Expert Consultation · Foreign Law

Naomi E. Christie

Attorney-at-Law (Guyana & Grenada) · Consultant on Caribbean financial-crime law, regional legal frameworks and AI governance in regulated institutions

LL.M, International Legal Studies — New York University School of Law
L.E.C. (Honours Roll), Hugh Wooding · LL.B (Distinction), University of Guyana

Caribbean law, read the way it is built

I am an attorney-at-law admitted in Guyana and Grenada, with a master's in International Legal Studies from New York University, advising on Caribbean financial-crime law, regional legal frameworks, and the governance of artificial intelligence inside regulated institutions.

Most advisers read a regional statute from the outside and infer what it was meant to catch. I read these instruments the way they are constructed — what the language was chosen to reach, what sits deliberately outside it, and, just as importantly, what the supervisory apparatus behind them can actually deliver. For an institution weighing Caribbean exposure, the distance between the written law and the enforced law is the whole question.

The written law and the enforced law are not the same thing anywhere; in small states the distance between them is where the real risk sits, and it is routinely mis-priced from New York and London.

Areas of expert consultation

Financial Crime

AML / CFT

Guyanese and CARICOM anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes; FATF and CFATF standards in regional application; beneficial ownership; supervisory practice.

Banking

De-risking & correspondent banking

Assessing jurisdictional risk properly rather than by reputation; what a regional regulator actually examines; how enforcement decisions are taken in practice.

Regional Law

CARICOM & the CCJ

The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Community law and the jurisprudence of the Caribbean Court of Justice; OECS instruments; regional legal frameworks.

Technology

AI governance in regulated institutions

Governing AI systems inside supervised financial institutions — model use, accountability, explainability to a regulator, and where existing law already bites.

Cyber

Cybercrime & data protection

Commonwealth Caribbean cybercrime statutes and data-protection regimes, including the Guyanese framework.

Drafting

Statutory construction & interpretation

How regional statutes are constructed, and what that construction means for how a court or a regulator will read them.

How institutions engage me

EngagementWhat it isIndicative fee (USD)
Orientation callOne hour, one question, no written report500–900
Jurisdiction briefWritten brief on one jurisdiction's regime2,500–5,000
AI Governance & AML Readiness ReviewExposure map, gap analysis, prioritised 90-day plan, presented8,000–20,000
Standing counselOngoing advisory, monthly retainer2,000–5,000 / mo
Expert testimonyWritten opinion or evidence on foreign law750–800 / hr

First consultation of thirty minutes is offered without charge, to establish whether there is anything here worth your time.

Evidence of foreign law in United States proceedings

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 44.1 — Determining Foreign Law. A party raising an issue about a foreign country's law must give notice. In determining foreign law, "the court may consider any relevant material or source, including testimony, whether or not submitted by a party or admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence."

The court's determination is treated as a ruling on a question of law. A written declaration from a qualified foreign lawyer is ordinary practice.

I am admitted in Guyana and Grenada. I am not admitted in any United States jurisdiction and do not advise on United States law. My evidence and advice concern foreign law — which is precisely the office Rule 44.1 contemplates.

Consulted on

Guyanese law · CARICOM and Caribbean regional law · anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing · statutory construction and interpretation · beneficial ownership regimes · correspondent banking and de-risking · cybercrime and data protection (Commonwealth Caribbean) · Caribbean Court of Justice jurisprudence · AI governance in regulated institutions · human rights and international law · Caribbean media, broadcasting and telecommunications markets

Engage

For expert consultation, a written opinion, or evidence on Caribbean law, write to me directly. I answer every serious enquiry.

Request a consultation