Established in 1937 by the late Sir Harrison Courtenay, the country's first local Speaker of the House of Representatives, this third generation law firm is Belize's oldest, headed presently by Derek Courtenay S.C. who is the first recipient of the Bar Association's "Custos Justicia" Award in 2006 for excellence. The firm has over the decades served as counsel for prominent international investment bankers, venture capitalists, private lenders, real estate developers and multinational corporations. Locally, the firm has represented commercial banks, statutory agencies and corporations, and local entrepreneurs etc. The firm has provided counsel on a wide range of transactions including privatization of a number of public utility companies; securitization programs for overseas institutions for on-lending to government entities; intellectual property matters, real estate development ventures; free zones; complex commercial agreements as well as corporate re-organizations, mergers and acquisitions; and international loans and financing to both private and public sector entities.
