Byron & Byron
Attorneys-at-Law of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Our People
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Terence V. Byron, C.M.G., is the Senior Partner of Byron & Byron.
Having won the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Statehood Scholarship in 1967, Terence entered Cambridge University in 1968, taking a Degree in Modern Languages and Law at Fitzwilliam College in 1971. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in July 1972. He was then called to the Bar of St. Kitts and Nevis in November 1972 and joined Cecil Byron, Esq., and Dennis Byron, Esq., as they then were, at Byron & Byron. Terence is also qualified to practise in Anguilla since 1977.
Terence acted as Attorney-General of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis on a number of occasions between 1985 and 1995. In March 1980, he was appointed Press and Public Relations Secretary to the Premier, later Prime Minister, of St. Kitts and Nevis.
In 1986, he became His Excellency Terence Byron, on his respective appointments as the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to The Republic of China on Taiwan and as the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Both were non-resident appointments, which he held until July 1995. In the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for 1994, Terence was awarded the title of C.M.G. when he was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
Terence is widely known for his meticulous legal draftsmanship, and is also highly experienced in civil litigation, having appeared at all Court levels in St. Kitts and Nevis, including regular appearances before the Court of Appeal, and in numerous cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which is the final appellate Court for St. Kitts and Nevis. In 2008 Terence appeared before the Privy Council with Mr. Karl Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., in the case of Inniss v The Attorney General of St. Christopher and Nevis where they secured a landmark judgment for Ms. Angela Inniss, former Registrar of the High Court, for vindicatory damages of EC$100,000 for breach of her constitutional rights. The Privy Council took special note in their judgment of the thorough submissions of Counsel Terence Byron.
In 1988, Terence first appeared at the Privy Council with Mr. Karl Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., in the appeal of France and Bryant v Simmonds, in which they successfully represented then Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Kennedy Simmonds, winning a judgment of $75,000, the largest award of damages for defamation in the entire Commonwealth Caribbean at that time.
Terence is an avid fan of cricket and enjoys calypso. He is the Choir Director of the Immanuel Methodist Church Senior Choir, and also enjoys serving as an organist for that Church. He is a Founding Director of the St. Kitts Biomedical Research Foundation and has served on the Board of Directors for over 30 years. He has a working knowledge of Spanish and French.
The Honourable Vincent F. Byron, Jr., has appeared in several recent groundbreaking cases which have had significant ramifications for good governance and Constitutional rights in St. Kitts and Nevis, including the landmark cases of Shawn Richards and Others v St. Kitts and Nevis Constituency Boundaries Commission, and of Eugene Hamilton and Robert Charles v Joseph Edmeade. He frequently appears in constitutional and administrative law cases involving the rights of voters and other critical questions of democratic importance.
Vincent has been associated with the Firm for more than twenty years. A graduate of the University of the West Indies, he attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History in 1976 and taught at the Basseterre Senior High School for a number of years before pursuing post-graduate studies at the New York Institute of Technology where in 1989 he was conferred the degree of Master of Business Administration.
Shortly thereafter, Vincent returned to St. Kitts to work as a Management Consultant. Working out of the Chambers of Terence Byron, he eventually assumed duties as Office Manager of the Firm. These duties had been competently undertaken for the previous ten years by the late Vincent F. Byron, Sr., M.B.E., retired senior civil servant, who had provided invaluable support to the Firm.
Vincent is a well-known sports and music personality in St. Kitts and Nevis. He represented his country at the National level in both cricket and football between 1973 and 1982. He also served as a radio and television sports commentator. He worked as a Bandleader of the Caribbean Heet Waves Musical Orchestra in St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Montserrat from 1975 to 1982. He also worked in public administration as National Instructor of the Health Management Information System. He installed and maintained the primary healthcare database and trained public health personnel in computer use. In addition he was selected Deputy Census Officer for the 1991 Population and Housing Census, in charge of day-to-day management and planning.
Vincent later embarked upon legal studies, gaining the Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wolverhampton in 2003. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in 2006. He then gained the Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School in 2007. In August 2007, he was called to the Bar of St. Kitts and Nevis. He is also a Notary Public.
In March 2010, Vincent Byron became a Member of the National Assembly of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis when he was appointed a Senator by the Leader of the Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Federal Parliament.
Vincent was appointed by His Excellency the Governor General as a Member of the Constituency Boundaries Commission in 2012.
Talibah V. O. Byron is the newest Partner at Byron & Byron.
She was called to the Bar of St. Kitts and Nevis in August 2011 and joined the Firm in that month.
Having gained the top results in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2006 in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations of French, History, and Literatures in English, she then attained the Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leicester in 2009 and the Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School in 2011. In 2012 Talibah was conferred the Master of Laws degree with Merit with specialisation in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol. She holds the Advanced Certificate in Intellectual Property Management from the Academy of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
During her university career she was elected to head several university clubs and societies. At the University of Leicester she also worked as an Advisor at the Pro Bono Clinic, while she was a Current Affairs Reporter for the University newspaper and was awarded the 2009 Leicester Award for Employability Skills. At the University of Bristol she served as a Researcher at the Human Rights Implementation Centre. And while at the Norman Manley Law School she was Student Editor of the Caribbean Criminal Law Digest, the first Volume of which was published in 2010 by the Caribbean Law Publishing Company.
Talibah has completed prestigious internships at the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at the Caribbean Court of Justice which have equipped her with enviable experience and skill in legal research and drafting. She earned the commendation of Judges at both international Courts for the assistance she provided to them on various high-profile, seminal cases. She has also been shaped by her experience as an Investigator in the Office of the Public Defender of Jamaica, Mr. Earl Witter, Q.C., where she investigated allegations of serious human rights violations committed by Security Forces in Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston, Jamaica during the State of Emergency in May 2010. Following her investigations, Talibah prepared briefs in support of numerous victims of human rights violations to receive compensation from the State.
Talibah practises in several areas including commercial, intellectual property, employment, and estate management. She currently serves as Office Manager of Byron & Byron. She was called to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago in April 2013.
Talibah is a die-hard fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and is highly trained in classical piano.