The Team

Personal Experience

C.A. Nigel Hughes is the Managing Partner of Hughes Fields & Stoby and serves as Chairman of Hughes Fields & Stoby Inc. and HFS Corporate Services Inc. He is a Barrister‑at‑Law of the Inner Temple  and Attorney‑at‑Law and is widely regarded as one of Guyana’s leading advocates and commercial lawyers.

Mr. Hughes holds an LL.B. (Honours) and an LL.M. from University College London, having graduated in 1986. He completed his professional legal training at the Council of Legal Education in London in 1987 and was called to the Bar in England and Wales (Inner Temple) on 24 November 1997.

In April 1998, Mr. Hughes returned to Guyana and joined Hughes Fields & Stoby, where he later led the Firm’s technological modernization and expansion. Under his leadership, the Firm has grown into an international law practice, with a significant proportion of its work originating from offshore and cross‑border matters.

Mr. Hughes has extensive experience across banking and finance, commercial law, insurance, intellectual property, telecommunications, public utilities, mining, oil and gas, international finance, project finance, and mergers and acquisitions. He is also recognised as a leading litigator in civil, commercial, and criminal matters.

He has played a prominent role in the development of Guyana’s legal profession and justice system. Mr. Hughes served as Vice President of the Guyana Bar Association in 1999 and was elected President in 2002, during which time he convened the Social Partners Initiative and established committees that contributed significantly to the reduction of case backlogs in the High Court. He has also served on key national committees, including the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court the Criminal Law Review Committee and the Constitutional Law Commission. In 2016 the Prime Minister appointed Mr. Hughes as the Convenor of the Constitutional Reform Commission which held wide consultations on framework for a new constitution.

Internationally, Mr. Hughes has acted as a consultant to the Inter‑American Development Bank, advised on major commercial litigation and landmark transactions, and served as lead counsel in the first successfully litigated criminal appeal before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). He has also lectured in law and business at the University of the West Indies Executive MBA Programme across the Caribbean.  Mr. Hughes has presented at various international conferences including the University of the West Indies and the BVI  International Arbitration Center.

Following the discovery of oil in Guyana, Mr. Hughes was a pioneer in oil and gas law and public education, becoming a founder member of the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA) and leading international investment outreach initiatives, including the establishment of the Firm’s Houston, Texas office.

Mr. Hughes is a member of Lex Mundi, the International Bar Association, and the International Trademark Association, and is a founder member of the Caribbean Intellectual Property Association (IPCA). He also leads the Firm’s pro bono programme, with a longstanding commitment to representing indigenous communities, including landmark land‑rights litigation in the Upper Mazaruni. Mr. Hughes. Mr. Hughes heads the firms oil and gas, cross border transactions, finance, and commercial litigation practice groups.

Organizations, Memberships & Affiliations

Criminal law Review Committee

Rules Committee

Presidency of the Guyana Bar Association

Inter American Development Bank (IADB)

University of the West Indies Executive Masters in Business Administration Programme

International Bar Association

International Trade Mark Association

State Capital Global Law firm Group

World Services Group

Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc

Languages

English (fluent)

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