Rafiya Karim

Associate

Practice Areas

Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Commercial Litigation
Public Procurement Law
Industrial Relations and Employment Law
Personal Injury and Medical Negligence
Family Law

Qualifications

Bachelor of Laws, University of Nottingham
Bar Professional Training Course, BPP University Law School, London
Master of Laws, University of Nottingham (Public Procurement Law and Policy)

Admissions

Bar of England and Wales – 2016 (non-practising)
Trinidad and Tobago – 2017

Experience:

Rafiya joined our firm’s Litigation + Dispute Resolution Practice Group in June 2024.

Rafiya is a national scholar, having been awarded an Open Scholarship in 2011, after which she proceeded to the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom to pursue a Bachelor of Laws Degree. Rafiya graduated with honours in 2015 and after completing the Bar Professional Training Course, she was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2016 and is a member of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. She returned to Trinidad in 2016 and was admitted to practice in 2017.

Following her admission to practice, Rafiya joined Trinity Chambers where she remained until 2021. As a member of Trinity Chambers, she acted as Instructing and Advocate Attorney in a variety of civil law matters before all the Courts in Trinidad and Tobago and was actively involved in every stage of the litigation process. In her non-litigious practice, Rafiya provided legal advice to state entities and authorities, engaged in negotiating and settling matters; reviewed and drafted various agreements and other legal instruments. Rafiya also joined the panel of Attorneys attached to the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority. While she was in private practice, she pursued and obtained a Master of Laws Degree in Public Procurement Law and Policy from the University of Nottingham with Distinction.

In 2021, Rafiya joined the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago as a Judicial Research Counsel and was assigned to four Judges in the Criminal, Civil and Family Law divisions. As a Judicial Research Counsel, she conducted research, prepared legal opinions, drafted judgments, reviewed submissions, prepared case summaries and attended Court on a daily basis.

Rafiya is an avid reader and writer and has contributed to research publications by the World Bank and the International Bar Association. Her dissertation entitled ‘Public Procurement in Trinidad and Tobago: Promoting Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Value for Money?’ focused on the Public Procurement regime of Trinidad and Tobago and was published in the Public Procurement Law Review.

Rafiya has a passion for litigation and her insightful analyses and thorough research, enable her to bring to the practice a creative approach to problem-solving which adds tremendous value to the firm’s clients.

Experience:

The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn
Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago

Published Articles