Charles Gomez

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Leaders in Law endorses Charles Gomez as our exclusively recommended Construction Law expert in Gibraltar. If you wish to get in touch with Charles please use the contact information provided above.

Before qualifying as a Barrister, Charles worked as a baker, a journalist and a barman.

He is an Honorary Professor of International Law and International Relations of the University of Cádiz and a member of the Key Advisory Group for Law at the University of Gibraltar. Charles lectures regularly in Spain, Morocco and Gibraltar.

He is the Chairman of the Safeguarding Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar and is the Director for Aid to the Church in Need charity in Gibraltar.

Charles is also a member of the Editorial Board for ReachExtra.com and is regularly interviewed for comments and opinions on local and global legal matters by the media in Gibraltar, UK, Spain and internationally.

A strong emphasis on financial services litigation and regulatory proceedings has led to several settlements but also a successful Court of Appeal Judgement ( re:  Advalorem – Civil Appeal No 10 of 2015).

As well as representing regulated entities before the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, he has represented clients before other professional bodies and active in a regulatory investigation.

In addition he has acted in several cases of mis-selling of investments, all of which have been settled within the ambit of alternative dispute resolution procedures within litigation.

Charles Gomez has made representations to the European Union Enquiry on State Aid.

He represented the ex Chief Justice of Gibraltar in removal proceedings at the Privy Council [2009] UKPC 43.

He has represented the Government of Gibraltar in several successful claims for rectification under the law of defamation and mis-information in the Spanish Courts culminating with the Spanish Supreme Court’s unanimous decision of the 13th September 2017 [2809 of 2016] in which for the first time the Spanish Courts acknowledged the standing and capacity of the Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar to litigate in the Kingdom of Spain.

Recently he acted for the successful Claimant in the high profile unfair dismissal case of Tampin v GGCA Union [IT 3 of 2016].

Education

Sacred Heart Grammar School, Gibraltar

University of London (Honours)

Council of Legal Education (London)

Member of the Gibraltar Bar Association and the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

Member of the Parliamentary Commission on Democratic and Parliamentary Reform

Other Information

Charles Gomez is an honorary professor in International Law at the University of Cadiz.
Charles is also a columnist for the Gibraltar Olive Press covering Britain’s transition after Brexit in his series Brief.

Charles A Gomez LLB (Hons) of counsel, was called to the Bars of England and Wales and Gibraltar 1982.

Charles is regularly mentioned in the Legal 500 and this year was described as “a leader in judicial review” and “fearless”.

Charles Gomez is an Honorary Professor at the University of Cadiz, organising English Law lectures in Gibraltar and Spain for Spanish undergraduates.

Languages

  • English
  • Spanish
  • French

Firm Description:

Established in 1988 Charles A. Gomez & Co is a leading Gibraltar law firm in the fields of general dispute resolution and commercial law.

Experience and a healthy respect for the litigation process inform our principal priorities of negotiation and settlement.  However, “if you want peace prepare for war”. Our track record in the Gibraltar courts with notable successes in several ground-breaking cases assures opponents that a reasonable approach is the best option.

Among the contentious areas of practice which we have been most active in recent times are; financial and telecommunications regulation, professional negligence, complex fraud, insolvency, trust settlements, building construction and contract disputes.

Uniquely, in the Gibraltar legal profession we have no financial interest in any corporate management or trust companies and offer our advisory services on the basis of absolute independence.

We regularly act as agents for overseas lawyers.

Our property department is one of the busiest and competitively priced in Gibraltar. We deal with many transactions on a monthly basis acting for developers, buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants.

We are situated next to the Marriages and Passport registries and we are able to provide the Commissioner for Oaths facility.

Charles A. Gomez & Co. provide a dedicated independent service and total loyalty to all our clients

 

Joseph E. Triay (MELO)

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Leaders in Law endorses Joseph E. Triay as our exclusively recommended Financial Services expert in Gibraltar. If you wish to get in touch with Joseph please use the contact information provided above.

Called to the Bar: 1982

Melo is a Director in the firm and heads up both the Financial Services and Private Client teams.

As a recognised leading individual in the banking and finance sector, Melo is heavily involved in financial services related work and regularly advises the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. He also advises all aspects of Financial Services including the establishment of collective investment schemes and funds incorporated in Gibraltar as well as banks and insurance companies. Melo is a former member of the Financial Services Commission and former chairman of the Bar.

Melo is also an internationally recognised leader in the field of Private Client practice, advising numerous clients in relation to legal matters affecting their wealth, taxation or estate planning. In particular he is very active in advising trustees, professional and private, in the conduct and fulfillment of the terms of the trust and matters affecting such trusts.

Melo is recognised as a leading individual by Legal 500 in the Banking and Finance, Private Clients and Tax sectors; he is also in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame which recognises individuals who have “received constant praise by their clients” and are “at the pinnacle of the profession”. He has been described as “exceptional” and a “mature, calm lawyer with a lot of experience” in Chambers Global.

Firm Description:

The firm traces its origins to the practice established in Gibraltar in 1905 by the late Arthur C. Carrara CMG, KC a friend and colleague of Sergio Pelayo Triay QC (the grandfather and great grandfather of the Triay brothers and family). Sergio Triay joined Arthur Carrara in practice in 1926. Arthur Carrara died in 1949 which was the same year when JJ Triay joined his father in practice. After Arthur Carrara’s death, the practice was then run by S P Triay KC and his son and became known as Triay & Triay. JJ’s brother J E Triay QC joined the firm in 1952 when Triay & Triay was already in full swing under his father’s leadership. JE Triay QC became the senior lawyer of the firm in 1972.

In 1991, Triay & Triay merged with Vasquez Benady, a firm which incorporated the practice of Samuel Benady CBE, QC and Sir Alfred J Vasquez. CBE., QC, MA (Cantab). Both JE Triay QC and Sir Alfred Vasquez QC sadly passed away in 2012.

Today the firm remains true to its family origins – all of JE Triay QC’s sons are lawyers in the firm as are Sir Alfred’s son Robert Vasquez QC and his nephew Freddie Vasquez QC with JE Triay QC’s eldest son Melo now the firm’s senior lawyer.

Our clients range from international businesses to private companies, governments, charities and private individuals. Due to our commitment to maintaining the highest standards and ethics in our profession; building strong relationships with our clients and our ability to deliver practical and proportionate legal solutions, we remain at the forefront of the profession in Gibraltar with a tried and trusted reputation for legal excellence amongst our clients and peers.

Our Expertise

We offer expert advice and knowledge across a variety of sectors and legal practice areas. The firm is divided into 6 practice areas namely Corporate & Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Financial Services, Private Client, Property and Shipping & Admiralty.

We also offer advice on matters of Spanish law through our offices in Marbella and Sotogrande.

Gibraltar is a well-recognized and regulated EU finance centre and accordingly a large part of the firm’s practice is devoted to finance centre related work, both local and international.

The firm is recognised as a leading business firm in Gibraltar and a number of the firm’s practitioners are recognised as leaders in their chosen fields by independent sources such as Chambers, Legal 500, IFLR and Practical Law. Lawyers at the firm practice as part of the fused profession in Gibraltar and the vast majority of our practitioners are English qualified in the first instance.

Through its associated company, T&T Management Services, Triay & Triay is able to offer company management and professional trust services to clients.

The firm also belongs to a number of legal networks including the Association of European Lawyers (AEL) and Globalaw. These networks are further recognition of the firm’s international standing and serve to assist clients worldwide.

 

Joey Garcia

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Leaders in Law endorses Joey Garcia as our exclusively recommended FinTech Law expert in Gibraltar. If you wish to get in touch with Joey please use the contact information provided above.

Joey has built up a strong Financial Services practice advising on a variety of structures and solutions to an international client base which includes, funds, investment managers, e-money institutions, banks as well as family offices and larger private clients.

He has also been at the forefront of developments in the various aspects of business in the fintech space, including digital currency, blockchain and distributed ledger technology in Gibraltar. He co-chairs the Gibraltar Government working group/think tank on digital currencies. He has been involved in advising a number of blockchain start ups and businesses crossing over from the blockchain into the financial services space and is one of the thought leaders involved with the Fintech think tank established by the firm, thinkFintech.gi.

He was elected as the Chairman of the Gibraltar Funds & Investments Association (GFIA) for the years 2014-2016 and is ranked by Chambers and Partners and IFLR and acknowledged as being ‘a highly acclaimed funds expert.’ The 2014 Legal 500 reports that Joey is ‘extremely professional, commercially aware and strongly client oriented.’ He has been involved with the Gibraltar Finance Centre as a moderator and speaker on various Seminar Programs and has contributed to a number of Hedge Fund publications including the Reuters European Reference series on Hedge Funds. Joey also sits on the Financial Services Commission (the Gibraltar Regulator) MiFID II working group and previously on the AIFMD working group. He was also the author of the Corporate Governance Code for Gibraltar Collective Investment Schemes and worked on a secondment within the Financial Services Commission during the latter part of 2013 in relation to AIFMD related technical issues.

Joey was extensively involved in the set up and ongoing operation of the Kusuma Trust (Gibraltar), a large charitable organisation, as a Trustee, and was one of the founders of the Gibraltar Philanthropy Forum. He is licensed by the Financial Services Commission to act as an Experienced Investor Fund Director and Company Manager.

Practice Areas

  • Funds
  • Fintech
  • Financial Services
  • Hedge Funds
  • Private Equity Funds
  • Real Estate Funds
  • Digital Currency
  • Blockchain
  • Corporate Structuring and Re-structuring
  • Venture Captial Financing
What is Joey up to these days

Joey currently forms part of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) working group on MiFID II examining the implementation of MiFID II and other post Brexit implications for Gibraltar. He currently co-chairs the Gibraltar Government working group/think tank on digital currencies which is seeking to recommend a policy and framework in respect of Gibraltar’s position on digital currencies, as well as the Gibraltar Fintech Think Tank (thinkFinTechGi).

He was also involved in the preparation of the regulatory Guidelines for the establishment of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Insurance Companies (Special Purpose Vehicles) Regulations.

 

Peter Montegriffo QC

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Peter’s area of expertise is in commercial and private client matters. He has also advised on numerous financial services, regulatory and trust related matters. Peter was closely involved in the IPOs of various gaming companies established in Gibraltar, which have been listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Peter has been closely involved in drafting numerous changes to Gibraltar’s legislation in trusts, financial services and gaming areas. His knowledge of these fields has led him to contribute to a large number of articles and books on Gibraltar’s legal system and financial services sector.

Peter regularly speaks at international conferences relating to these areas of practice. His work frequently requires him to deal with multiple jurisdictions as a result of which the firm has built a considerable bank of international knowledge in tax and private client arrangements.

He is a member of the pre-eminent global gambling law networking and educational organization, International Masters of Gaming Law. IMGL is at the forefront of the latest developments in international gambling law.

Peter was also Gibraltar’s Minister for Trade and Industry, with responsibility for economic development and financial services, between May 1996 and February 2000. Having graduated from Leeds University, Peter attended the Inns of Court School of Law as a member of Lincoln’s Inn. Peter qualified as a Barrister in 1982, becoming a partner of Hassans in 1988.

Hassans International Law Firm:

We are a full service firm with specialisms in corporate, M&A, commercial, financial services, insurance, litigation, funds, gaming, property, private client, tax and shipping law. We have offices both in Gibraltar and in Spain.

Hassans aims to deliver a service consistent with old world values of customer care whilst constantly evolving to embrace new world technology to meet the urgency that today’s world demands.

Together, Hassans and Gibraltar have comprehensive resources and a solid infrastructure to ensure that our legal advice can be executed efficiently. Our expertise extends beyond Gibraltar and covers key jurisdictions around the world.

Our clients are diverse but our approach is consistent: to understand our clients, provide superior advice and get results. Many of our private clients are highly successful entrepreneurs, we help them grow and protect their assets.

As well as individuals, we act for companies, from local businesses to Fortune 100 multinationals that operate in a number of jurisdictions. We use innovative structures to save them time and money. We also advise financial institutions, including the major investment banks and insurance companies, enabling them to set up and run new entities and products.

Our status and expertise allows us to advise the Gibraltar Government on new laws; we have been instrumental in helping to develop local tax legislation and in 2014, aided the delivery of a new Companies Act and Insolvency Act; an important step for Gibraltar’s businesses, marking us out as a mature and modern marketplace.

We strive to help Gibraltar continue to develop as a sophisticated and well regulated financial centre. We welcome measures to prevent money laundering, including initiatives by the EU, Financial Action Task Force and OECD. To this end, we work together with regulators, in particular the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, to ensure that Gibraltar is a leading and respected offshore financial centre.

Hassans is associated with Line Group, an internationally known fiduciary services provider. It is one of Gibraltar´s leading players in the provision of trustee services, and the incorporation and management of corporate vehicles in Gibraltar as well in over 25 other jurisdictions for a worldwide client base.

When you work with Hassans, you work with one of the world’s leading independent law firms. This, combined with Gibraltar’s efficient tax regime and the stability and market access afforded by EU membership, makes Hassans the perfect partner for your business.