Firm Name: Alexiou, Knowles & Co
Jurisdiction: Bahamas
Practice Area: M&A Law
View website
Professional Biography:
Leaders in Law endorses Emanuel M. Alexiou as our exclusively recommended M&A Law expert in Bahamas. If you wish to get in touch with Emanuel please use the contact information provided above.
Emanuel M. Alexiou is the founding partner of the firm. His primary area of practice is commercial transactional work and private client matters. Mr. Alexiou’s expertise is in banking, trusts, and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Alexiou also has significant experience in liquidations and insolvency practice. Mr. Alexiou completed his legal studies at the College of Law, and Lincoln’s Inn in London in 1973. He obtained his undergraduate degree in 1968 from Case Western University, Ohio, and a graduate degree from the University of Toronto.
He was admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Bar of England and Wales in 1973, and the Turks and Caicos Bar in 1974. In addition to maintaining his legal practice Mr. Alexiou is a prolific local businessman, and has been honoured as part of “The Bahamian Project” at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.
Firm Description:
Alexiou, Knowles & Co. places great emphasis on maintaining the highest professional standards and offering skilled and efficient business and legal services, specialization in the areas of residential and commercial real estate, business, banking, corporate, insurance, labour, securities, maritime, trusts and related support services.
The firm has seven partners and three associates and roughly 35 support personnel comprising competent secretarial, paralegal, accounting and clerical back-up staff. The firm has offices in Nassau and Abaco. Contact information can be found under the Contact section of this website.
The firm is the Bahamas member of Global law®, which is an international non-exclusive network of legal firms based in countries worldwide. The firm is accordingly able to maintain autonomy, which is crucial working in offshore financial service sectors, yet able to obtain expedited and preferential access to information from all corners of the globe.
Alexiou, Knowles & Co. uses integrated client management software, including PCLaw and Worldox, to assist in supporting our clients. As a result, AKC attorneys have “real-time” access to all pertinent client information. AKC strives to provide the highest level of service and customer satisfaction for our clients.
AKC began in the early 1970s. The firm underwent several evolutions in the following years and in 1976 the late Emerick Knowles, QC, joined Emanuel M. Alexiou in the partnership, followed shortly thereafter by E. Terry North.
Over the decades, the firm has grown and evolved with the changing times, and has become an established contender in the modern legal landscape.
In 2010, Emerick Knowles passed away unexpectedly while competing in a cycling race to raise funds for cancer research. As one of the early members of the firm, and a brilliant litigator, he was instrumental in placing the firm on the map. He has left an enduring legacy on which we continue to build.
AKC is located in a historic building at the top of the Frederick Street Steps on East Hill Street, overlooking Nassau Harbour. The house, originally called “Hill Crest”, was the home of the Moseley family. It was built in 1840 by Edwin Charles Moseley, who founded The Nassau Guardian newspaper in 1844. The picture below shows the home (middle building just to the left of the slope) before the Frederick Street Steps were built.
The house was built into the ridge where East Hill Street is now. It was constructed out of blocks cut from the limestone rock which were excavated at the site.
Mr. Moseley came to the Bahamas from England in 1837. It was at Hill Crest that the Nassau Guardian was produced and printed for many years. Mr. Moseley’s son Alfred Moseley assumed responsibility for the newspaper in 1887, and his daughter, Mary Moseley followed suit, acting as editor of the newspaper from 1904 until 1952. After the death of Mrs. Valeria Moseley, Alfred’s wife, the East Hill Street home was sold to Mr. Glen Stewart, a prominent winter visitor. Mr. Stewart had the house completely renovated, most noticeably removing the old wooden verandahs.
AKC has been at Hill Crest since the firm began. This may not have been a typical choice for a law firm, as the building was built as a residence complete with fireplaces, ensuite bathrooms and wood floors throughout. However, with some adjustments, it has become a comfortable office space, and the building’s character and charm are now an integral part of the firm’s personality.
In 2003, to accommodate the growth of the firm, AKC constructed a new building on the property. Great care was taken during this renovation to preserve the integrity of the old home both structurally, and aesthetically. The end result is that the new building sits unobtrusively along the length of the eastern boundary of the property, separate from the old residence and the historic character of the property has remained remarkably intact.
In an interesting twist of fate, Mr. Alexiou and one of his business partners purchased The Nassau Guardian, making it once again a Bahamian owned newspaper and bringing the ownership full circle back to the Moseley house where the newspaper was originally printed in what is now our conference room.
