions, what the employment opportunity is and in the end, what benefits it will bring to The Bahamas. It is easier to move through the system if the government of The Bahamas is eager for the project and believes it will truly benefit the country.”

Colleagues in the firm call him an encyclopedia. He maintains a nearly half century of fascination with the law because of its ever-evolving nature.

“The nature of cases changes constantly. It is essential to keep up with what will impact the outcome in changing regulations, legislation, policy, process and precedent. It never gets old. As staid and conservative as people think the law is, the reality is that every day is new.”

Although he gave up his litigation practice in 2004, Mortimer continues to involve himself in new and unique legal cases.

Called on by local and international courts as an expert in Bahamian law, Mortimer has served on numerous committees, including the Judicial & Legal Service Commission, the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Review Commission and the Bahamas Bar Council.

Education:

Born in Nassau in 1953 and admitted to the Bar of England & Wales, Lincoln’s Inn in 1978 after completing his legal studies at the College of Law in London, Mortimer is one of the country’s leading authorities on shipping and maritime law.