Claire McAvinchey

GrahamThompson ("GT") prides itself on its unique combination of expert legal skills and real-world experience in working out effective solutions to complex problems.  With 65 years of continuous history and the first-rate balance between seasoned practitioners and dynamic young lawyers, GT is excellence-driven in every way and accordingly, well known as a leading Bahamian law firm.

Producing and sustaining a satisfied clientele drawn locally and from across five continents is the common focal point of the Firm's efforts.  Integrity, hard work, understanding the "bigger picture" that frames the specific legal needs of clients, creativity, rigorous ethical restraint in the charging of fees, and uncompromising loyalty to the client, are key ingredients of the GT ethos. 


The Firm, well known as the largest commercial law firm in the Bahamas, has successfully expanded from its main downtown Nassau location in recent years to better serve its broad range of corporate and private clients. In 2000, the Freeport, Grand Bahama office was opened, followed by the launching of licensed affiliate GTC Corporate Services in 2001, and the Lyford Cay, New Providence office in 2011.  In December 2012, GT expanded to Providenciales, in The Turks and Caicos Islands, where it already enjoys a reputation as one of the leading firms for civil and commercial litigation, and more recently, for transactional real estate matters.

The Firm has built up an enviable reputation both domestically and globally in a variety of important legal disciplines. Our attorneys are sought after by leaders in the real property, resort development, banking and capital markets sectors. We are highly regarded for our expertise in trust and estate planning, commercial matters, civil litigation, family law, securitization, employment and immigration matters.

The Firm is consistently ranked a tier-one law firm by the leading international rating publications, including CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS, IFLR 1000, and CITY WEALTH LEADERS LIST, among others.
  Currently, two of the Firm's Partners have been appointed Queens Counsel (QC).


Unique among law firms, GT has all through the years made notable contributions to high public service. GT’s former Partners have played critical roles in the Bahamas’ judiciary including three of the nation's past Attorneys-General, the former Chief Justice, several Justices of the Bahamas Supreme Court, and the Chairman of the Judicial Review Commission. Other Partners have served the Bahamas government as Senators, a Minister of Labour & Housing, a Gaming Board Chairman, a Water & Sewerage Corporation Chairman, a Broadcasting Corporation Chairman, and the Vice-Chair of the College of The Bahamas. Presently, our Partners serve as Chairman of the Utilities Regulatory Commission and the Chairman of the Constitutional Commission.  This record of service to successive governments and the judiciary is wholly without parallel in the history of the legal profession of the Bahamas.

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Claire McAvinchey is a solicitor admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland (non-practising) and a professional support executive in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) office.  Her work in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department has involved a number of high profile commercial disputes in the corporate, real estate, regulatory, banking, employment and tourism & hospitality sectors.  She has also a wealth of experience in in both contentious and non-contentious Property and Finance matters.  Prior to her move to the TCI in 2011, Claire was a solicitor at a premier Irish law firm and was also a researcher to the Irish Judiciary and the Law Reform Commission of Ireland.

Claire works closely with the other attorneys in the TCI office on a large array of Litigation & Dispute Resolution matters.    She has worked on many corporate and commercial disputes, including breach of contract, shareholder disputes, securities and investment fund litigation.  In the Insurance sector, Claire deals with insurance litigation, professional liability matters, and professional negligence.

In Banking & Finance, Claire has experience with litigation matters, bonds, guarantees, debt recovery, enforcement of security and judgments, financial services law and regulation, mortgage actions, possession actions, insolvency, liquidations and receiverships.   She also assists private and corporate clients with mortgages, sales, purchases and transfers.

In the Corporate & Commercial arena, she has worked on corporate formation and reorganization, liquidations, insolvency and restructurings.

Claire has widespread experience in contentious and advisory Employment & Labour matters, including disciplinary and discharge issues, discrimination, compromise agreements, employment contracts, equal pay, layoffs, redundancies, non-compete agreements, non-disclosure agreements, non-solicitation agreements, overtime disputes, sexual harrassment, workforce restructuring, wrongful dismissal, trade union matters and multi-jurisdictional compliance.

Claire is also actively involved in Property & Development matters.  Her experience in this sector includes landlord and tenant issues, condominium agreements, strata title issues, fractional ownership, time shares, mixed-use developments and subdivisions, as well as private and commercial leases.   

Representative work includes:

• Assisting lead counsel in advising a successful claimant (a major shareholder in a Hong-Kong listed company) in a multi-jurisdictional Arbitration against a Bahamian financial institution relating to a high value stock secured loan facility;

• Assisting lead counsel in the successful prosecution of a multi-jurisdictional and highly contentious winding up petition brought on the just and equitable basis and involving issues of jurisdiction, conflicts of laws, shareholder disputes as well as issues of medical and legal capacity;

• Assisting lead counsel in representing strata unit owners in landmark case regarding freedom to let strata properties which progressed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;

• Assisting lead counsel in the successful resolution of a long running dispute regarding property rights associated with a private home owners’ association and related issues including the determination of issues of ownership of land by a foreign company and bona vacantia;

• Dealing with contentious labour and employment law disputes involving unfair dismissal and employment claims in the Labour Tribunal of the Turks and Caicos Islands;

• Providing assistance to leading lending institutions in relation to regulatory compliance, employment and pension law issues;

• Assisting commercial clients, particularly in the tourism sector, with issues relating to business licensing, immigration and employment law related matters.

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