Vivienne M. Gouthro

Vivienne M. Gouthro is Managing Partner of the firm’s Freeport office, and Chair of the Maritime & Aviation group. She is currently Co-chair of the Marketing & Business Development Committee.

Bilingual in English and Spanish, Vivienne is a corporate and commercial lawyer with experience in chambers in England, Spain, Gibraltar and The Bahamas. Specialising in ship and international finance, Vivienne acts primarily as local counsel for major international financial institutions in the European and Asian markets, providing legal advice on complex international finance matters and all aspects of international maritime transactions and commercial acquisitions and sales. She also guides ship owners through the registration of pleasure yachts and large commercial vessels on the Bahamian Register of Ships.

In addition to her maritime practice, Vivienne has extensive experience in commercial law, real estate and development, private client and wealth management and intellectual property law. She counsels diverse corporate and private clients in the sale and purchase of real estate and related financing, as well as on matters relating to wills, probate and administration of estates, intellectual property and immigration law. Her practice also extends to provide a full range of corporate services to clients, including the incorporation and licensing of local companies and obtaining of all governmental and regulatory approvals. She acts for major domestic banks, hotels and local institutions, and has assisted in the purchase and financing of large developments on the Island of Grand Bahama.

Vivienne has been ranked as ‘Highly Regarded’ by IFLR1000 (2019 -2020), the guide to the world’s leading financial law firms. She is also a recommended lawyer according to Legal 500 Caribbean (2019).

Vivienne earned an LL.M. from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, and a B.A. (Hons) in English and Spanish Law from the University of Kent in England and Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1993 and joined Higgs & Johnson in 1995. She became a Partner of the firm in 2002 and was called to the Bahamas Bar in 2007 when she became a citizen of The Bahamas.